Important Dates

Archives - Zone 15 History

Condensed History ofBOWLS CENTRAL COAST



FORMERLY  KNOWN AS
Central Coast District Bowling Association 1960 -2009
Brisbane Waters District Bowling Association 1945 -1960

Opening of the Davistown Clubhouse - July 21st 1979
 Condensed History of 
BOWLS CENTRAL COAST

In the Beginning……….. 

  • Brisbane Waters District Bowling Association (BWDBA) was the first association to administer bowls on the CentralCoast. It was formed in 1945 by the affiliation of the then four bowling clubs established and playing in the area: - Wyong B C affiliated with the RNSWBA in 1912, Woy Woy B C affiliated in 1933 and officially opened in 1934, Gosford B C 1939 and The Entrance B C 1944.The foundation office-bearers of the BWDBA were Patron H G Margin Woy Woy, President Gersch Baker (father of Mick who later represented NSW) Wyong, Secretary Ted Buchan Gosford, and Treasurer Clair Snowden Gosford
  • The Association’s role was to conduct the pennant competitions, district championships, inter-district fixtures and matters relating to the game in the district generally, as well as acting as a link between local clubs and the Royal New South Wales Bowling Association (RNSWBA). As a District, Brisbane Waters was part of Zone 6 which geographically took in Maitland and the Hunter. Terrigal was the fifth bowling club to be affiliated in 1950
  • Although records are not available, it is known that The Entrance was the most successful of these clubs in those formative years from 1945 to 1950. At first the pennant competition was confined to two grades, the A or Blue (now No 1) and the “B” or Red (now No 2). The No 3 and No 4 Grades were subsequently introduced in 1957 and 1959 respectively
  • Over the years, Gosford members played a particularly prominent role in the work of the District and those who served in an official capacity were Patron Jack Gibson (3 terms), President Jack Gibson (5), Dave Pratt (6) Lloyd Gallagher (3), Jack Pateman (8), Secretary Ted Buchan (6), Dave Pratt (2), Bill McDougall and George Evans, Treasurer Clair Snowden (3) Dave Pratt (3),John Dickenson, Lloyd Gallagher, Bruce Berg (7) Ross Cummings (3) and Bill Ghersi (3). An impressive band of people from just one club
  • Throughout the 50’s the game continued to grow in popularity and a number of new clubs were progressively affiliated. Tuggerah Lakes Memorial 1956, Toukley District 1957, Everglades Country Club 1957, Gosford Agriculture and Citrus (A&C) 1958, Mt Penang 1958 and disbanded 1965, UminaBeach 1959 and Toukley RSL (Upper Tuggerah Lakes RSL) also 1959 
  • In 1959 Brisbane Waters DBA hosted the inaugural Open Bowls Tournament in which Singles, Pairs and Fours championships were contested. This event grew in popularity and was later called the Central Coast May Bowls Carnival and in some years the total number of entries in the three divisions exceeded 1,500. Because of its central location the Gosford B C was always the headquarters for the organizing committee and unless there were special circumstances the finals were always played at Gosford. A programme from 1961 listed lunch and afternoon tea for six shillings with play ceasing promptly at 5pm. The history of this carnival history spans more than 25 years and in line with Gosford’s dominance during this era many Gosford players won the various divisions and are listed in the Gosford 50 year history 1932 -1982

The Gosford Years 1960 -70’s…………… 

  • Early in 1960, because of the extensive geographical area now under its control, the name was changed to the Central Coast District Bowling Association (CCDBA). The motif of the Association’s badge was a close-up of a sailing craft on Brisbane Waters surrounded by verdant headlands and LionIsland unmistakably in distant BrokenBay
  • The first meeting of the Association under its new name was held at the Gosford Bowling Club on Friday July 15 1960. The officials at that meeting were PatronSpencer Spring Wyong, President Dave Pratt Gosford, Acting Secretary Fred Gately Gosford for Secretary George Carroll Wyong, Treasurer Bruce Berg Gosford. Meetings were held regularly at Gosford Bowling Club until 1981 when they were relocated to the more central location of Tuggerah Lakes Memorial Club. Bowling Clubs continued to pop up around the district and the sport was “on a roll” to coin a phrase. Additional clubs to progressively affiliate with CCDBA were:-Avoca Beach, Dangar Island and Wyong RSL 1960, Halekulani, Ettalong Memorial, Ourimbah Lisarow RSL, Central Mangrove 1961, Bateau Bay, Gwandalan, Doyalson Wyee RSL 1964, Munmorah United 1971, Davistown RSL 1973, Mooney Mooney Workers 1974, Central Coast Leagues 1975 played 3’s & 4’s pennants, Mingara 1977 and Cencomas 1980 a social bowling  group of the Central Coast Masonic Club
  • Competition play throughout the 1960’s and 70’s was dominated by Gosford City B C winning the  CCDBA No 1 pennant 19 years in succession. The “run” could easily have been 22 consecutive years as the club won the title in 1957 and 1958 but in 1959 lost competition points and the pennant on a technicality. During this period they won two State pennants, (1977 and 1978) and were runners-up in 1969 and 1975. On no less than four occasions, Gosford has won three or more district pennants in the same season - an astonishing performance. They won four grades in 1961 and 1968, the three top grades in 1965 and 1975 and on twelve occasions they achieved the quinella of winning the No1 and No 2 pennants in the one year. At Zone 6 level, Gosford won the No 1 pennant 12 times, the No 2 pennant 7 times and the No 3 grade 4 times.  One of their outstanding pennant players during this period was Jack McInerney who played in every No 1 side from 1958. Their players were equally dominant in the District championship events winning twenty eight (28) Singles, twenty six (26) Pairs, fifteen (15) Triples and twenty five (25) Fours titles. However, despite their outstanding success Ourimbah Lisarow RSL claimed the honor of being the first Central Coast club to win a State pennant flag. It was the No 4 pennant grade in 1974. A bragging right that Ourimbah Lisarow bowlers have never forgotten                                                                                                                  
  • One of the great contributors to Gosford’s amazing success on the green was the legendary Joe Haggerty who transferred to Gosford as a school teacher and continued to play golf until 1960 when, at the age of 47, he changed to bowls. From there on in, his success on the greens was the talk of the town, winning the CCDBA and Zone 6 Singles in just his second year of playing bowls. He went on to win the CCDBA Singles five (5) times 1962, 67, 71, 72, 79, Triples 3 times 1969,72, 76, Fours 6 times 1962,63, 67, 70, 73, 75. He represented NSW 50 times, 29 as a lead, 3 as a second, and 18 times as a skip. From 1968 he wrote about the game of bowls for various publications using the nom deplume “the Gray G” (an anagram for Haggerty). This soon became the “The Grey Ghost” and it is by this nickname that he became widely known. In 1980 he wrote a book “Bowls The Haggerty Way’ which contains many of his original ideas on the game particularly regarding the use of aggression as well as numerous anecdotes that make it a most instructive and entertaining read for the bowls enthusiast. It’s  well worth searching the local library shelves or looking through the cupboards in the office of your local bowling club for a copy as it is no longer in print    

The Entrance Years 1980-1990……………….                                                                                                                                

  • After their outstanding string of triumphs the Gosford bubble was finally burst in 1979 by The Entrance, their first success in the No 1 grade for more than a quarter of a century. They also won the No 3 grade in the same year. Gosford re-gained the No 1 title in 1980 but the pendulum of supremacy was now swinging backwards and forwards between Gosford and The Entrance. 1981 proved a bonanza for The Entrance winning the three top grades with the No 3 side going right through to win the state flag.  Whilst Grade 5 (1964) and Grade 6 (1966) had been added to the CCDBA pennant competition, only the first four grades were recognized by the RNSWBA up until 1981. Grade 5 became a State event in 1982 and Grades 6 and 7 had to wait until 1995 before they were classified as State events                                                                                                                             
  • The CCDBA officials in 1981 were: - Patron Edgar Wood Wyong, President Stan Butcher Ettalong Memorial, Secretary Kevin Claxton Gosford A&C, Treasurer Bill Ghersi  Dangar Island.  By 1982 there was a total of 27 clubs affiliated with CCDBA with six grades of pennant competition being conducted. ArthurCliffordGosfordCity became CCDBA Secretary as well as Chairman of Selectors in the same year                                                                               
  • But the 1980’s and 1990’s ultimately belonged to The Entrance who won an astonishing 32 pennant flags across all the grades; - No 1 10 times, No 2 - 6. No 3 - 8, No 4 - 5, No 5 - 2, No 6 - 1  Some of The Entrance identities from this era were Cec Liddell, Dick Wain, Phil Flippence and Neville Peterson 
  • The membership growth at club level throughout the 1960’s and 70’s had been amazing and by 1981 the largest clubs were The Entrance 800 members, Bateau Bay, Woy Woy, Ettalong Memorial, Tuggerah Lakes Memorial all around 700, Halekulani, Toukley  District, and Umina Beach 600. Gosford was an exception having dropped from 512 in 1961 to approximately 300 by 1981. Green space was at a premium and many of the established clubs had already extended or built new club houses and put in extra greens to accommodate this extraordinary growth in membership. The lighting of greens was another innovation in order to provide extra hours of play. It was common practice in most clubs for bowlers to finish their game and immediately register their name for a game the following week, otherwise they would miss out. A far cry from what we experience today. Central Coast bowlers welcomed a change in the rigid dress code at State level in 1981 with shorts and long socks being allowed. It may not have been the prettiest of sights with those ageing nobbly knees exposed but it provided some relief to playing on a hot summer afternoon
  • Terrigal Memorial Country Club Bowling Club was founded in 1984 and joined the Grade 5 pennant competition in 1985. The similarity in names between Terrigal B C and Terrigal Memorial Country Club B C caused confusion within bowling circles so Terrigal Memorial Country Club B C was granted permission in 1987 to change its name to Wamberal B C which better reflected its geographical location.   Norah Head B C joined the district in 1987                                                              
  • In 1985 RNSWBA permitted males less than 18 to become juniors and State Junior Singles and Pairs championships were conducted for the first time in that year.  Wyong’s Greg Davidson is accredited with three years of hard work working with the Juniors in the Secretary’s Report  in the 1988-89 Annual Report, only to be let down by the State Finals debacle at Dubbo which remains an intriguing mystery. Mark Johnston was acknowledged as the winner of the Junior Singles and Shane Garvey and Graham Maier the Junior Pairs for that year
  •  Sponsorship had emerged as an important means of raising funds for major events and the ANZ came on board with $1,000 in 1988-89 to complement ongoing support from Australian Pacific Tours and Edgar Wood in sponsoring the District Championships
  • Secretary Frank Bradley described 1989 in the Annual Report as the year of “Rain and Chaos,” but no mention of climate change
  • A Coaching panel was formed during 1989-90 under the stewardship of H Butler Chairman and R Desgrand Secretary/Treasurer.  Butler remained chairman for three years whilst A Pollock became Secretary / Treasurer in 1990-91 followed by F Smyth in 1991-92
  • Membership numbers seemed to peak from around the mid 1980’s and by 1988 alarm bells were ringing as the downward membership spiral was well underway.  Supporting Attachment No1 illustrates the dramatic membership decline over the past 25 years from 8,364 in 1987-88 to 4,029 in 2013 and still trending down

Towards becoming a Zone


  • The thrust for CCDBA to become a free-standing Zone officially began in 1990 with a submission to a Special Meeting of RNSWBA after which a working committee was formed
  • Match Committee introduced Saturday and Sunday morning play in 1990 for Zone championship events.
  • 1990 was also the start of a new era in bowls with the approval by the Royal of colored clothing and the subsequent introduction of narrower biased and colored bowls. The traditional and staid bowls industry was brought alive by the proactive marketing and intense competition in support of these innovations. The underlying objective was to re-stimulate interest and growth back into the sport   
  • The Annual General Report of 1991 shows that Pennants were played in North / South sections across all seven grades
  • Wal Rainbow was President of CCDBA (1991-94) at the time the RNSWBA introduced the “Bowler of the Year “and he was quick to respond by introducing the Central Coast “Bowler of the Year” award in 1991 with Brett Pritchard being named the inaugural winner. The Wal Rainbow Perpetual Shield was subsequently introduced to commemorate Wal’s initiative in introducing this award. Multiple award winners have been :- Brett Pritchard 1991, 93, 98, George Dawes 1995,2000, Phil Flippence 1997, 2009, John Roberts 2001, 02, Aron Sherriff  2003, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12      
  • 1992 was extremely eventful with the Pennant competition being restructured from four teams per side to three and the wearing of colored shirts at District level finally resolved
  • Wal Rainbow was the driving force in the establishment of the District Junior Bowls Clinic in 1992 with Russell Whitcher Gosford RSL (previously known as A & C) as its President and Kathy Chattilon Avoca Beach Secretary. They received a grant of $2,000 from the District to help them get started.  There was a small but vocal minority group of men and women bowlers who were against its formation. Some junior bowlers from this era were Robbie McNab, Scott Dalton and Justin Kinross. Whitcher was President for three years during which time they travelled to many country areas during school holiday periods in the train to participate in junior tournaments. Throughout this period Gosford RSL was considered the home club of the junior association
  • The Coaching Panel became known as the CoachingAcademy in 1994 with R Williams Chairman and P Foster Secretary                                             
  • The RNSWBA introduced the Inter-Zone Sides Championship in 1994 to provide the top 16 players (4 teams of 4) from each Zone to come together to determine the best Zone in the state.  This has become one of the prestige side events on the bowling calendar and it is a great honor for any player to represent his zone. The Central Coast can boast wins in 1996 and 2006                                                             

Coming of Age as a Zone…………………

  • In 1995 the RNSWBA underwent a major re-organization and Zone boundaries were revised with the number of Zones being increased from 10 to 16 with each Zone being represented by a State Councillor as a member of the State board. The CCDBA became Zone 15, a free-standing Zone in its own right mainly defined by the GosfordCity and Wyong shire council boundaries. The Central Coast had become of age and was no longer a District of Zone 6
  •  The inaugural office- bearers of CCDBA- Zone 15 incorporated were: - Patron Edgar Wood, President Arthur Hutchinson, Senior VP Alan Johnson , Secretary Kevin Lovelock, Treasurer Alan Pollock, Vice Presidents Frank Bradley, Doug Hawkins, Albert Heath, Alf Jeffress, State Councillor Wal Rainbow and Publicity Officer Ron Keyes
  • The Zone had not only come of age in an administration sense but it won its first State Inter-Zone Sides Championship in 1996. The side was:- Keith Downey, Alec Wassens, Shane Garvey, George Dawes, Dan McNeilly, Geoff Crisp, Brett Pritchard, Dave Arnoult, Charlie Robinson, Geoff Bailey, Phil Flippence, Brendon Knight, Ray Vetter, Peter Frearson, Dave Buttery and Col Bray.
  • The prestige Pat Geary Trophy commenced in 1999 and has grown in stature over the years. It is played as a round-robin sides tournament (6 teams x 4), between the neighboring Zones of Newcastle (Zone 2), Hunter/Manning (Zone 6), Mid North Coast (Zone 14) and the Central Coast (Zone 15). The trophy was named after William Patrick Geary, a devoted Bowls Administrator from Zone 14 and the Sawtell and West Coffs Bowling Clubs. All the zones treat the Pat Geary as an important forerunner to selecting their respective sides for the State Inter- Zone Sides Championships. Since its inception the Central Coast - Zone 15 has been victorious in 2002, 03, 04 and 12
  • It was reported in the 1998-99 Annual Report that Zone 15 had become the second largest Zone in the State
  • Zone 15 hosted the 1999 State Inter-Zone Sides Championship and for the first time in its history all sixteen zones competed. The host clubs where The Entrance and BateauBay
  • A new elite competition known as Premier League was introduced in 1999 with two Central Coast clubs in The Entrance and Ettalong Memorial participating. The competition was conducted independent of Pennants and attracted regional television promotion. It was extremely costly to participate with extensive travel to all parts of the state. Whilst the competition was strong it created an elite group within the participating clubs and members were not fully supportive of the extreme costs involved. It was more divisive than it was building a club spirit. Both clubs only participated for two years. Ettalong hosted the final of Premier League in 2001 with Cabramatta taking out the title over Beresfield
  • With membership getting progressively older across the Zone, Club and Zone Administrator Alan Pollock from GosfordCity was a great proponent for the introduction of a senior’s competition. Alan’s persistence was finally rewarded in 1999 with the introduction of Zone Singles and Pairs Championship for those 65 years and over. It was rather ironical that Alan was the winner of the inaugural Singles and teamed with E S Clark of GosfordCity to also win the Pairs. The senior championships were most successful and they subsequently became a popular State event in 2005 with a modification to the age qualification back to 60 years and over

The beginning of a new era

  • John Peek was Secretary (2000-2006) before becoming President (2006-2008). It heralded a new era in bowls administration for the Zone, as John was a proactive and entrepreneurial administrator and challenged the traditional way of doing things. One of his early achievements was to gain a Commonwealth government grant of $2,300 for the “Year of the Volunteer” (2001) which funded a special day at BateauBay in recognition of the Zone’s many long-standing volunteers. Another innovation was the introduction of a major zone sponsor to help underpin the financial stability of the Zone. The first such sponsor was Coast Loans /Newcastle Permanent Building Society 2001-2004. Canterbury Bulldogs who took over Bateau Bay B C became the major sponsor from 2005-12 with Ettalong Memorial B C taking over this valued role in 2013. Colored shirts for representative players and members of the Executive provided Zone 15 with a new identity and we became the envy of many other zones. John fostered strong relationships with the RNSWBA and other Zone Administrators and we were seen by many as one of the most progressive Zones
  • Wal Rainbow former District President, State Councilor and at the time Patron had a background in marketing and was seen as an ideas person. For some time in the early part of 2002-03 Wal pushed the concept of a Player /Pennant Grading System to stop clubs from stacking their lower grade sides and gaining an unfair advantage. The concept had merit and it generated a number of meetings with Clubs and a player grading system was trialed within the Zone in 2003 and 2004. State Match Committee became interested and in 2005 a player grading system was introduced  as part of the State Conditions of Play
  •  Halekulani successfully hosted the Australian Junior Championships on behalf of Bowls Australia from 2003 to 2009
  • Zone capitation fees were increased in March 2003 from $6.50 to $8.00 but are still amongst the lowest in the state
  • Looking to add variety to the bowls calendar, a midweek Triples competition was established in 2004. The inaugural winners were A Grade Ettalong Memorial, B Grade Munmorah United and C Grade Ourimbah Lisarow RSL. This competition has only met with limited success, with some clubs reluctant to participate because it would interfere with their social bowls programme
  • For more than 30 years Central Coast bowlers had been kept abreast of bowls results and news through a dedicated magazine known as Central Coast Bowler published by Gardiner Publications who also published a community sports paper and later a senior’s newspaper. The CCDBA Publicity Officer played an important role in the gathering of bowls information and the writing of articles for the magazine. Early history of the magazine remains rather dim but Ron Keyes from BateauBay was the Publicity Officer at the time the District became the Zone in 1995 and Paul Callaghan, a local journalist and bowler at The Entrance, then took over until 2002. Kevin Dring from Wamberal B C was appointed Publicity Officer in 2002. Kevin took the magazine to a new level and was responsible for the introduction of special feature stories on local bowling identities.  By 2004 Gardiners was struggling to gain sufficient advertisers to justify a freestanding magazine and bowls news was relegated to a section of their “Seniors Over 50’s” newspaper which wasn’t a satisfactory solution. In 2005 the Zone withdrew its publishing rights and through Kevin Dring appointed Ducks Crossing Publications. Their first monthly magazine was released as Coast BOWLS NEWS in December 2005 with Kevin Dring as Editor. It proved extremely popular and it was also embraced by the ladies clubs who were strong contributors. Bob Penson became Publicity Officer in 2007-08 and his writing style added an entertaining flair to the magazine. The magazine was upgraded to a glossy cover in November 2009 and re-titled BOWLSNEWSCentral Coast incorporating the new Bowls Central Coast logo design. By March 2011 the advertising revenue was not covering the overheads and it was agreed to cease publication. Bowls articles were once again relegated to a free local newspaper published by Ducks Crossing known as “Grandstand” which ultimately ceased publication in December  2013
  • In 2006 BCC-Zone 15 won its second StateInter-Zone title at Warilla. The side was :-Paul Williams, Barry Harris, Phil Flippence, Aron Sherriff (skip), Shane White, Alan Breakwell, Lindsay Willding, Michael Stead (skip), Hemi Palmer, Rod Rewko, John Roberts, Dick Thornton (skip) Mitch Larkin, Tony Laguzza, Bruce Jewell, Pat Reynolds (skip) and  Ray Vetter Chairman of Selectors
  • Zone 15 won the inaugural NSW State Seniors Sides Championship in 2007. The side wasKen Hope, Allan Olsen, Frank Oxford, Dick Love (skip) Dave Arnoult, Tony Swaine, Alan Breakwell, Lindsay Willding (skip), Arnold Cooney, Fred Dawson, Lindsay Adamson, Dick Thornton (skip) Reserve Bill Steed and  Team Manager Ray Vetter
  • For the second year in a row Zone 15 won the NSW State Seniors Sides Championship in 2008. The side was  Ken Hope, Lindsay Adamson, Dick Love Phil Flippence (skip), John Edwards, Bill Steed, Kevin Bowcock, Dick Thornton (skip),Dave Arnoult, Tony Swaine, Alan Breakwell, Lindsay Willding (skip) and Team Manager Ray Vetter
  • The Central Coast Academy of Sport adopted lawn bowls into its 2008 programme by offering scholarships to two squads, the U/18 and U/25
  • During this period Secretary Ed Radford (2008-11) worked meticulously with the clubs to become the first Zone to establish electronic mail as its primary source of communications with clubs
  • Around the same period of time, Doug Rose who had joined the executive as a Vice President in 2007, had taken on an IT role and was working with an outside consultant, the Bean Farm, to build a professional Zone Web site. The new Web Site was launched in 2008 and again Bowls Central Coast was one of the first Zones to have its own web site. Geoff Graham became the IT Advisor and Web Site Manager in 2010 and progressively expanded its scope and content with pennant results and a progressive points table being posted before 7pm on the day of play
  • The association name was changed from Central Coast District Bowling Association to the shorter and more descriptive Bowls Central Coast-Zone and was registered as such in November 2009 with the Dept of Fair Trading.  A new and distinctive logo was developed by Graphic Designer Justin Stanley at Duck Crossing Publications. The new logo was progressively adopted on letterhead, clothing, pennant flags and promotional materials
  • Men’s and Ladies Associations joined together in 2009 to conduct a main media membership drive on NBN 3. It was initiated by President Kevin Dring. Certainly a first for the Zone and maybe the sport. A promotional DVD was also produced for clubs to use on their in-house big screens. A car sticker featuring “Grab life by the Bowls’ was also extensively used by clubs throughout the Zone
  • The Zone 15 President Reserve Fours was introduced in 2010 as a non State association event.
  • “Scroll,” a programme for clubs to print pennant team sheets, scorecards and monitor player gradings was successfully introduced by Geoff Graham in 2010 to simplify the pennant paperwork at Club and Zone level and is still in use today
  • Aron Sherriff represented Australia at Delhi in the 2010 Commonwealth Games
  • Kevin Dring a former Marketing Manager in his professional career was responsible for a number of initiatives whilst a member of the Executive and as President. The establishment of the Wal Rainbow Shield, mid week Triples, recruitment campaigns, re-instating the Bowls Magazine and subsequently the newsletter and perhaps above all, the re-naming and re-badging of the Zone in 2009 to better reflect its freestanding status as a Zone
  • The Veteran Singles and Pairs were introduced as non State association events in 2010, initially 75 years + and subsequently reduced to 70 years and over
  • New Zone Merit Badges recognizing 5, 10 and 20 year service were introduced in 2011
  • The Men’s and Ladies Coaching committees were merged as a joint committee in 2011 chaired by David Cameron with Deputy Chairperson Norma Barry
  • In 2011 Aron Sherriff became the first Zone bowler to achieve the Zone 15 “Grand Slam” winning the Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours championship titles in the same year
  • RNSWBA adopted a new constitution on the 15th December 2011 with a new corporate type structure of 6 elected Directors, an elected Finance Director and up to 3 appointed Directors. State Councilors were no longer members of the board and became an advisory council of 16 members. A new BCC-Zone 15 Constitution was to follow along with supporting Regulations. It was adopted in 2014
  • 2011 was the last year that State Pennant Finals were allocated to Zones on a rotational roster system and  was replaced by the introduction of a hosting fee with clubs making application to RNSWBA to become a host club for State Pennant Finals
  • Wyong B C celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2012
  • A new Zone newsletter titled “Around the Greens on the Central Coast” was initiated by Kevin Dring in his capacity as Publicity Officer in Oct - Nov 2013
  • Zone 15 joined the 2014 Quadrangular Challenge series for the first time against Newcastle (Zone 2), Illawarra (Zone16) and the ACT and was hosted by The Entrance. Central Coast (Zone 15) won the event in its inaugural year
  • Over its 70 year history the Zone has produced some outstanding players. A list of multiple District and Zone championship winners is set out in “Supporting Attachment No 2.” Aron Sherriff (Born 28/10/85) who started bowls at the age of 10 is a standout, taking all before him as a junior and going on to represent Australia, NSW and the Zone in open competition. His International, Australian, State and Zone record is unrivalled by someone so young and is still in the making. A complete list of his outstanding achievements is also available on the Central Coast Web Site under Profiles
  • Over the years our sport has been administered at Club, District and Zone level by dedicated volunteers with a wide variety of professional skills and experience. A list of office bearers since our inception as a Zone in 1995 is attached. A complete master list can be found on the Bowls Central Coast Web Site under Honour Roll / Past Office Bearers. Some of those  Central Coast administrators lucky enough to receive special recognition for their outstanding   services to the sport of lawn bowls have been:- 
Geoff Graham Bateau Bay B C: - BCC Web Site Manager  & IT Advisor (2010 -     ) 
Bowls NSW 2012 Volunteer Awards - Outstanding Individual Volunteer Innovation

Kevin Dring Wamberal B C – Publicity Officer (2002-03 to 2006-07)
RNSWBA John Young Award of Appreciation - Media contribution to sport of lawn bowls 2003

Alan Johnson Ettalong Memorial B C: - RNSWBA Treasurer 1995-96 CCDBA President 1997-2000
Awarded Order of Australia Medal 2010 - for services to lawn bowls

Jim McCreadie Wamberal B C:- Wamberal Bowls Coordinator (2002 – 2012)
Bowls NSW 2012 Volunteer Awards – Club Administrator of the Year 

Jack McInerney  Gosford City B C : - Awarded Australian Sports Medal 2000 for services to lawn bowls

Frank Pengelly    Everglades B C: -   Awarded Order of Australia 1998 for services to sport and lawn bowls primarily in the Port Hacking District. 

Alan Pollock Gosford City: - CCDBA Treasurer 1994 - 98 State Councilor 1998-2001 Patron 2010-
Awarded Australian Sports Medal 2000 and OAM 2007 - for services to lawn bowls.

Wal Rainbow Umina Beach B C: - CCDBA President 1991-94 State Councilor 1995-97, Patron 1997 -2009. Awarded Australian Sports Medal (ASM) 2000 - for services to lawn bowls.

John Roberts Ettalong Memorial B C: - 2012 RNSWBA Coach of the Year

Doug Rose Ettalong Memorial B C:-  BCC Vice President (2007-10)State Councillor (2010-2012)
Secretary (2011 -     ):- Central Coast Volunteer of the Year 2012

Roy Ray Tuggerah Lakes:-  Awarded Australian Sports Medal 2000 - for services to lawn bowls

Reg Richardson Ettalong Memorial B C: -  Club Director, CCDBA Match Committee (2008-        ) 
Bowls NSW 2011 - Senior Club Personality of the Year

Aron Sherriff Ettalong Memorial B C: -
Bowls Australia International Bowler of the Year 2011 & 2012
RNSWBA Bowler of the Year 2005, 2007, 2011
                                                                                           
Over the past 25 years significant demographic, social and legislative changes (poker machine taxes, smoking prohibition) coupled with declining membership has severely impacted upon the profitability of the club industry especially the smaller bowling clubs across the state. Being a retirement catchment Zone it may not
have impacted upon on our clubs as much as some others, however there has been a significant number of changes  in the profile and management of our clubs over the past 20 years such as club closures, take-overs  and name changes for marketing purposes

  1. Gosford A & C B C taken over by Gosford RSL in 1987 and subsequently closed in 1995
  2. Central Mangrove B C closed 1996
  3. Wyong B C taken over by Wyong Rugby League 2003
  4. Cencomas was a social sporting club of the Central Coast Masonic Club which was ultimately taken over by the Wyong Rugby League Club around 2000 and traded as WallarahBay. When the Wyong Rugby Leagues Club took over the Wyong B C in 2003 Wyong became the home club of Cencomas and it was renamed the Bay Bowlers. It has become the largest independent social bowling combination on the Central Coast with a membership in excess of 200
  5. Bateau Bay B C was a four green club at the time it underwent a major rebuild in 2003-04 and was the largest club on the Coast, indeed the southern hemisphere. The new clubhouse took up one of the greens which was to be reinstated upon completion of the clubhouse but  financial difficulties saw Canterbury Leagues  take over the club in 2005 and the fourth green  was lost forever
  6. Dangar Island affiliation lapsed due to insufficient members 2007. Re-affiliated with RNSWBA and transferred to Zone 9 2010
  7. Tuggerah Lakes B C renamed diggers@theentrance 2007
  8. Mooney Mooney B C taken over by Revesby Workers Club 2004
  9. Umina Beach B C taken over by Merrylands RSL 2006
  10. Toukley District B C taken over by Wyong Rugby League 2008
  11. Avoca Beach B C taken over Wyong Rugby League2012
  12. Doyalson Wyee B C closed 2013
  13. Wamberal B C renamed Breakers B C Wamberal as an intra sporting Club of Breakers Country Club 2013

 Author Kevin Dring : Ph 4365 1867 Email kdring@aapt.net.au

Reference Sources: -
RNSWBA  Royal Anniversary 125 Years
Gosford City 50 Year History 1932-82
CCDBA Annual Reports 1989 - 2013
Bowls Central Coast Web Site   

Supporting Attachment No 1
History CCDBA – Zone 15

Membership Trends
  1989  1992  1995  1998  2001  2004  2007  2010  2013
Avoca Beach  307  308  336  289  298  326   288  257  201
Bateau Bay  801  821  749  604  563  560  418  342  294
Dangar Island   61   38   36   30   17    7    9    -    -
Davistown RSL  164  125  126  144  141  145  145  162  155
Doyalson Wyee   51   45   39    67   52   52   47   36    -
Ettalong  703  646  665  629  521  401  338  362  351
Everglades  281  278  275  259  213  235  231  191  148
Gosford City  252  293  387  349  237  231  233  178  187
Gosford RSL  322  293       
Gwandalan  303  236  181  173  146  148  160  187  179
Halekulani  653  658  580  510  487  419  418  342  307
Mangrove Mountain   16   16       
Mingara   94  120  108   92   84   99   97  100   87
Mooney Mooney   54   55   47   42   24   22   20   15   41
Morisset      77   85   84   87   71   84
Munmorah  386  190  228  205  211  197  185  184  157
Norah Head   50   61   79   49   61   86   77   54   39
Ourimbah Liearow   68   70   88  108  136  126  129  118  132
Terrigal  452  412  448  367  294  268  231  239  234
The Entrance  594  515  559  404  328  276  292  251  223
Toukley District  412  390  404  365  297  315  318  257  220
Toukley RSL  270  298  247  180  149  133  126  144  142
Tuggerah Lakes  490  451  358  192  149  142  147   95  111
Umina Beach  557  542  502  396  411  433  331  255  251
Wamberal  161  147  171  155  209  170  185  130  130
Woy Woy  438  495  388  341  328  166  186  152  150
Wyong  290  261  282  239  234  246  264  247  185
Wyong RSL   58   46   47   55   34   20   24   20   21
Total 8,238 7,180 7,330 6,321 5,689 5,307 4,986 4,389 4,029
          
Total includes U/18's   34   35   29   26    ?     ?     ?   30   18

*The 2000-01 annual report indicated that Zone 15’s registered membership had declined 13% over the past 5 years compared to the state average of 19.7%. However we still remain the second largest zone in the State and we have two clubs with the highest bowling membership within Australia.

Number of Pennant teams
Despite the dramatic decline in membership the number of pennant teams competing each year has remained remarkably stable
1996
2001
 06
 07
 08
 09
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
102
110
110
105
110
100
105
105
105
105
100
           
Zone Pennant and State Pennant Finals hosted by
1999 Zone Pennant Finals: - Avoca Beach B C
2000 Zone Pennant Finals: - Ettalong Memorial B C
2001 Zone Pennant Finals:- Halekulani B C  and Munmorah B C
2001 The Entrance B C  hosted State Grade 4 Pennant Final
2002 Zone Pennant Finals: - Everglades B C and Umina Beach B C  
2002 BateauBay B C  / The Entrance B C  hosted State Grade 6 Pennant Final
2003 Zone Pennant Finals; - Halekulan B C 
2004 Zone Pennant Final: - Ettalong Memorial B C
2005 Zone Pennant Final:- The Entrance B C
2005 The Entrance B C  hosted State Grade 1 Pennant Final won by Soldiers Point B C 
2006 Zone Pennant Finals Grades 1-4 Avoca Beach B C Grades 5-7
2007 Zone Pennant Final; - Bateau Bay B C 
2008 Zone Pennant Final: - Ettalong Memorial B C 
2009 Zone Pennant Finals: - Bateau Bay B C 
2009 Ettalong Memorial B C  hosted State Grade 5 Pennant Final
2010 Grades 1,2,3,4,6 & 7; - Halekulani B C, Grade 5:- Round Robin Wyong B C 
2011 Zone Pennant Finals; - Bateau Bay B C 
2011 Ettalong Memorial B C  hosted State Grade7 Pennant Final
2012 Zone Pennant Final : - Ettalong Memorial B C 
2012 The Entrance B C  hosted State Grade 1 Pennant Final
2013 Zone Pennant Finals: - Bateau Bay B C 

Supporting Attachment No 2
History BCC – Zone 15

Multiple winners of BCC Zone 15 Championship Titles
  • Multiple winners (4+) of the  major District/Zone championship titles which have been played right throughout the Zone‘s history are listed as follows:-
 SinglesPairsTriplesFours
Aron Sherriff (22)05,08,11*00,04,06,08,11,12,1302,04,05*,07,11,1203,04,05*,07,08,11,12
Phil Flippence (17)96,9794,03,04,07,0984,97*,98,05*,0998,00,05*,07,08
Joe Haggerty (14)62,67,71,72,79 69,72,7662,63,67,70,73,75
Lloyd Gallaher (10**)53,5750,51,53,60,71,72 59,64
Dick Creighton (9**) 57,60,6566,68,7059,66,69
Laurie Hopley (9)8278,83,8579,9182,83,89
Brett Pritchard (9)93,0396,0100,0170,73
John Jansson (8**)68,70,73 67,69,7273,80
Bruce Davies (8**)76,77 72,76,7761,63
Jack McInerney (7) 66,75,766687
Eric Wicks (7**)8566,75,77 64,76
David Buttery (6) 93,96200098,00,02
Tom Watson (6**)63 disqualifed6261,6961,62,63,67
Perce Haines (6**)62 6175,79
Peter Brand (5**) 71,7276 
John Roberts (5) 0293,01,11,1266,76
Jack Atkins (5**)5254,55 50,59
Des Maclean (5**) 7066,7766,76
Bill Hopley (4)88,89 9189
*indicates  they went on to win the State title in that year
**These multiple title winners recorded in Gosford 50 Year History
  • Some of the above individual performances  are further enhanced by  Zone championship wins of association events that had been progressively introduced over the years.

BCC Zone 15 - Champion of Club Champions
 SinglesPairsSnr SinglesSnr Pairs
Aron Sherriff05,07,0900,12,13  
Phil Flippence78,010206,08,10 
John Roberts1004,07,08  
Brett Pritchard91   

BCC Zone 15 - Office Bearers                       
Year From20132012201120102009
Year To2014201320122011010
PatronsA. Pollock OAMA. PollockA. PollockA. PollockA. Pollock
PresidentM. LeGuierM. LeGuierK. Dring *K. DringK. Dring
SecretaryD. RoseD. RoseD. RoseE. Radford *E. Radford
TreasurerA. HeathA. HeathA. HeathA. HeathA. Heath
State CouncillorK. DringK. DringD. Rose *D. RoseJ. Peek *
Senior Vice PresC. BrayC. BrayM. LeGuierM. LeGuierM. LeGuier
Vice PresidentP. ArnoldG. ArmstrongC. BrayG. ArmstrongG. Armstrong
Vice PresidentD. CameronP. ArnoldR. BourkeT. HegyiT. Hegyi
Vice PresidentP. Davies *R. BourkeD. BridgesR. BourkeD. Rose *
Vice PresidentD. LyonsP. DaviesG. GrahamG. GrahamP. Yates
Assistant SecP. ArnoldP. ArnoldD. BridgesT. HegyiD. Rose *
Chair of MatchR. RichardsonR. RichardsonR. RichardsonR. RichardsonR. Richardson
Chair of SelectorsD. LoveD. LoveR. VetterR. VetterR. Vetter
Chair of UmpiresL. FinnL. FinnL. FinnL. FinnL. Finn
Chair of CoachesD. CameronD. CameronD. CameronA. Tracy *A. Tracy