By Chris Mitchell
THE Mildura Bowls Club May Carnival concluded at the weekend with the GCB Williams Classic Pairs.
The $5000 Classic was contested by 52 teams from all points of the compass.
Marion Bowls Club pair Ken Holtham (skipper) and Aldo Raponi defeated clubmates Phil Ryan and Ben Fidoch in their semi-final match up.
Somerton’s Scott Colvill and Lynton Modra took out the composite pair of Wayne Long (Whittlesea) and Wayne Gardner (Irymple) to set up a Marion-Somerton final.
The Marion duo combined well, proving a little too consistent for their Somerton opponents.
Fidoch and Ryan claimed third, and Gardner and Long fourth, while Jamie Forte and Darren Kerslake finished with 4.5 wins and 67 shots up to take out fifth.
A further highlight was the pairing of John Nicolai and Adrian Green scoring three eights over the event – two being scored in the last game of the tournament.
The pair skipped by P. Ginnivan also scored an eight in the first round of the Classic.
Earlier in the week, the Championship Pairs was played over three days, culminating with the top eight playing finals last Wednesday.
Pairs skipped by Lloyd Iaccarino (Brighton, Victoria), Mick Rhoden (Workers), Isaiah Bettess (Mildura) and Gerald Petersen were eliminated in the quarter-final.
Semi-finals eliminated Kym Jones (Mount Gambier) and Ron O’Neil (Mildura), making the final a contest of two Eaglehawk pairs, Ken Rusbridge and Wade Roberts against Peter Harrison and Tony Ellis.
The Harrison-Ellis combination took out the final 10-9 in an extremely high standard match. Kym Jones finished third and Ron O’Neil fourth.
The $6000 Rio Vista Championship Fours was contested over two days, with 26 teams plying for the honours.
Irymple’s Murray Fazulla (skipper), Tom Hogan, Matt West and Chris Madigan saluted the judge with 5.5 wins to claim the major prize.
In second place was a composite side skipped by Ian Brimblecombe (Wangaratta) Wayne Parks (Tweed Heads), Chris Mitchell and Janus Parks with 5 wins.
Visitors to the carnival commented on the excellent facilities and the standard of the greens.
Ken Holtham, a winner and a long-standing participant in the carnival over many years, said the greens were in the best condition he could remember, recognition for the club’s greenkeeper Shane Moritz.
