THE Australian Police Bowling Championships are returning to Murray Downs Golf & Country Club for the first time in five years later this month.
From Thursday, April 27, through to the following Thursday, the best police bowling club bowlers from the five mainland states will fight it out for the “sides championship” to determine the premier state.
Victoria Police Bowling Club secretary Pat Connor said the tournament is the pinnacle for many bowlers.
“It’s a pretty strong tournament – it’s a national championship, so the quality of players you get from each state is of a pretty high standard,” he said.
“This is the main tournament of the year – it’s always a good feeling to beat the other states – we’re all very competitive and put our strongest sides together.”
As has become customary with the championships, it will start with an opening ceremony in remembrance of all Australian police bowlers who died in the past 12 months.
Connor said it was a “moving moment” where each state marched onto the greens and laid wreaths in front of local police and dignitaries.
Before the main action begins, a charity day will be held on the Wednesday, with all proceeds going to A Good Kitchen.
“All teams play in this and we invite local players to come along for a game as well,” Connor said.
“We expect to have 42 teams, which is around 160 bowlers, for the charity day.
“We’ll hold a raffle and barbecue lunch and we’ll present the cheque to A Good Kitchen at our presentation dinner on the final day.”
A full schedule will greet the bowlers, with all disciplines being played throughout the week.
However, it was the “sides championship” that held the most weight with competitors.
“We have a sides event every day where you play against the other states in a round-robin format, and the winner of that gets the prestigious sides championship which we regard as the tournament’s main trophy,” Connor said.
