Photo Gallery
Christmas Party
Our end of year Christmas get-together is always a lot of fun, but for some reason we’ve heard it was the “best ever” – which is great praise for all the ladies who made the day the success it was. The Social Committee, aided by Lorraine Douglass had the room looking spectacular, and did a wonderful job of serving us through lunch. The Match Committee did a great job making the day a “fun” day – bowling through our legs (backwards), bowling with our “other” hand and many more ways to make the day memorable. The Management Committee were in the background organising the day, the lucky door and raffle prizes and making sure everything ran smoothly.
We were fortunate to have Mel and Luke from The Hills Club join us for lunch, along with Neil Wulf from Australian Mutual Bank, Shariff and Adam from Priceline Pharmacy, Ian and Scott Haggarty from Haggarty Real Estate and our Patron Irene Moore.
From all the comments it’s going to be hard to top this year ladies!!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2024.
******************************************************
2023 Major Singles Champion
The final of the Major Singles was played on Tuesday 21 November between Shirley de la Harpe and Diane Trovato. The game was played in the true spirit of sportsmanship, with Shirley taking out the title with a 25-10 win over Diane.
******************************************************
Annual Ettalong Challenge
Over 40 ladies travelled to Ettalong for our annual challenge day on Tuesday 14 November. As usual we were warmly welcomed to their club when we arrived around 8.45 am. After our game of bowls, sadly it was determined that we had to hand the trophy over to Ettalong as they had won the day convincingly. We had held the trophy for the past 3 challenges, so it was difficult to give up, but alas we will try to wrestle it back next year when Ettalong ladies visit the Hills.
**********************************************
2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival
On Monday 6 November we held our annual pre-Melbourne Cup carnival. The theme was black and white and the men were invited to participate. Although the numbers were disappointing, everyone joined in the fun and the weather was kind to us.
The day was sponsored by Ian and Scott Haggarty (Haggarty Estate Agents) and both Ian and Scott joined us for lunch.
As usual it was a great fun day and we even had “Bonnie and Clyde” make an appearance.
****************************************************************
Spring Carnival
Our annual Spring Carnival was held on Monday 9 October with 24 teams competing. This carnival is sponsored jointly by Allan Drew Funerals and Australian Mutual Bank and we were proud to welcome Tahnee Beaver and Richard Smith from Allan Drew Funerals, who joined us for lunch and to present the winning teams with their prizes.
Castle Hill WBC had a great day winning 4 of the 6 prizes on the day, with Toni Pollock’s team taking out Overall Winer. Congratulations ladies.
We had teams from as far away as Umina Beach, who were lucky enough to win one of the lucky card prizes.
Thank you to all who attended and made the day such a success!
******************************************
Special Awards for our Members
The Hills Club has always prided itself on the long standing of it’s members and this was evident when the members below received awards for membership varying from 10-20 years.
From left to right – Judy Barbaro (10 years), Bev Johnson (10 years), Marilyn Racker (10 years), Diane Atkins (15 years), Liz McCracken (20 years), and our Patron Irene Moore (20 years).
Also receiving awards for 25 years service were the below members:
Patricia Greene, Madeleine Conway, Norma Bratz and Elizabeth Leahy
*********************************************************
2023 Minor Singles
Tuesday 25 July was the final of our Minor Singles Championship played between Megan Mitchell and Maarjan Biegel. With the final score of 25-21, the game swayed back and forth between the two players with Megan coming out the ultimate winner. A great game ladies and congratulations Megan.
**********************************************************
2023 Major/Minor Pairs
Karen McCann and Nan Hee Moon were winners in the Major/Minor Pairs also played on Tuesday 25 July, against worthy opponents Lorraine Douglass and Robyn McPherson. A close game, but ultimately there can only be one winner. Congratulations Karen and Nan!
*************************************************************
2023 Biggest Morning Tea – Tuesday 20 June
Once again we held our annual Biggest Morning Tea to raise money for Cancer Council NSW. Everyone was in the spirit of the day, dressed in PINK. We even had two of our male players – Joanne and Rhonda- wearing a tutu, pink wig, scarves etc. to show their feminine side.
The morning tea was spectacular and our members outdid themselves – every year it gets bigger and better. Thanks to all who contributed with their delicious slices, cakes etc.
Our 2023 day was sponsored by PRICELINE, Baulkham Hills and Adam, the store manager, attended for morning tea and lunch and presented the generous prizes for our winners of the carnival. We would like to thank Priceline for their wonderful support to this fundraiser and look forward to their involvement in our Club in future years.
The Hills Club made a generous donation to our funds on the day and we were able to donate over $3,500 to Cancer Council NSW. Another great day with a great outcome.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO MAKE THE DAY SO SUCCESSFUL!!
****************************************
Champion of Champion Pairs Play-offs – 1-4 June
Congratulations Karen McCann and Elizabeth Leahy on playing in the Champion of Champion Pairs.
In sectional play they had a great win in Round 1 (26-9) against Castle Hill, a bye in Round 2 and went down to East Maitland in Round 3. However their margin in the first round took them through to the finals, where unfortunately they were beaten by a team from Cabravale BC. A mighty effort ladies.
It was good to see so many supporters at the game to cheer the girls on.
Karen and Elizabeth with Pam and Lan from Castle Hill WBC
***************************************
Chateau/Haggarty Real Estate Fours Carnival
On Monday 15th May we filled 2 greens with 24 teams in our Fours Carnival sponsored by Chateau and Haggarty Real Estate. Alisha Wilson attended from Chateau and both Scott and Ian Haggarty were in attendance.
The weather turned on a beautiful sunny day and teams played 2 games of 11 ends each, followed by a 2 course lunch. The room was decorated in the Chateau colours of green and gold.
Scott and Ian handed out the prize money to the winners of the 2 games and Alisha handed the winning envelope to the ultimate winners – a team from Castle Hill WBC skipped by Lan Lim.
A great day and a deserved “great job” to all from the Hills WBC who were involved in the running of the day.
**************************************
2023 Novice Champion
On Tuesday 11 April the final of the Novice championship was played between Marjorie Damyon and Gillian Cahill. While the final score was 25-13 in favour of Marjorie, this was not an indication of the quality of bowls played by these two relatively new bowlers. Congratulations Marjorie on your first title at The Hills.
*********************************
2023 Club Fours Champions
On Tuesday 4 April the final of the 2023 Club Fours was played in what was a very close game until about the 14th end. Alas, after that point, any shots Jan Hawthorne’s team held were dutifully taken out of the way by one of the four ladies in the winning side. Congratulations on a great game ladies!!
Champions – Ruth Keene, Karen McCann, Di Trovato (Skip) and Elizabeth Whelan
Runners-Up: – Carole Elvin, Maarjan Biegel, Lorraine Cafe and Jan Hawthorne (Skip) together with the Winners
******************************************
Special Birthdays
On Monday 4 April approx 40 members of our Club gathered at The Hills Club for lunch to celebrate the 80th birthdays of Lorraine Whipp and Madeleine Conway.
Although both ladies had turned 80 earlier in the year, finding a date that suited for the celebrations had proving difficult, until now.
Both ladies were presented with a lovely floral gift and shared the cutting of the very delicious birthday cake.
Both Lorraine and Madeleine have been members of the Hills for a very long time – Lorraine since 2006 and Madeleine since 1999. It was a pleasure for all our members to be able to share this special occasion with these lovely ladies.
******************************************
District Senior Singles Final
Congratulations to Elizabeth Leahy o making it through the sectional play to play against Deb Murray from Northmead in the final of the Mitchell District Senior Singles. A great game for the spectators and just as well it was played under cover at Wenty as the rain fell down during the game. Liz held shots on a number of ends but Deb was consistent and came out the winner. So proud of you Liz for making it to your first District final.
*******************************************
2023 Major Singles Championship
The final of our Major Singles was played on Tuesday 7 March between Shirley de la Harpe and Elizabeth Leahy. While the score reads 25-7, this was no indication of the quality of bowls played during the game, under very warm conditions.
Congratulations to Shirley and Elizabeth making it to the finals and to Shirley for taking out the win. Good luck to Shirley when she represents the Hills HDWBC in the Champion of Champions Singles later in the year.
**********************************************
2022 Christmas Bowls and Lunch
After a very busy couple of months, our bowling year finished on a high on Tuesday 13th December with our Christmas Party and some fun bowls.
We welcomed some of our sponsors – Tahnee Beaver and Lisa Richie from Allan Drew Funerals and Ian and Scott Haggarty from Haggarty Estate Agents. Neil Wulf from Australian Mutual Bank came down with Covid and was unable to attend.
Following a fun game of bowls, bowling through our legs, with our eyes closed (some of us bowled better this way) and with our non-dominant hand, it really was a very funny game and some great sights on the greens. Many thanks to our Match/Selection Committee for organising the shenenigans.
Our Social Committee outdid themselves with the room looking very festive after all their hard work during the morning.
There were so many prizes to be won with numerous raffle prizes and between 40-50 lucky door prizes, all looking very Christmassy.
A great day for all our members.
Sadly we said goodbye to one of our newer members, Sandy Yiu, who is moving to Port Macquarie prior to Christmas. We wish you well in your new bowling club Sandy, you will be missed!
************************************
State Grade 3 Pennant Play-offs
What an exciting time for The Hills, sending the ladies off to play at Bomaderry in the Grade 3 pennant play-offs.
The first game was played on Friday morning 18th November against Beresfield and the ladies went down 48-37. On the 37th end the score was 38-37 – a close game until the end.
Friday afternoon’s game was against North Haven and we were defeated 53-24.
Saturday morning’s game was against Mosman and it became apparent that if the ladies won this game they had a very good chance of playing in the quarter final. After the 25th end the Hills led 26-23 and the final score was 48-37 with the Hills coming out the winners. This meant they were to play Yamba on Saturday afternoon and what a game that was.
After 42 ends the score was 33 all and 21 ends all. Another end was played and Yamba went on to win by 1 point. Yamba ultimately went on to be State Champions.
SO PROUD OF OUR LADIES AND A GREAT HIGHLIGHT IN THEIR BOWLING CAREERS. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Our very successful Grade 3 pennant team at Bomaderry BC for the State Pennant play-offs – Judy Barbaro, Vin Vinh-Hoa, Maureen Atkins, Merle Watson, Marilyn Racker, Marion Corrigan, Diane Atkins, Barbara Clerke and our two reserves Muriel Smith and Nan Hee Moon.
The score at the end of the third game which resulted in an extra end being played and our ladies going down by one point and our wonderful supporters who travelled down to give their support – Karen McCann, Elizabeth Leahy, Lorraine Douglass, reserve Muriel Smith, Ruth Keene, Diane Trovato and reserve Nan Hee Moon.
**************************************
Annual Hills/Ettalong Challenge
On Tuesday 15 November we hosted the Ettalong WBC ladies for our annual Challenge Day. While Ettalong had a much smaller contingent this year, they still put up a great battle.
This year we celebrated, belatedly, our tenth anniversary of this day, with Ettalong President Margaret Smith and Hills President Carole Elvin cutting a cake to commemorate the occasion.
The trophy is always in contention and this year was won by The Hills, making it 6 wins to the Hills, 3 to Ettalong and the first year was a draw. We all look forward to travelling to Ettalong in 2023 to continue this tradition.
*******************************************
Flag Unfurling and Presentation of Badges and Medallions
Tuesday 8 November was a very proud day for our Club when our successful pennant teams – Grade 2.1 and Grade 3 – were celebrated in style. Mitchell District representatives, including President Lan Lim, Hills Club Chairman Ken Carroll and General Manager Melissa Davies, joined Vice-President Diane Castles and our members to honour our ladies for their success.
Flags were presented by the Mitchell District President and raised on the flag pole by the grade managers.
Both grades were awarded medals for their achievement and Grade 3 also received a medallion for making it through to the State Play-offs, which will take place at Bomaderry from 18-20 November. Good luck ladies!!
Our Club has a wonderful history of winning flags in the MD pennant competition and this year has added to that number.
To top things off, the Grade 2.1s team of Ruth Keene, Margaret Wild, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato won an 8 pin on their very last pennant game.
Grade 2.1 flag winners – Elizabeth Whelan, Lorraine Douglass, Elizabeth Leahy (Skip), Ruth Keene, Margaret Wild, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato (Skip). Absent: Bev Martin
Grade 3 flag winners: Maureen Atkins, Merle Watson, Judy Barbaro and Kaye Eagle (standing in for Kaye Bailey) Dulcie Pekas, Marion Corrigan, Diane Atkins, Barbara Clerke (Skip)
The successful teams together with their reserves with Mitchell President Lan Lim, Hills Club Chairman Ken Carroll, Hills Club General Manager Melissa Davies and Vice President Diane Castles.
Official Table: Melissa Davies, Ken Carroll, Diane Castles, Lan Lim, Lynne Skeers, Irene Moore (Patron), Janice Thomas (Life Member)
Very proud winners of an 8 pin with a copy of the score card – Diane Trovato, Margaret Wild, Ruth Keene, Karen McCann
*************************************
Pre-Melbourne Cup Carnival
Each year we hold a Carnival on the Monday before Melbourne Cup and this year we did something different and opened it up to the Hills men bowlers. The carnival was held on Monday 31 October and the theme was “Black and White”.
The carnival was sponsored by Ian and Scott Haggarty, of Haggarty Estate Agents, and we are very grateful for their continued support.
Everyone had a great day and we look forward to inviting the men to join us again next year.
***********************************
2022 Club Triples
On Thursday 27 October the final of the club triples was played. Diane Trovato’s team were the winners against a very able team skipped by Lorraine Douglass. Although Di’s team won convincingly, there were some close scores earlier in the game. Congratulations to Ruth Keene, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato on winning the Championship and well done Margaret Wild, Hayley Turk and Lorraine Douglass for making it to the finals.
**************************************
80th Birthday Celebrations
35 of our members joined the birthday girls, Pat Greene, Denise Noorbergen and Margaret Wild on Monday 17th October to celebrate their 80th birthdays, happening in the latter half of 2022. Everyone enjoyed the conversations “off the green” and the ladies were given a floral gift and together cut their birthday cake.
Happy Birthday Pat, Denise and Margaret!!
****************************************
Regional Pennant Play-offs
On what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, our successful Grade 2 team travelled to Greenlees BC on Saturday 15th October to compete against Greenlees WBC for the opportunity to travel to the State play-offs in November. Greenlees were the winners on the day and we wish them a successful competition at Taren Point.
While the Hills went down on the big board, it wasn’t a walk-over for Greenlees. On the 15th end the score was 13-19 (D Trovato down by 6) and 9-11 (E Leahy down by 2); by the 19th end it was 18-20 (D Trovato down by 2) and 11-15 (E Leahy down by 4). In a wonderful turnaround for D Trovato’s team, the final score was 23-20 (Di’s team winning by 3) and Elizabeth’s team score was 11-23 (going down by 8). On the big board the overall score was Greenlees 43 to Hills 34.
There were lots of supporters to cheer the ladies on, including our Club General Manager, Melissa Davies, and even two ladies from Castle Hill WBC plus the Mitchell District Committee.
A great effort ladies!!!
**************************************
Club Pairs Final
On Tuesday 11 Oct Shirley de la Harpe and Karen McCann played the final of the Club Pairs against the 2021 champions Ruth Keene and Diane Trovato.
Ruth and Diane got off to a slow start with the score after 11 ends being 18-5 to Shirley and Karen. They did get their groove and after the 16th end the score was 19-14 with Shirley and Karen in front.
There were lots of spectators including Karen’s mum Lois and Ruth’s husband Kevin and Lois had come equipped with “pom poms” in our club colours.
Great game girls with the final score being 26-14 with Shirley and Karen taking out this year’s title and they will play in the Champion of Champions Pairs at a date to be advised. Well done ladies!!
***************************************
Hills Annual Fours Carnival
For the first time since 2019, we were able to hold our annual Fours Carnival, although in the days leading up to Monday 10 Oct the weather wasn’t looking great.
We had 96 ladies on the bowling greens and another few ladies attended to help out with the raffle and trading table, which were both very successful.
Lunch was delicious and the prize winners were very excited when presented their winning envelopes by Brodey and Lisa from Allan Drew Funerals.
The carnival was jointly sponsored by Allan Drew Funerals and Australian Mutual Bank and we appreciate their continued participation each year.
*****************************************
Representing Mitchell District
Five of our members were selected to play for Mitchell District in the 2022 Mitchell vs Nepean Challenge day which was held on Friday 30 September.
Diane Trovato, Elizabeth Whelan and Karen McCann played in different teams with players from other Mitchell clubs and Megan Mitchell was selected to play in the very first Rookies side. Unfortunately Elizabeth Leahy had to withdraw.
In sometimes wet and very cold conditions throughout the morning Mitchell fought on, coming from 20 down at one stage to be beaten 98-88, when the game was shortened from 21 to 18 ends.
We are all very proud of you ladies on being selected!!
Megan Mitchell, Diane Trovato, Elizabeth Whelan and Karen McCann
***************************************
Farewell to our Vice President Sandra Barry
On Thursday 15 September, 40 of our members joined Sandra to say “goodbye and good luck” with her move back to Queensland. Sandra joined the Hills Club in 2014 and very quickly became involved in the Management Committee, carrying out the duties of Vice President. Sandra was a very valued member of that committee and had played in Club Championships and represented the club at pennant level.
Sandra was given a gift from the members as a memento of her stay at The Hills (a lovely pair of tri-gold earrings), and the social committee had arranged a cake for her to cut in celebration.
Sandra and her partner Graeme are moving to Townsville, which will put them just a few hours from family and friends, after enjoying their stay in NSW. We wish you both every happiness with your new life up north.
********************************************
New Member
Dian Dodd joined the Hills Club for her first game of bowls on Tuesday 6 September. Welcome to the Club Dian and we hope you enjoy your time with us.
*******************************************
2022 Pennant Champions
Thursday 25 August was a momentous day for the Hills Club.
All four pennant sides won their last round of the championship and two of those sides won the Flags for their grades. Congratulations to Grade 2.1s and Grade 3 ladies for taking out the competition. The 2.1s play at Greenlees on Sat 15 Oct in the regional playoffs to decide who will represent the region in the State playoffs, while the Grade 3s go straight into the State playoffs on 18-20 Nov (venue TBA).
There was a big celebration when they returned to the Club with “bubbles” flowing for the lucky ladies. The wins were very well deserved and we look forward to supporting them in the coming games.
To top that off, the team of Margaret Wild, Ruth Keene, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato (skip) got an 8 pin, which is a fantastic effort. Congratulations ladies!!
Maureen Atkins, Judy Barbaro, Kay Bailey, Ruth Keene, Diane Trovato, Bev Martin, Lorraine Douglas, Elizabeth Whelan, Karen McCann, Elizabeth Leahy, Margaret Wild, Marion Corrigan and Merle Watson celebrating back at the Hills Club.
The 8 pin winners – Diane Trovato, Karen McCann, Margaret Wild and Ruth Keene
*********************************************
Special Awards
Women’s Bowls NSW made what is to be their last awards for year’s of bowling with the Association. Our members below were awarded certificates recently:
Diane Trovato, Margaret Wild, Judy Hooker, Christine Maher, Carole Elvin and Marie Findley
Barbara Clerke – 25 years membership Lorraine Cafe – 30 years membership
Some of our ladies had slipped through the cracks and not received certificates over the years, so The Hills decided to do our own certificates to recognise 15 years continuous membership with our Club:
Bev Martin, Julie Leys, Irene Gandy, Giovanna Cipriano, Liz McCracken, Lorraine Douglas, Sue Smart and Barbara Burdack
***********************************************
2021 Presentation of Trophies
On Sunday 31 July the Club held a Presentation afternoon for the remaining 2021 Championships which had been held during the first half of 2022.
Congratulations to those pictured below both Winners and Runners-Up.
**********************************************
New Members
On Tuesday July 12 we had two new ladies join us for their first official game as members of the HDWBC. A huge welcome to Kaye Eagle and Gillian Cahill.
**************************************
2021 Consistency Singles Final
On Tuesday 28 June, the Consistency Singles final was played between Diane Trovato and Patricia Robinson. Well done ladies on a great game and a hard fought final, and congratulations to Diane who won the game 150-129.
21
****************************************
State Champion of Champion Singles
Congratulations to Elizabeth Leahy who representative The Hills at the C of C Singles in Port Macquarie commencing on Sunday 26 June. Great job Elizabeth!!
*****************************************
New Members
On Tuesday 14 June we officially welcomed 4 new members to our club, Jackie Jones, Sandy Yoo, Marion Corrigan and Kaye Bailey. We hope you enjoy your time at The Hills, ladies.
****************************************
Biggest Morning Tea
On Tuesday 7 June we held our annual Biggest Morning Tea to raise money for Cancer Council NSW. This year we decided to do it differently. We held a mixed carnival and invited male members to join us and get in touch with their “feminine side” by wearing PINK. We had 60 bowlers on the green, in what were very windy conditions, but everyone said they had a lot of fun. There were lots more who came along to join us for Morning Tea.
The carnival was sponsored by Haggarty Estate Agents and Ian Haggarty was on hand to present the prize money.
We raised $3,143.50 for Cancer Council NSW and everyone is looking forward to 2023 to see what we can raise next year.
**************************************
Champion of Club Champion Pairs
On Thursday 2 June, Ruth Keene and Diane Travato (skip) played at Guildford BC in the 2021 Champion of Club Champion Pairs. They played Cowra in the first round, who proved a much stronger side, winning the game 23-6.
On Friday 3 June, Ruth and Diane were playing at Club Merrylands and their first game, against Adaminaby, was live streamed (we have TV stars in our midst). But for one end, when the opposition scored 7 shots, the game was very even and our girls went down by 7, with Adaminaby winning 18-11. The supporters cheered on from the sideline aided by “bubbles” bought by Diane’s husband Tom (thanks Tom).
The second game on Friday was against Aberdeen and our girls really gave it their all, coming home the winners 28-11, against a very friendly team.
Congratulations ladies, you did us all proud!
****************************************
New Members
Tuesday 31st May gave our Club the opportunity to welcome back two members – Margaret Wild and Carole Martin. On the same day we also welcomed two new players – Lesley Nivison-Smith and Marilyn Bonvino. The ladies are pictured below with their Welcome Packs.
****************************************
Friendship Day
The Club decided to bring back an old custom by holding a Friendship Day on Tuesday 24 May. Members were asked to bring along a friend for a fun game of bowls followed by lunch. In total, we had 18 friends come along for the day, and by the sound of the laughter and chatter on the green everyone had a great day. Some great positive feedback from the friends who attended might mean that this becomes a regular occurrence on our yearly calendar.
********************************
Patrons’ Day
HDWBC held our first Patrons’ Day on Tuesday 17 May 2022 to celebrate our Patron, Irene Moore, and to acknowledge the 9 ladies who have held this position in our Club since our first Patron, Ruby Hunter, who was appointed in 1982. Irene was affirmed as Patron for the current year back in November 2021 at our AGM.
Irene had invited her friend Jenette Kitchener to join her for the celebrations and the Club had invited Chair of the Board Ken Carroll and the Club General Manager Melissa Davies to attend.
Irene cut the celebratory cake and accepted some lovely flowers from the Club as a mark of appreciation. Irene also sponsored the carnival which was held that day.
**************************************
Tuesday 10th May
This was a special day in the Club when our Patron, Irene Moore, was presented with her new club uniform in time for Patrons’ Day and new member, Elizabeth Ore, was presented with her welcome pack.
************************************
2021 Minor Singles
On what proved to be one of the few fine Tuesdays for months, the final of the Minor Singles was played on Tuesday 26 April between Vin Vinh-Hoa and Karen McCann. Both players had a great game with Vin holding Karen off on the second last end with a beautiful shot, taking Karen’s bowl out of the count. But, Karen made up for it on the next end and took the game 25-15. Congratulations to you both and well done Karen.
**************************************
Special Celebrations
On Monday 21 March three of our members celebrated their 80th Birthday with lunch at The Hills Club, along with 42 of our members. Congratulations to Elizabeth Whelan, Dulcie Pekas and Vin Vinh-Hoa on this momentos occasion. The Social Committee had decorated the tables in the ladies favourite colours and the birthday girls were presented with a lovely box of gerberas to mark the occasion. As usual we all enjoyed a delicious lunch, followed by birthday cake.
********************************************
2021 Mixed Pairs Final
With the new Bowls Calendar in full swing The Hills Club held the final of the 2021 Mixed Pairs on Sunday 20 February 2022. Although the score was 22-9, with Danny Phillips and Shirley de la Harpe winning against Bev and Arthur Johnson, the Johnson’s put up a good effort, firstly to get to the finals and then playing on what turned out to be an extremely hot afternoon. Congratulations to all players.
***********************************
2021 Christmas Lunch and Bowls
The weather didn’t look kind when we took to the greens for our end-of-year Christmas bowls day, however the sun shone through at about 10.30 am and we all had a fun day bowling “left handed”, “through our legs” and “with our eyes closed” (that was a tricky one).
When we came in for lunch, the social ladies, ably lead by our new Chair of Social Dallas Bendt, had the room looking very festive – thank you ladies.
We were joined by our sponsors from Allan Drew Funerals (Tahnee Beaver and Lisa Richie) and Ian and Scott Haggarty from Exchange Real Estate for lunch. During lunch, Ian handed the ladies club a cheque for sponsorship in 2022 for which we are extremely grateful.
We had a number of hampers for raffle prizes, and judging from the phone calls received since, they were full of wonderful goodies. We also gave away almost 50 Lucky Door prizes and even each of our sponsor were lucky to win something.
A great day and a fitting end to what has been a very trying 2021.
**************************
Club Ltd Presentation
On Sunday 5 December the Ladies and Men’s clubs came together for the annual Presentation Day. Life Members Dennis Zalanado and Jan Hawthorne made presentations to the winners and runners-up of Club Championships and Club Chairperson Ken Carroll and Lady President Carole Elvin made the presentation to the Club Single Champions – Peter Newman and Elizabeth Leahy. Congratulations to all those who were acknowledged at this event.
*****************************
2021 Club Championships
With just a few weeks to go to the end of the year, following the AGM, our Match/Selection Committee was able to schedule the playing of the following Championships:
Triples – A close game played between the winners Bev Johnson, Margaret Scott and Maarjan Biegel (Skip) and Sandra Barry, Lorraine Cafe and Jan Hawthorne (Skip). Maarjan’s team fought hard to hold their early lead with Jan’s team coming home strong. Great game ladies.
Fours – With interruptions due to rain, the finals were delayed for a week and the winners were Elizabeth Whelan, Ruth Keene, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato (Skip) over Maarjan, Lorraine Hopkins (who substituted for Di Castles), Carole Elvin and Jan Hawthorne (Skip). Great friendly game and the win by Di’s team was well deserved.
Novice Singles – Played between the winner Megan Mitchell and runner-up Rosslyn Joel, the game was very even for the first half, and then Megan slipped into a rhythm and went on to win 25-11. Congratulations to both ladies for a very competitive game.
********************************
AGM – Tuesday 9 November
Apart from the election of our Management Committee and various running Committees, we had the pleasure of bestowing Life Membership on Jan Hawthorne, who has been a very active member of the HDWBC for the past 30 years. Following Jan’s acknowledgment, we also bestowed the title of Patron on Irene Moore, who has been a member for the past 17 years and a worthy recipient of this title. Congratulations to Jan and Irene and we are very proud to have you both as members of our Club.
Past President badges were bestowed on our outgoing President Pat Robinson and past Presidents Jan Hawthorne and Barbara Burdack.
And to add to the celebrations, we welcomed new member Rosslyn Joel.
******************************
Farewell Kerry Wallace
On Monday 8 November 2021 we officially said farewell to our long standing member Kerry Wallace. Kerry had been a member of HDWBC since 2005 and been involved in the Match/Selection Committee a number of times since joining the Club. Kerry was also involved in winning many Club Championships and Pennant Flags. Kerry is moving to Victoria where she will join Dandenong Bowls Club and being playing with her son Chris. Approx 40 of our members joined Kerry and her best friend Liz McCracken for a lunch at the Club to say goodbye. We wish you the best for the move Kerry and hope to see you whenever you are in Sydney visiting.
*********************************
2021 Club Pairs Championship
The final was played on Tuesday 22 June and the winners were Diane Trovato and Ruth Keene – Congratulations ladies. The first half of the game saw Dulcie and Irene leading the way, however Diane and Ruth fought back in the second half to win the game 23-10. It was a very exciting game for the many spectators in the Club, especially Diane and Ruth’s husbands Tom and Kevin. The ladies will go on to represent The Hills at the Champion of Champions Pairs later in the year.
**************************************
President’s Day – 1 June
President Pat Robinson celebrated 3 years as President of our Club on Tuesday 1 June. A lovely morning tea was arranged by our Social Committee, led by Judy Hooker, followed by a short game of bowls. Pat invited her son Tom and sister Sally to join us for lunch as well as our Club special guests – Life Member Janice Thomas, Past Presidents Jan Hawthorne and Barbara Burdack and Hills Club Chairperson Ken Carroll who were presented with a gift by Pat. A Presentation was made to Pat by VP Diane Castles on behalf of all our members which was a nice new shiny bowls bag – in blue Pat’s favourite colour. Pat, in turn, made presentations of her own to Marie Findley (past chair of Social), our raffle ladies Judy Hill and Heather Evans and secretary Carole Elvin.
**********************************
2021 Mothers’ Day
In what has become a custom at the HDWBC, our members celebrated Mothers’ Day with a “special” morning tea, organised by our Social Club. Of course, there were lots of raffle prizes to be won, plus the usual winners/runners-up prizes and even our visiting pennant teams joined in the celebrations.
***********************************
2021 Club Major Singles Championship
Elizabeth Leahy and Diane Trovato played in the final of the Major Singles to determine the 2021 Champion. It was a hard fought game, with the score not indicating the quality of the bowls played. Congratulations Elizabeth, who took the trophy from Diane who won in 2020.
********************************
80th Birthday Celebrations
It’s never too late to celebrate a birthday, especially an 80th. Heather Evans, Judy Hill and Elizabeth McCracken had to wait till April 2021 to celebrate their special birthdays due to the covid restrictions on gatherings in 2020, but by the looks of the smiles they all had a great day celebrating with their bowling friends. Congratulations ladies and Happy Birthday!!
********************************
Anzac Day 2021
Always a special Day at The Hills Club, 2021 was no exception. Following a mixed bowls game, players and dignitaries were treated to a traditional “stew” for lunch and then everyone gathered around the Club’s flagpole for the official laying of wreaths and the Last Post. As a special treat this year, the lady bowlers had knitted and crocheted hundreds of red poppies which decorated the grass area around the flagpole. President Pat assisted Norma Bratz laying the wreath on behalf of “women in the services”. Lest We Forget.
********************************
New Member
Glenda Dingwall joined our Club on 17 February 2021 after training sessions with Jim Castles. Glenda is cousin to one of our Vice Presidents, Di Castles. Welcome to The Hills Glenda, we hope you’ll enjoy your time with us.
******************************
2020 Championship winners received their Club Championship badges on 19 January – Diane Trovato, Irene Gandy, Judy Barbaro, Maureen McInerney, Maureen Atkins and Karen McCann. On 2 February the remaining winners received their badges – Bev Martin and Merle Watson.
******************************
2021 New Members – Marjorie Damyon and Nola Hanes joined us for their first game of bowls on Tuesday 19 January. Welcome to our Club ladies!!!
****************************
2020 Club Champions
Fours Champions Dallas Bendt & Elizabeth Whelan (Subs), Judy Barbaro, Merle Watson, Maureen Atkins and Maureen McInterney (Skip) with runners-up Chris Cadman (Skip), Diane Trovato, Ruth Keene and Karen McCann.
Minor Singles Champion Judy Barbaro (right) with runner-up Maarjan Biegel
Triples Champions Chris Cadman, Karen McCann and Diane Trovato with runners-up Irene Gandy, Lorraine Cafe and Elizabeth Leahy.
Pairs Champions Bev Martin and Irene Gandy (centre) with runners-up Lorraine Cafe and Elizabeth Leahy
Novice Singles Champion Elizabeth Varecka with runner-up Dallas Bendt
Major Singles Champion Diane Trovato with runner-up Elizabeth Varecka
*************************
Special Awards and New Members
