05-08-2025
Three's not a crowd on a bowls green
In bowls, three is not a crowd; it is instead a partnership to success.
Over the weekend of July 26 and 27, teams of three from various Lowveld bowling clubs competed in the Lowveld Trips Ladies' and Men's Competition.
Eight ladies' teams and 16 men's teams competed against each other for the trophies and the opportunity to play in the Mpumalanga trips competition to be held in Ermelo in September.
On a cool Saturday, 72 bowlers stepped onto the greens at Nelspruit Bowls Club and bowled it out over three rounds to make it to the semi-finals and finals held on a rainy Sunday.
Bowls turned from an individual performance event to a team event in which each bowl delivered affects the performance of the individuals in the team.
Each bowl sets up the next player's success and the outcome of each game. Bowlers from White River, LVCC, Barberton, Sabie, Lydenburg and Nelspruit battled against each other and teammates in a hotly contested event.
On Sunday there were only eight teams left. In the men's competition three semi-finalists came from Nelspruit Bowls Club and one from LVCC.
In the ladies' competition, of the teams who made it through to the semis, one was from Nelspruit, one from Barberton and two from White River.
All eight of these teams will now compete in the provincial championships in September.
The winners of the Lowveld Ladies' and Men's Trips were:
Ladies:
• 1st – Karien Greyvensteyn, Annette Stassen and Martie van Heerden (White River)
• 2nd – Joy Goodison, Angie Josten and Annemarie van der Merwe (White River)
• 3rd – Loraine Victor, Madaleine de Klerk and Diane Enslin (Nelspruit)
• 4th – Marie Saayman, Wilna du Plooy and Chevy van Wyk (Barberton).
Men:
• 1st – Danie Theron, Werner Gouws and Jimmy Smith (Nelspruit)
• 2nd – Deon Buys, Laurie Wiid and Hansie Schoeman (Nelspruit)
• 3rd – Ben Enslin, Rohan Greyvenstein and Kurt Strauss (Nelspruit)
• 4th – Greg Anderson, Riaan Lamprecht and Reagan Lamprecht (LVCC).
