Powerhouse Zone 12 win U-25 Interzone competition
Promising young players from all pockets of Sydney, Illawarra and the Central Coast of NSW were on show at The Hills Bowling Club earlier this month for the annual U-25 Interzone Challenge.
Among the competitors were BCiB Australian Jackaroo Ellen Ryan, NSW Open representatives Mason Lewis, Billy Johnson, Dawn Hayman, Jamie-Lee Worsnop and Natalie Noronha, along with a host of current NSW U-25 State representatives.
In this event’s inaugural year, five Zones (5, 10, 12, 13 and 16) contested the trophy and not long after Zone 15 joined to give the players five quality games in one day and open the door for more young bowlers across the state to experience top-level competition.
The format in the Interzone Challenge is teams of nine contest three bowl pairs over 12 ends, two bowl triples over 12 ends, and fours over 10 ends with a time limit of 1 hour 20 minutes; the shortened format added to the excitement of the event.
After three games the competition was evenly poised with the host, Zone 10, taking a three-point lead over Zone 12; however, they were due to play each other in round four which would no doubt be the crunch game.
Zone 10 went into the match with plenty of confidence after defeating Zone 16, 5 and 13; however, it was evident by Zone 12’s strong start they had embraced being pre-tournament favourites.
Zone 12, which comprises of powerhouse clubs such as St Johns Park and Cabramatta got off to a flying start with their fours combination leading 5-1 after 4 ends and the triples were in front 9-5 after 6 ends.
Zone 12 continued to show their dominance for the remainder of the match and went on to secure victories in the fours and triples, and posting a draw in the pairs to win their test 5-1.
In the last round, Zone 12 were too good for Zone 5 wrapping up the victory with a comprehensive win.
Congratulations to the Zone 12 players, Ellen Ryan, Billy Johnson, Jamie Lee Worsnop, Dawn Hayman, Luke Grainger, Ethan Mills, Beau Prideaux and Jack Smith and well done to all involved in putting together a fantastic event for our sports brightest young stars to be involved in.
