Garfield hosts Christmas carnival

Garfield Bowling Club held its annual Christmas carnival of tournaments between Christmas and New Year.
The weather was hot, hot, hotter and hottest, not unusual for sunny Garfield, but nothing to stop the events from running.
The first event was the now regular starter for the carnival – a tournament for arm bowlers only.
With 10 teams entered, the day went ahead and was very successful. The format was two-bowl triples and the players enjoyed themselves very much as the weather cooperated with warmth and sunshine.
The winners of the day were the "In Fer A Penny" team of David Inifer, Gwen Scott and Peter Wills, all from Narre Warren. The runners-up were the "Sir Lancelot" team of Gary Johnson, Paul Bean and Lance Wearne from Phillip Island.
The second day's event used to be in the three-bowl pairs format, but has been changed to two-bowl triples this year, for which the club had 14 entries. Again, the weather was perfect.
The winners this day were "Simple Simon" team consisting of Simon Mallia from Narre Warren, Vincent Mancarella from Drouin Bowling Club and Ian Wallace from Narre Warren Bowling Club. The runners-up were "Ricochet" team, made up of John O'Shea from Garfield, John Majkut from Longwarry and Geoff Pumphrey from Garfield.
On the third day, Garfield lived up to its sunny reputation completely for the three-bowl triples event. A perfect day for bowls made for enjoyment all round.
The winners of the day were "Craig's Clan" team, made up of Ron Te Giffel, Dale Hendrick and Craig Cousin from Longwarry. Runners-up were local team "Charlie's Angels," skipped by Charlie Harris from Pakenham with help from Garfield newcomers Rob Matthews and Les Dawes.
The last day was for the Canadian pairs format, where the players take turns at leading and being skip in a fully team event.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite playing ball, with temperatures in the mid-30 degrees range (requiring significant use of the ample shelters to protect players from the sunshine). Nonetheless, the day was successfully completed.
The winners on this day were the "Simple Simon" team of Vincent Mancarella from Drouin and Simon Mallia from Narre Warren. The runners-up were now-regular player Debbie Dunkley from Numurkah, with Michael Black from Narre Warren in team "The Basketballer."
A very successful carnival, with a lot of people doing a lot of smiling and laughing, which is the best possible indicator that things went well.
The return, time after time, by teams from far away and nearby, shows how much people appreciate what is being done at Garfield.
The club offered a huge thank you to all the Garfield members who made the events run smoothly and without whom they couldn't run at all, and a special mention to their new tournament director John O'Shea.