Wodonga Bowling Club has two national champions within its ranks.
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Kylie Whitehead (Champion of Champions singles) and Paul Davies (Men’s Senior Side Championships) have both had excellent years on the greens.
Whitehead completed an undefeated week at the Champion of Champions event at Hobart’s Kingborough Bowling Club earlier in the month, while Davies was part of the winning Victorian outfit at the Men’s Senior Side Championships on the Copper Coast in South Australia last week.
The Victorians finished with a 6-1 record, beating Tasmania 88-33 in their final game to clinch the title.
Each side consisted of three rinks, with four players on each team.
It was the first time Davies had been selected in the state side and he featured in the best performed rink of the entire tournament.
“I was rapt with that,” Davies said.
“It’s by far the best thing that has happened to me in sport.
“To represent your state at any level is a big thing.
“Hopefully I can keep going and get another trial with Victoria next year.”
Davies has had plenty of success on both sides of the Border, having won the Albury and District singles title when he was bowling at the Commercial Club.
In the Victorian system, he has taken out regional titles and been to the state playoffs at Bendigo for champions week on three occasions.
On top of that, Davies claimed the Victorian 60 and over singles in 2015 and backed up to win the 60 and over pairs with Bob Harbridge the following year.
He added it’s an exciting time to be involved in the sport.
“I think bowls is getting a lot more of a profile with events like the Commonwealth Games and a lot of live streaming,” he said.
Wodonga Bowling Club chairman Ray Beer admitted both Whitehead and Davies work incredibly hard.
“If you put the work in with bowls, you get the results,” Beer said.
“To have Kylie win (a national title) two years in a row is fantastic.
“They both skip in the top division in our A1 side and they’re both good club members.
“One of the most remarkable things about Kylie is she’ll often turn up on Sunday morning when you’ve got people who have never tried bowls before and play with them and help them to get started.
“That’s the sort of person she is.
“If you’ve got champions that have got that sort of mindset from a club point-of-view, I can only the see the club going from strength to strength.”
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