The Old Selbornians women’s bowls fours team, representing Border, were crowned the winners of the fours section at the recent 2019 SA Women Nationals tournament held in Durban.
The tournament was hosted by the Port Natal club.
The Old Selbornians team members participated in the singles and pairs sections where they were unfortunate to be knocked out, but they came back strongly in the fours and in fact remained unbeaten in that section, to win gold.
In the quarterfinal, Old Selbornians beat Leases representing Sables 11-10 in a very close match over 15 ends.
The semifinal against Hermanus of Boland was also close, the final score being 21-17.
The final was a triumph for Old Selbornians. They had to play Bryanston Sports and won 25-15 to end up as champions.
The team was made up of Jane Bursey as lead, Jayne Minnie as second, Nola Warner as third and skip Patricia Tiltmann.
“We enjoyed great support from our club members which was so tangible, even though we were miles apart,” said a happy Tiltmann.
According to records, the fours section was last won by an Old Selbornians bowling club team as far back as 25 years ago in 1994.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would win and be named 2019 national champions, although, saying that, the team played solid bowls, never giving big shots away and never giving up,” said Tiltmann.
“It was a very exciting and proud moment holding the trophy,” she added.
The assumption that bowls is only for older players, is rapidly proving to be untrue.
The sport caters for all ages creating a fun environment for the social player, as well as an atmosphere for competitive players. Bowls is regarded as a healthy activity for all.
In all clubs throughout SA, newcomers to the sport are guided by qualified coaches and introduced to the club system. This enables clubs to be competitive in national tournaments and South Africa to remain competitive in international competitions.
The men’s SA Nationals was held in Gauteng over the same period of May 11 to 19, and was hosted by Gauteng North...