LBIOM

Hot from their World Cup Singles event where both Clive and Bernice McGreal performed quite well in their respective sections with Clive winning 3 matches and losing out on a tie break no less than 4 times. Bernice notched up a few wins and took the Malaysian Emma Sarogi to another tie break before falling to the 2017 Champion of Champion silver medallist. It was a great event for our friends at Guernsey with Lucy Beere winning the Gold and defeating the previous champion Jo Edwards in a great semi final before polishing off the hosts Rebecca Van Ashe in a compelling finale.

With attention turning to the Commonwealth Games Clive and Bernice have travelled up to the a Sunshine Coast ahead of the main squad who arrive next week. After the floods and cyclone that has tormented Queensland in recent weeks the Manxies were greeted with 30 degrees heat and sunshine living up to the local name.

As part of the reciprocal programme linking the Isle of Man with the local community Clive and Bernice were invited to host a bowls coaching session for a number of the elite pupils from the Maroocherdore Primary School. With the support of the Maroochy Bowls Club the session was held on Friday 16th March in marvellous conditions where the students enjoyed a number of exercises introducing them to the basic skills of the game and were enthusiastic learners. It was a fun and enjoyable session for all the youngsters which attracted a good deal of media attention with a number of camera crews and presenters in attendance.

Bernice commented that the pupils were so fortunate to have such facilities available to introduce them to the sport and like their senior Australia internationals the appearance of younger players at the very top level of the game can only bode well for the future.

Very special mention and thank you must go to the Maroochy Bowls a Club and the Club Secretary at this great club, John Dunne. The hospitality and facilities made available to the Manx bowlers in preparation for the a Games has been first class. The club has granted free membership and access to all practice facilities and activities for the duration of their stay on the Sunshine Coast. Despite all the rain the greens are still running at 16-17 seconds (which is fast) and is designed to get quicker as the event draws near.

The Isle of Man team is based at the Twin Waters Resort which is also being used by Team Scotland as they make their own preparations for the Games.

The draw for the bowls events has been made with the Manx bowlers facing the very best of opposition in the sectional matches as they contest what will be their biggest ever challenge. Commonwealth Games Draw