SPOC Victorious in Battle at Beaumont

The annual SPOC V PAOC bowls match was held on February 15th at the Beaumont Bowling Club. What a delightful venue Beaumont is!?
The greens were magnificent & the atmosphere electric as red & blue old scholars gathered early to rekindle friendships & enjoy the welcome offered by the affable Beaumont President, Dave Thomas.

Dave, of course is a passionate Red & was wishing for a different result from last year at the old venue, the Adelaide Bowling Club.

PAOC Convenor, the Modbury stalwart, John Morris sat next to me with a forlorn look. Only hours earlier he had been dealt a huge blow when two of his teams pulled out! This cataclysmic event & the extraordinary number of Blues present meant we had to reorganise the draw.

It was decided two SPOC teams would play each other rather than calling one a Red team & the other a Blue. I knew the SPOC Red team wouldn’t really have their heart in it & that result would certainly have been a fait accompli!

Thankyou to Bill Bradshaw, Daniel Short & their teams for agreeing to our request. By all accounts they had an enjoyable game.

Games were underway on A & B greens at 7.30pm. Jackets were being donned left, right & centre as a cool breeze pervaded the greens.

But the competition was hot! As Oren Klemich, Andrew Sullivan & co sampled committee nibbles, their interest in the contest outside increased & there was no doubt the final result would come down to the wire!

The bell was rung at 9.20pm, allowing each game to be completed on their last end.

As the players, officials & guests all came together, I joined John & we shared a drink, waiting for the scorecards. Bianca Harms & Mary-Ann Standish kindly gathered us some bites from the scrumptious supper and we started counting.

A draw , it was a draw!!? Three Red wins, Three Blue wins & a thrilling draw in the game between the rinks of Dave Thomas & Rob Corpe. PAOC 75 shots, SPOC 75 shots.Perhaps a fitting result in our first game at Beaumont.. Do you belt out “Rick Rick, Rickety Dick”! when scores are tied ? There’s probably nothing wrong with that cos it beats the hell out of the Red song!!

But wait, John’s forlorn look had returned as he sadly declared an incorrect scorecard had been found.! The rink of Angus Murray, Charles Beresford, Nigel Gosse & James Badger,  while having a convincing win, had incorrectly written a final score of 10 rather than the correct one of 11 !! Thank goodness we weren’t playing golf!?

So the final scores were SPOC 76 shots PAOC 75 shots. The Blues had retained the coveted shield.

On behalf of all SPOC players, officials & guests, I say Thankyou to Dave Thomas and his team at the Beaumont Bowling Club. It all ran beautifully. The bar & catering staff were extremely efficient & it’s obvious Dave runs a good ship.

Thankyou also to Bianca Harms & Mary-Ann Standish. Their coordination & planning efficiency is first class.

To all SPOC players who attended, Thankyou for continuing to support this old scholar’s match. Win or lose, I believe it’s a great night. Please encourage any of your peers to think about playing. There is absolutely no limit on the amount of teams we have on the night. I liase with John quite a lot in the weeks preceding the big night. Had PAOC not lost 8 players on the day of the match, numbers would have been even.

This intriguing competition commenced in 1928, so we are edging towards a centenary! The sea of red on the shield shows an absolute domination over many years. Matching that with our glorious colours is not attainable,but we are well in front over recent years.

I am delighted to continue convening this event & look forward to even more interest in future years. Keep up the good work Blues!

Greg Twelftree (ATH 1968)