December 3, 2012
Christmas will come early for Kilkivan Bowls Club members on Saturday when their new $200,000 synthetic playing surface is officially opened.
Local Member, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney, will be doing the honours.
Club President Randal Hewson said bowlers from all over the region had been invited to enjoy the opening day fanfare and take part in a special tournament.
“We are pleased with the response so far from our neighbouring clubs, however there is still room for other clubs to come and join us for this special day,” Mr Hewson said.
“We sought help from the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation’s Grant Angels to help us develop an application for a grant to replace our green.
“It did take a few attempts but the final result has meant that we can now play on the surface any time and basically the only maintenance is a good vacuum every week.”
Competition on the day will be a men’s fours format with $1500 in prize money.
The new green was completed in September so Kilkivan bowlers have been getting in a little practice ahead of the big day.
“There’s little doubt the synthetic surface played slowly to begin with but each week is gaining speed. It will be interesting to hear comments from other bowlers as to how they feel when they play on the surface,” Mr Hewson said.
Former Australian junior representative Aaron Hewson will be bringing a team back to his hometown for the opening day. Aaron’s father and mother are also stalwarts of the club with Ashley Hewson the Club Secretary and Helen co-ordinating the bar.
“We are all volunteers at the club and as much as we would like to have kept the grass, the cost of maintenance and the time to care-take the greens became a major factor,” Ashley said.
Funding for the Kilkivan Bowls Club’s synthetic surface was made available through the Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Program.
Any person or club interested in playing on the day can contact the Kilkivan Bowls Club on (07) 5484-1270.
[Photo: Kilkivan Bowls Club]
