Febuary 2010 - Steve Glasson
WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010
Having recently returned from the Potters Leisure World Indoor Championships for 2010, I thought it might be appropriate to give you a bit of an overview of the event including some of the amazing behind the scenes statistics that is a huge part of making this event such a success.
Of course, the first major shock of the trip was leaving Australia when we were sweltering in 40+ degree heat only to arrive in a freezing England. Mind you, at the time, the large snow falls were quite a sight and made the countryside very picturesque!
On to the event itself as history will show, the 2010 World Champions are as follows.....
World Indoor Men's Singles Champion - Greg Harlow (Eng)
World Indoor Men's Pairs Champions - Ian Bond & Andy Thompson (Eng)
Ladies World Match Play Singles Champion - Debbie Stavrou (Eng)
World Match Play Mixed Pairs Champions - Carol Ashby (Eng) & Alex Marshall (Scot)
On the Final Night of the event, a gala dinner is staged and wards were given out to the following players.....
Players Player of the Year - Paul Foster (Scot)
Best Qualifying Performance - Stewart Anderson (Scot) - Runner up World Indoor Singles
Young Player of the Year - Robert Chisholm (Eng)
Fans Player of the Year - Merv King (Eng)
Shot of the Year - Ian Bond (Eng)
Performance of the Year - Billy Jackson (Eng)
Services to Bowls Award - David Rhys Jones (Journalist)
Lifetime Achievement Awards (2) - Ken Fawcett (Tournament Director) & Brian Potter (Chairman, Potters Leisure Resort)
Inducted into WBT Hall of Fame - David Gourlay (Scot)
As for the Aussies, well it goes like this....
In the Pairs, Mark Casey and Brett Wilkie lost out narrowly in the 2nd round while defending champion, Kelvin Kerkow (along with Merv King, missed out in a nail biting semi final!
In the singles, Kelvin lost in a close match with David Gourlay in round 3 whilst in the same round, yours truly lost in a tie break against England's Robert Paxton. It was fairly disappointing as I suffered a couple of poor results in the tie break! Anyway, that's bowls! Victoria's Geoff Maskell toiled admirably and was narrowly defeated in his first game while Qld's rising star, Ben Twist also made it to round 3 after he defeated World Indoor Pairs Champion Ian Bond in round 2 only to challenge eventual Champion, Greg Harlow before losing in a tense struggle!
Congratulations to Ben as he played extremely well in his first ever Potters campaign and I'm sure we will see a lot more of the young champion!
Potters itself, well it's quite an amazing venue!
Potters is located in the County of Norfolk approximately 3 hours North East of London!
Some of the amenities include indoor heated pools, gymnasium, 2 full size Indoor bowling greens, plus a smaller 2 rink version, tenpin bowling, snooker, darts, golf, go karts, soccer oval, tennis courts, kids play groups, hairdresser and a shop, etc, etc!
Throughout the days, there are many activities that take place. It features 3 main bar areas and a massive auditorium/theatre which has shows every night of the week ranging from musicals to comedy. These are performed by professional, in house entertainers!
The accommodation features chalet style bungalow that can comfortably sleep in excess of 600 patrons! In addition to these, there is also a 5 star hotel that features all the mod cons! As a guest there you really have to be careful as to your food intake as the massive dining room features three meals a day with a wide range of choices. It's very easy to put on weight as there is no shortage of food available!
In fact, they turn over so many meals, here are some of the stats in relation to the meals they turn just while the World Indoor Championships are on over a 3 week period!
Potters have over 400 staff with an incredible 50 chefs! They cater for in excess of 5,500 spectators throughout the Championships. The kitchen itself cooks 35000 sausages and 28000 eggs. Over 140 Turkeys are also cooked to perfection. There are over 33000 pints of milk. The bars have their own amazing quantities with 41000 pints of beer sold, (the players do assist with this sometimes, ha ha), along with 6500 litres of wine and 3000 bottles of wine! Quite amazing I say!
So there you have it, just some of the stats that go into the behind the scenes logistics of potters leisure throughout the World Indoor Championships.
On another note, it was great news and thoroughly deserving that Kelvin Kerkow was awarded recently an OAM for his services to lawn bowls! Kelvin, a legend of our great game is not only a champion in his own right, but is a tireless supporter and promoter of bowls and is always happy to assist in any way possible albeit through coaching, mentoring or helping out. He is an avid supporter of junior bowls as he stems initially from the junior ranks (a long time ago) and knows how important it is that bowls continues to attract younger members to our sport.
Finally, my club of the month for February goes to Park Beach Bowling Club in Coffs Harbour!
Park Beach is situated right on the coast in Coffs Harbour. Its address is Ocean parade, Park Beach and you can contact them on 02 6652 3622.
The club features 3 magnificent tif dwarf green and its major event is the Ford Singles staged each July. With a car as the prize for winning the event, it's always a popular event! Some of their other annual events include the Alan Buchan 4's, mixed pairs in July and the men's pairs in August. For the Ladies, Park Beach also stages the Sapphire Triples in September with Sapphire Rings the winnings for those that are successful. This event is hugely popular as well!
The amenities throughout the club feature bistro, tab, keno, pokies (66), with Monster Raffles on Mondays & Fridays and live entertainment every Friday and Saturday Night as well! Throughout summer, there is Blues music on the greens every Sunday Arvo!
Coffs Harbour itself has an estimated population of between 50,000 to 60,000 with its major industry being Bananas (and when I say bananas, I don't mean the bowlers). The Club has approximately 300 bowling members and 3800 social members and celebrated being 50 years old last year!
Club Stalwart Brian Caundle is a tireless worker and there isn't a day goes by that Brian's not at the club doing something! Bowls takes place every day except Monday's so if you're in the area, be sure to call in a have a game or enjoy a nice cold beverage with great meals available. It's a beautiful part of the State and under the Direction of Club Manager Lyn Campbell, all the staff make you feel like you're part of their family!
That's about it for this month! Once again it's great to get your feedback and comments and I always do my best to respond to each and every one. Please feel free to keep them coming by emailing me at steve@bcib.com.au
Good bowling and see you next month!
Regards
Steve Glasson
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