THE KEN Howard Memorial Bowls Carnival at Nambucca Heads is always ‘massive’ – and this year, its 39th, there will be a whole new vibe.
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While golf and lawn bowls have long been characterised as staid – both are showing aptitude to move with the times.
A number of professional golf tournaments now have a ‘party hole’, and this year’s Ken Howard bowls tournament will also be more spectator friendly.
Driving the innovation is Nambucca Heads Bowling Club operations manager Paul Coulton, who hopes to achieve a carnival atmosphere greenside, with the bells and whistles to include an outside bar.
Tournament convener Ken Rostron said this year’s event would again run for four days over the June long weekend, with thousands of dollars in prize money.
The action will kick off on Friday, June 5, with the Roberts Nambucca Real Estate men’s two bowls Triples, with a field of 96.
The Geoff King Eastland Ken Howard Memorial men’s Fours has also attracted a capacity entry of 120 bowlers each day – with the qualifying rounds to be held on Saturday and Sunday, before the finals on the Monday.
Paul has arranged a bank of entertainment across the weekend, with a family buffet, raffles and Calcutta on the Friday night, and shows by Alison Forbes and Little Ripper Band on the Saturday and Sunday evenings respectively.
The Nambucca Strikers soccer club will put on breakfasts ($10 per person) at the Bowlo on the Saturday and Sunday, while there will be a complimentary breakfast for all bowlers on the Monday.
A prize pot of $10,000 will be in play for the Ken Howard Memorial, and Ken said there were a number of strong chances in the field.
He singled out:
* The Kempsey Heights team “will be very strong and they play on the same carpet as we have here in Nambucca Heads”
* The combined team from Port City and North Haven skipped by Greg Brims “will be hard to beat”
* The Steve Harris-skipped Tuncurry team “were runners up last year and I expect they’ll be a factor again this year”
* And Tony Urquhart will be the “local favourite”.
Ken said two other local bowlers on the rise, Dan Gilmore and Rhys Riddell, were the smokies for the title.
Play will get underway in the Roberts Nambucca Real Estate Triples from noon on the Friday, while the Geoff King Eastland Fours will start from 8.45am on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The wider community is encouraged to watch the bowls and attend the club events across the weekend, with the showcase games being the Fours semi-finals from 8.45am on the Monday and the grand final from 1pm.
Among the clubs contesting the Fours are: Nambucca, Chester Hill, Greenacre, Maitland, Cardiff, Blackhead, Dungog, Greta, Forestville RSL, Mona Vale, Inverell, Armidale City, Paradise Point, Edgeworth, Austral, Bondi, Tuncurry, St John’s Park, Ingleburn and Kempsey Heights.