Fast Lane
story first published in the Central Western Daily, Saturday 23 February, 1995
Bowlers have had a busy time so far this year and should be prepared for even further action over the next six weeks with a jam-packed tournament calendar ahead.
The tournament scene continues tomorrow when the tenth annual Valentines Day scotch doubles will be bowled. The event is a little late this year owing to other commitments (Orange Open and Pennants) at the Bowl over the past two weekends.
The tournament has proven extremely popular over the last decade with capacity fields lining up most years.
The unique format sees one member of the doubles team roll the first ball each frame while their partner tries to convert the spare if required. Players swap roles after each game.
This year contestants will be bowling twelve games with handicap with the winners receiving a night's accommodation at the Park Royal Darling Harbour in Sydney valued at $150.
The runners-up win a dinner for two at Chloes Restaurant while the third place-getters take home a pair of silver goblets.
Past winners of the tournament are as follows:
1986 Jenny Burton and John Cowden
1987 Margaret and Henry Phillips
1988 Karen Hazzard and John Baker
1989 Gwen and Des Britt
1990 Tracey Lavender and Steve Smith
1991 Maureen Durkin and Brian Keegan
1992 Bonnea Forsdike and Steve Smith
1993 Liz O'Neal and Neil Gray
1994 Elizabeth and Laurie Hitman
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The Orange Tenpin Bowling Association 1995 Junior Masters, which will be bowled next Sunday, has generated plenty of interest in what should be the most hotly contested Masters tournament in years.
Karen Brown will start favourite in the girls' division after taking out the event in 1993 and 1994 and she is keen to add a third consecutive title to her resume.
She will face plenty of opposition however including last year's Graded champion Rhearne Trudgett who has been in good form lately including a strong finish in the Nu Vision Junior Cup last month.
Elizabeth Hitman has improved tremendously since a minor placing in last year's graded division and looms as a strong threat while the unpredictable Amanda O'Connell is also a danger.
Maree Caltabiano could be the dark horse after some hot form in early 1995 including a 221 lane record during the week.
The boys' Masters is even more wide open with last year's runner-up Jason Belmonte the probable favourite.
Belmonte is obviously in top form as he shot another 600 series this week and will be hard to beat if he's able to control his massive hook.
Last year's Graded champion, the stylish Paul Sharp is bowling impressively lately and should perform well while Jason Brown has a big chance if he repeats any of his numerous 200 games recorded this year.
James Dubbelde also has a good chance after lingering in the graded division in the past few years.
The winners receive a bowling shirt, trophy and entry into the New South Wales Junior State Masters which will be bowled at Bankstown in April.
There's been a format change this year with a return to straight pinfall to decide the champions.
The graded divisions will bowl six games while the open grades face off over eight games.
Another upcoming junior tournament to pencil in on the diary is the Central West Junior Classic at Orange on 2 April.
This tournament is open to bowlers from Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo and will be played over six games with handicap.
First place receives $70 plus a trophy while the prize list stretches to seventh place.
Tournament sponsors are Central West Trophies, Orange Bowl, Peter Bryson and the O.T.B.A. Junior Sub-Committee.
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Other upcoming events include the second round of the Country Challenge which will be bowled at Orange on 11-12 March.
The Orange teams performed moderately in the opening round at Wagga at the start of the month and must take full advantage of the home lanes to bolster their hopes for the rest of 1995.
The teams should be strengthened by the return of a number of players who were unavailable for the first round.
The first round of the 1995 Central West Tournament Bowlers Association series is rapidly approaching and will be held on 19 March in Orange.
The C.W.T.B.A. produced seven different winners in as many events last season which shows the diversity of talent in the Central West.
While it was surprising that one bowler wasn't able to dominate, as Tony Allen did in 1993, different winners in each round really kept the player's interested -- with the majority of the contestants believing they had a winning chance each time they bowled.
At the end of March, the fourth annual O.T.B.A. Adult-Junior Doubles tournament will be bowled.
This is the tournament that was postponed from last December. Entry forms will be available shortly.
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One of the major tournaments on the National circuit is the Manhattan Bowl Super Classic which will be contested from 22-24 April.
The tournament is high class and full marks to the tournament organisers who have produced one of the most impressive entry forms ever seen.
The prize fund on offer is lucrative with $3,500 for the winner ranging to $1,000 for fifth and down to $190 for 50th place.
The riches for the winner also include a spot in the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions in 1996 plus airfare and accommodation in the States.
The first bowler to roll a 300 game will drive home is a $21,000 Rocsta 4x4 Jeep.
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Results from the 6th annual N.S.W. Country Championships, completed earlier this month in Nowra, have been received.
Orange managed only one win this year, with Gary Johnson, Jack O'Rourke, Chris Fuller and Jack Rapley capturing the B Grade teams event.
The Orange players bowled poorly in A Grade singles with Lawrence Hitman (8th) the best ahead of Jack Rapley (14th), Gary Johnson (28th), Chris Fuller (31st) and Bob Waddell (37th).
John Cooney did well to finish second in B Grade singles with his 549 series missing by just six pins while Jack O'Rourke finished second in C Grade .
Orange's sole female entrant Margaret Rapley finished 11th in her C Grade singles attempt.
Best effort in doubles came from Chris Fuller and Jack Rapley who finished 9th while Gary Johnson was second in Mixed Doubles when he teamed with Nowra's Marion Burns.
The Country Masters was won by Wollongong's Craig Smith who beat Gary Matheson 215-202 in the final after Matheson had earlier rolled 222 and 257 in impressive wins.
The women's final went to Yvonne Cowden who beat Sharon Matheson.
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The first round of the Central West Pennants was bowled last Sunday when Orange met Bathurst.
Results from Bathurst haven't been received while in Orange the home teams captured four of the six grades, although individual details are sketchy.
The men's ones blitzed their opponents by 23 points led by Peter Brown who contributed games of 203-235-203.
Michael Brind shot a great 247 game as the twos scraped home by just 3 points while Chris Fuller tossed a 205 and Kevin Newson 211-205.
The junior boys won easily by 48 points with Paul "Hydro Boy" Sharp rolling an excellent 216 game and James Dubbelde 201.
Despite fielding their strongest teams for a number of years the Orange ladies teams were crushed by Bathurst with the ones losing by 16 and the twos going down by 17 points.
On a disappointing day, the best games for Orange came from Marilyn Schwenke 205-203, Sharon Trudgett 200 and Maree Brown 234.
The junior girls fought back well to win by 12 points after trailing by 10 points after just two games.
The top game of the round came from Maree Caltabiano with an impressive 216.
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Eddie Brown is this week's star bowler (again) after some more great games during the last seven days. No-one seems to know what Brown's secret is (maybe it's his new glasses) but he's been easily the best bowler in the centre so far in 1995 with an incredible number of 200 games racked up.
In the Monday Scratch Singles Brown went into orbit again as he blitzed his rivals with games of 196-224-236-241 for a terrific 897 series then added scores of 190-197 for an impressive six game block of 1284.
The form continued unabated in the Wednesday Doubles where Brown pounded the pins for games of 187-222-235 and a nice 644 series.
Players in the Scratch Singles league were once again in hot form this week with fifteen 200 games rolled.
Apart from the Eddie Brown onslaught, others to do well were Steve Smith 227, Mario Mastronardi 201-203, Laurie Hitman 209, Peter Bryson 202-200, Ian Hazzard 226-222, Les Gunner 200-202-203 and Ken Ashton 214.
In the Monday 6.30 league Michael Brind fired a 204 game and Andrew Phillips bowled a 214 while personal best games came from Marlene Madden 190 and Melissa Walker 170.
Dianne Fishlock did well in the Tony Leahey Ford Triples with a 205 game while Gwen Britt bowled 209 in the Britts Singles and Maureen Durkin scored a 201 in the Wednesday Mid State league.
Pattie Gainsford bowled a nice 217 game in the Alpine Pharmacy Doubles to just edge a 214 from Noel Gainsford while a personal best game of 144 was bowled by Sandi Jones.
There was a stack of good games from the two Wednesday evening leagues this week including Henry Phillips 219, Maree Brown 204, George Moore 201, Brian Baker 201, Jim Dullaway 201, Tony Bloomfield 200, Derek Courtney 202, Graham Carr 201, Trevor Connerty 206 and Wal Price 224.
Some of the best junior efforts this week included Olivia Cheney 138, Jason Belmonte 212-202 (601/3), Maree Caltabiano 221 lane record and Nathan Parkes 116.