Sport
Shepparton Golf Bowls Club excited to debut Byers Electrical Invitational Pairs Classic
While the glitz and glamour of the Victorian Open departed the Goulburn Valley for the final time last month, Shepparton Golf Bowls Club is trying to recapture the magic with an exciting new initiative.
The Byers Electrical Invitational Pairs Classic, slated to take place from January 7 to 8, will see the best bowls players from across the state descend on Shepparton for two days of exciting competition.
Taking on a three-bowls pairs format, each team will play six games of 13 ends, with a total of 28 duos set to battle it out for glory.
A whopping $10,000 worth of prize money will be up for grabs, with the winning team to receive half of the pool and the rest divided up between second, third and fourth.
The brainchild of current Shepparton Golf coach Brett Foley and former mentor Brad Orr, the former explained how the idea to put on this tournament came about.
“We just thought with the area losing the Vic Open we should try to run a tournament and invite the best of the best from Victoria to compete,” Foley said.
“So through the connections of Brad (Orr) on the state side and myself with the Melbourne guys we put a bit of a list together and went from there.
“We’re hoping to get around 28 teams, at the moment we have 24 which is pretty good for the first year, and we’ve also reached out to some local businesses for some sponsorship which has been great.
“Preparations are going along very well and we are excited to see how it turns out.”
Foley said the opportunity to continue to promote bowls in the area was something that really drove him to get this idea off the ground.
“Obviously the council would be shattered to be losing the Vic Open, and although this isn’t the same, you never know, this might grow legs and become bigger with lots of other clubs joining in,” he said.
“At this moment this is just a Shepparton Golf tournament and our number one objective is to promote bowls in the region and give fans a chance to see the best of the best from Victoria go to work.
“Hopefully in time we can expand to bring the best of Australia, but for now we have to start somewhere.”
From a Shepparton Golf point of view, the tournament serves as a great fundraising opportunity, as it, along with all other sporting clubs across Australia, continues to recover from the pandemic.
“COVID-19 has been tough over the past couple of years, so this is going to be a great money earner for the club,” Foley said.
“The greens are running the best in the area so that will lead to players coming, we have the Shepparton Golf Club on board as well to provide a great function area to run alongside the tournament.
“I’m sure with how we’re running the tournament with the prize money and nice greens it will go on for many years to come and become bigger and better.”
Anybody is welcome to come down and watch the event, which runs all day on both Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8.