Fast Lane
story first published in the Central Western Daily, Saturday 2 January, 1997
The conclusion of a two part wrap-up of activities during 1996 at the Orange Tenpin Bowl.
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July
The NSW State Open Masters were held at Liverpool at the start of the month with Bonnea Wiseman bowling quite well to finish 10th in a star studded field of State and National representatives. The event was won by Lynn Motbey.
The men's final was devoid of stars, with most of the state's better known players not competing.
The Masters was won by Rodney Kitley. Orange's Peter Brown was never in the hunt, finishing in 12th spot. Dubbo's Steve Rodwell finished 5th ahead of Bathurst's Gordon Common in 6th spot. He led with just two games to go.
Local bowlers dominated the Bathurst Super 7's tournament which was won by Neil Gray who had 46 pins up his sleeve in defeating Nick Murray and Bill Richardson.
Orange bowlers didn't fare too well. David Hayward finished 6th, Peter Brown 9th and Jack Rapley turned in a shocker to finish 22nd.
The C.W.T.B.A. third round was bowled in Orange with Steve Rodwell winning yet another tournament, this time in the most closely contested event of the year.
Four bowlers went into the last game with a chance of winning but Rodwell came through to win by 13 pins with a 206 average. Peter Brown (205 average) finished second after leading with two to go while Mark Lijic was third and Robert Alston 4th. Both those players averaged 204.
The 13th annual Foundation 41 handicap tournament failed to attract its usual large number of entrants, with a number of new faces appearing in the winners lists.
Jim Dullaway bowled well to take the A Grade singles with a 188 average, the best of the tournament.
Paul West won B grade while Anthony Knudsen was successful in C grade.
The women's events went to Clare Hodgson (A grade), Wendy Weekes (B) and Marie Rosser (C).
In the doubles category, Rob Jones and Gary Zervos won the Open grade while Kevin and Wendy Weekes from Bathurst won the graded division.
The junior doubles was won by Kristy Pennings and Carissa Jones.
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August
Bonnea Wiseman was in brilliant form in the Tuesday Ladies Singles, rolling a scorching 873 four game series, the best of the year. Her first three games were even more impressive, with her 682 tally being the second best yet bowled by a local female.
The Fathers Day seven no-tap tournament was won by Paul and Shane Wennerbom from Kelvin Brennan/Allyson Phoo with Kevin and Amy Harrison in third place.
The fourth round of C.W.T.B.A. series was bowled in Bathurst, with Bonnea Wiseman capping off a good month by becoming the first female to ever win a C.W.T.B.A. title.
Wiseman averaged 194 on the tough Bathurst lanes to win by 45 pins from Dubbo's Norm Organ with Steve Rodwell in third spot.
The finals of the Central West Pennants were held with Orange's dominance in the series dissipating somewhat although they still won six of the twelve finals. Bathurst showed a big improvement by making the majority of the finals and in winning three divisions while Dubbo also won three.
Orange's winning teams were the men's ones, ladies' twos, men's fours, ladies' fours, men's fives and junior boys.
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September
The 13th annual Orange City Championships were contested throughout September with a couple of long-standing records falling by the wayside. The entries however were once again disappointing with organisers frustrated at thinking of ways of encouraging bowlers to compete.
The Teams Classic was combined with the championships and attracted a full field of 16 teams but entries in other events were well below expectations.
Jason Belmonte was impressive in the junior grades, winning the Open All Events crown with an 1862 total, a 206 average for his nine games. Belmonte broke the record with his 640 series in the Open Singles.
Maree Caltabiano won the open singles in the girls' division.
Peter Brown won the Open Singles and All Events titles yet again while Val Irwin repeated her efforts of last year in the women's division.
Other singles champions were John Cooney (Classic), Les Gunner with a record 628 series and Judy Streatfeild (A Grade), Brian Shaw and Melissa Waddell (B Graded) and Allan Lickiewicz and Lyn Egan (C Grade).
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October
David Hayward ventured to Melbourne to compete in the Victorian Deaf Championships held at the Greensborough Bowl.
He won the Individual Championship, setting a new record with a 279 game and a 202 average for the twelve games. He beat arch-rival Tony Markovitch 205-195 in the final.
Steve Rodwell won his third event of the year in the C.W.T.B.A.'s fifth round contested in Dubbo. Rodwell was far too good for his rivals, winning by 146 pins with a 205 average.
Robert Alston finished second ahead of Bathurst's Gordon Common.
The Bring-A-Friend tournament was held to attract new bowlers to the sport and used the seven no-tap format.
Winning the event with handicap was Michael and Mary Bermingham and Maureen and Malcolm Bennett. The scratch winners were Kelly Griggs, Ian and Bev Hazzard and Steven Davis.
A Grandparent and Junior tournament was held on the same day and was won by Neil McFarlane and Daniel Carr.
Jackie Graham competed in the Honda Masters Veteran Games in Alice Springs and did very well to pick up two silver medals after shooting an impressive 557 in singles which was way over her entering average.
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November
The centre final of the Coca Cola Classic was held with Peter Brown in spectacular form as he averaged a massive 232 average for the eight games to win from Mark Lijic (204 average) and Steve Winkler.
Rolling scores not seen since the days of Jason Doust in his South Pacific wins in the late eighties, Brown demolished his opposition with four game blocks of 946 and 915 including a brilliant 299 game.
Brown and Lijic went on to compete in the State final at Parramatta where he finished third behind Sam Romeo and Jason Doust. Lijic finished well back in 32nd position while Dubbo's Steve Rodwell was 5th.
The roll-offs for the 1997 Challenge Shield Central West team were held in Bathurst with Jason Belmonte topping the averages in qualifying for the boys' team.
Jason Brown also made the team while his sister Melanie made the girl's team.
The State final of the Country Challenge was held at the Northern Bowl in Corrimal with Orange represented in the women's division, with the team finishing sixth.
Both the men's and women's divisions were won by Wagga Wagga.
David Hayward continued his amazing form for 1996 with a 1304 series in the Scratch Singles, his third 1300 block of the year which is quite impressive.
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December
The Ron Boulton Marine and Cycles/Harvey Norman Discounts Junior Cup was a major success with a full field competing.
Jason Brown capped off a year of marked improvement with a tough fought win in the stepladder final over top qualifier Jason Belmonte. Rhearne Trudgett finished third.
The handicap section was won by David Rosser from top qualifier Maree Caltabiano and Jaye Jackman from Shellharbour.
The inaugural Pee Wee Legends tournament was held for the centre's bumper bowlers and was won by Stacey Powter and Aaron Osborne. The handicap winners were Amanda Byrnes and Brock Winkler.