BOWLS – LIAM DURKIN
WORLD champion bowlers Corey Wedlock, Gary Kelly and Barrie Lester shared their expertise at this year’s EnergyAustralia Classic Singles.
The trio used part of their trip to Newborough Bowls Club to generously offer their time to provide advice to a number of everyday bowlers taking part in the event.
After competing on Day 3 of the Classic, the professionals took part in a panel discussion inside the clubrooms.
The event, titled ‘Champions Dinner’ was held on Wednesday, January 3.
The pros mingled with the amateurs, sharing a meal before taking to the stage.
Lester, a six-time winner of the Newborough Classic, MC’d the night, and along with Wedlock and Kelly, recalled some great and equally funny moments from their careers.
Wedlock pointed to competing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as a highlight, where he rubbed shoulders with Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers in the athlete’s village.
Kelly brought his Northern Irish sense of humour with him, leading to no shortage of laughs from those in attendance.
Far from the perceived glitz and glamour of professional sport, Kelly said he once played in a bowls event that saw the ‘green’ being cut by a ride-on lawn mower moments before the start of play.
Fortunately, the greens at Newborough were much better, with the pros all commenting on their quality.
While his accent is still quite strong, Kelly can be counted as an Aussie. He moved here in 2018 and has since been made an Australian citizen.
Speaking of the mental approach to the game, Kelly said he played by the theory ‘if you can do it once, you can do it again’ when presented with a challenge on the green.
Lester went on to advice those gathered of the importance of knowing exactly what bowl to deliver before stepping onto the mat.
It was this clarity of mind that Lester said separated the good bowlers from the great bowlers.
Lester, who only recently retired from international duty, explained how the best bowlers are able to recover from a poor end during games, moving instantly from what is termed the ‘red zone’ (negative) into the blue zone (positive).
Now fully entrenched on the bowls speaking circuit, Lester added the Newborough Classic Singles was one of the most anticipated on the Australian bowls calendar.
