THE Mount Gambier Bowls Club will host its 88th Christmas Bowling Carnival this week, with the first of five events to kick off today.
With last year’s carnival somewhat disappointing, this year the focus will be on participation numbers, with hopes the weather is favourable for the four days of competition.
“Last year we did not have great numbers,” carnival director Garry Widdison said.
“We only had two events instead of four, it was the first time that had happened.
“Then one of them got washed out.
“We did not have a very good year.”
However, Widdison told The Border Watch already quite a few teams had registered for this year’s event.
And the phone just keeps ringing, with entries continuing to role in.
The event is iconic on the Lower South East Bowling Association calendar and is expected to once again attract competitors from far and wide.
Set to start with the men’s pairs today, the second event will be the open fours played tomorrow.
Friday will see a break in the competition, before the men’s singles and open pairs are played on Saturday.
Another break will be had on Sunday, with the cosmopolitan pairs to finish the carnival on January 1.
With teams already nominated from Portland, Naracoorte, Robe, Port MacDonnell, Millicent and Dartmoor, along with a player from Geelong, there will be no shortage of diversity.
Accompanied by representatives from both the Mount Gambier and Mount Gambier RSL Bowling Clubs, the event is sure to provide some tough competition.
“We get all different people coming from far and wide,” Mount Gambier Bowls Club treasurer Bill Bremner said.
“We even get them from Adelaide, the Western Districts and Victoria.”
Bremner believes the carnival not only benefits the club by showcasing its facilities and drawing in revenue, but provides a boost into the economy of the Blue Lake city itself.
“We have a lot of people coming through and staying in the Mount,” he said.
“People come and stay and use the facilities of Mount Gambier.
“And then the club also gets the benefit of meeting new players.”
With cash prizes, trophies and bragging rights up for grabs, Widdison agreed the carnival will attract the best players from across the region.
“It’s a pretty popular carnival,” he said.
Plenty of preparation has been completed in and around the club and Widdison is confident everything will be ready for the annual competition.
“We’ll have all the greens pretty good,” Widdison said.
“We have a new green as well and that will be in action.
“I just hope the weather is not overly hot.”
The weather of late can be hard to predict, but with a little luck the carnival will be set for a return to success.
Carnival Schedule
Today: Blue Lake men’s pairs, 9.30am start.
Tomorrow: South East open fours, 9.30am start.
Saturday: South East men’s singles, 9am start; Open Pairs, 1pm start.
Monday: Cosmopolitan Pairs – 12pm start.
