J Grey, Bowls Queensland, Media Release, 26 September 2021

The new State District Mixed Pairs champions had a long wait to be crowned after the 2020 event was cancelled due to Covid-19.

It was always going to be a tough challenge to take the title from the Gold Coast-Tweed District, after 2019’s winners mother-son pair of Jackie McWhinney and Dale McWhinney-Shillington replaced fellow district winners Dee Anne Robertson and Sean Ingham at the top of the leader board. Robertson and Ingham held the top spot for 2017 and 2018. Dee Anne Robertson was back this year, this time pairing with Chris Le Lievre. The question on everyone’s lips was, “would Gold Coast-Tweed take it for the fourth year running?”

Held at Coolum Beach Bowls Club on Saturday and Sunday, September 25-26, eight groups played rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the State District Mixed Pairs Finals, followed by the gold and bronze medal matches.

Round 1 went ahead with all bowls a blazing as Maree and Alby Gibbs from the Downs District proved their mettle in the opening round of the sectionals with a 25-15 win against Mackay District’s Karlie Burns and Rick Dunn. Not to be outmatched, Brisbane District’s Emma Spicer and Tom Blaszczyk defeated the Northwest Qld District’s pairing of Bev Peters and Peter Baker from Northwest Qld District 30-11.

Burnett District’s duo of Dianne Reed and Glen Yeates had a close call and defeated Gold Coast-Tweed’s Dee-Anne Robertson and Chris Le Lievre 24-23. Meanwhile, Port Curtis District’s Mark and Bronwyn Torrens fronted up after defeating Maranoa/Warrego District’s Jocelyn Haylock and William Taylor in another close call with a score of 25-23.

Round 2 saw pairs facing their next sectional opposing duos and there was nothing stopping Maree and Alby Gibbs with their victorious win against Bev Peters and Peter Baker 43-8. Meanwhile, Brisbane picked up their second win of the day after outplaying Mackay 31-12.

In the other section, Burnett reps completed their day with a close win against Maranoa/Warrego 21-18. The Gold Coast-Tweed pairing was unable to hold onto the lead against Port Curtis and were defeated 15-12.

Round 3 saw Mackay’s Karli Burns and Rick Dunn facing North West Queensland’s Bev Peters and Peter Baker and setting the pace upfront by gaining the first eight points in the game. Peters and Baker played well but couldn’t quite match the Mackay pair who won 18-16.  

Meanwhile Gold Coast-Tweed and Maranoa/Warrego were fairly evenly matched after a score of 4-6 six ends in, but Haylock and Taylor won in the end with a score of 23-20, dashing Gold Coast-Tweed’s hopes of winning for the fourth year. Port Curtis were thriving from the start, leading 11-2 against Burnett after just four ends and continued to thrive, winning 30-13. Downs led the game initially against Brisbane with 6-3 after four ends and it continued to be close, but it wasn’t Spicer and Blaszczyk’s game and the Gibbs duo defeated them with a close 26-24.

The gold medal final proved to be the match of the tournament with two married couples, Maree and Alby Gibbs (Downs) and Bronwyn and Mark Torrens (Port Curtis) vying for the gold medal. Downs quickly gained a 5-1 lead against their Port Curtis opponents while Alby continued to play well under pressure and converted well with his last bowl, turning shots around which helped put the pair on a positive footing to win the gold with a score of 23-11.

The momentum continued on the next rink with Emma Spicer and Tom Blaszczyk (Brisbane) up against Dianne Reed and Glen Yeates (Burnett) competing for the bronze. It was a blustery afternoon at Coolum but that didn’t deter the bronze competitors, both sides gave their all to win the medal but it was Brisbane that pushed forward to take the lead to defeat Burnett 24-12.

Scores:

Round 1

Section 1

Karlie Burns/Rick Dunn 15 def by Maree Gibbs/Alby Gibbs 25
Emma Spicer/Tom Blaszczyk 30 def Bev Peters/Peter Baker 11

Section 2

Dianne Reed/Glen Yeates 24 def Dee-Anne Robertson/Chris Le Lievre 23
Jocelyn Haylock/William Taylor 23 def by Mark Torrens/Bronwyn Torrens 25

Round 2

Section 1

Maree Gibbs/Alby Gibbs 43 def Bev Peters/Peter Baker 8
Karlie Burns/Rick Dunn 12 def by Emma Spicer/Tom Blaszczyk 31

Section 2

Dianne Reed/Glen Yeates 21 def Jocelyn Haylock/William Taylor 18
Dee-Anne Robertson/Chris Le Lievre 12 def by Mark Torrens/Bronwyn Torrens 15

Round 3

Section 1

Maree Gibbs/Alby Gibbs 26 def Emma Spicer/Tom Blaszczyk 24
Karlie Burns/Rick Dunn 18 def Bev Peters/Peter Baker 16

Section 2

Dianne Reed/Glen Yeates 13 def by Mark Torrens/Bronwyn Torrens 30
Dee-Anne Robertson/Chris Le Lievre 20 def by Jocelyn Haylock/William Taylor 23

FINALS

Gold Medal

Maree Gibbs/Alby Gibbs 23 def Mark Torrens/Bronwyn Torrens 11

Bronze Medal

Emma Spicer/Tom Blaszczyk 24 def Dianne Reed/Glen Yeates 12

You can watch live stream of the games by clicking here: https://www.bowlsqld.org/2021-state-district-mixed-pairs/

Thanks to sponsors Life Without Barriers and J Carroll Promotions. Also a big thank you to Coolum Beach Bowls Club for hosting the event.