The greens are going to be extremely well used between now and Christmas, with several major club events and the Bowls Victoria women’s state fours titles finals being contested.

Hosting such a major event as the state titles is a tribute to the quality of the greens prepared by our master greenkeeper Bill Hamshere and his team. It will also showcase our fantastic club setting to some of the leading bowlers in the state.

The action takes place on Wednesday, November 30, with the semi-finals at 10am followed by the final in the afternoon. The quality of bowls is sure to be of a very high standard and emphasise how much the sport has progressed in recent years.

While on the issue of women’s events, the Torquay women’s section holds its Open Invitation day on Friday, with Bendigo Bank the major sponsor. This day is a highlight of the season and attracts a full field some of the best players in the region.

Moving on to the men’s action, we have a special event for bowlers from Division 5 to Division 12 on Wednesday, sponsored by Surf Coast Hearing Clinic, the culmination of the men’s pairs title and the two-bowl triples aggregate event.

The monthly sponsor for December is LJ Hooker Torquay, and the overall aggregate sponsor Hocking Stuart. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, this event has become one of the richest, and most keenly contested, in the Geelong region.

Also, last Thursday saw the first night of the new Twilighters group. The amazing popularity of the Twilighters format has seen numbers outgrow the Wednesday night greens space, so we have spilled over into one green on Thursday.

The first night was a great success with yet another group of promising bowlers emerging. There are still spaces for three or four teams to get in on the fun. Anyone interested should contact Leanne Salisbury on 5261 5775, or the club on 5261 2378.

The clubhouse was abuzz with excitement on Wednesday night with a couple of major firsts among the Twilighters’ results.

While these teams play the game in a spirit and manner which is quite dissimilar to the “serious” bowlers, they still enjoy the fruits of their efforts, and the Crackajills certainly did that. The girls celebrated with great gusto after their first-ever win in a season and a bit of effort.

Also celebrating were the Cementheads, who inflicted the first defeat on the Torquay Saints in a game of bowls that would have had some of the “serious” competitors around the club nodding their heads in appreciation. The improvement among many of the Twilighters has to be seen to be believed.

And should you be interested in entering a team for this evening competition, the club is about to expand the section even further to another time as Wednesday night is full. A final decision depends on numbers interested, so if you have the urge to get into a fun evenings, give Leanne a call on 5261 5775.

Among the “serious” bowlers, the club held its monthly first Wednesday triples event last week, with full rinks again. In fact, we now have a waiting list for teams to enter the tournament.

It takes the shape of two-bowl triples, with this month’s sponsor being White Cross Healthcare. We also offer a substantial aggregate prize for the best-performed rink from October to December, and then from January to April. Those two prizes are sponsored by the club’s leading benefactor, Hocking Stuart Real Estate.

This month’s winners were a rink skipped by Stewart Pyers.

On Wednesday, November 23 Torquay will host a Divisions 5-12 event, aimed at giving lower-grades players the opportunity to compete for top dollars and have some fun without being overwhelmed by top-grade teams.

Also, our ever-popular Friday “happy hour”… “happy night” would be more accurate         … goes from strength to strength, offering excellent bar prices and quality two-course meals for just $15 a head, and special kids menus.

Twilighters take centre stage at the Torquay Bowls Club this Sunday as they launch their season with a warm-up day.

The event is aimed at reacquainting the players and getting the rust out before the season proper begins next Wednesday night, again under the generous sponsorship of Barry Plant Real Estate.

With teams rolling in at a regular rate, the Twilighters already have Wednesday night sessions booked out. This was the state of play last year as well, as many people began to realise that an evening of bowls can be a huge amount of fun.

At this stage, there are eight extra teams that will not physically fit on the greens on Wednesday, and the club is seeking an evening that would fit both the Twilighters and the other commitments of the bowling calendar.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, section secretary Leanne Salisbury needs to get an idea of how many teams this arrangement could entail, so if you are interested, please give her a call ASAP on 5261 5775.

On the regular bowls front, the club is bubbling along nicely in most divisions of the Midweek and Saturday pennant competitions with the influx of quite a number of quality players which have strengthened most divisions.

Special mentions are needed for the efforts of our three new teams. The sides in Divisions 11 and 12 are all working well and performing their roles in giving newer players an introduction to the sport and allowing some of our regulars who could not fit into teams last year an opportunity to wear the club colours.

A special mention has to be made here of the women who have played in their own Midweek competition and then volunteered to come out on Saturdays to make up the numbers.

On the social side, the Friday nights are booming and we also have our traditional visit to Cobden on November 6 to look forward to.

Season 2011-12 is upon us and the stars are aligning for it to be a big one for the Torquay Bowls Club.

With the grand opening night, which was attended by the Surf Coast Shire mayor Dean Webster, Member for South Barwon Andrew Katos and federal Member for Corangamite Darren Cheeseman,  done and dusted it has been down to the serious stuff of bowls.

After surviving another bracing Torquay winter, the greens have come up in brilliant shape for this time of year, and are a credit to master greenkeeper Bill Hamshere and his band of willing volunteers.

The Tuesday and Saturday pennant competitions get under way in the next couple of weeks with the club hopeful of strong performances at all levels.

Last year we had all four Saturday pennant teams in the finals, with the Division 1 and Division 10 teams reaching grand finals, unfortunately both being pipped at the post by slender margins. The Tuesday teams also did well, all finishing near mid-table and are expected to advance this season.

This year we are aiming to do better, and have added three extra teams in the Saturday competition thanks to an influx of new players. We will be represented in Divisions 1, 3, 5, 9, 11 and 12, which gives us great scope to cater for all standards and levels of competitiveness.

Last year we were embarrassed by the strength of numbers we had available for Saturday matches, meaning some players struggled to get a game. This year that will not be a problem.

Of great interest will be the influx of a dozen or so of our Twilighters to pennant and how they will adapt to serious inter-club competition. These players give the club a welcome transfusion of youthful zest, something that follows the worldwide trend for younger people to be playing the game at the competitive level.

And on the subject of Twilighters, the greens are near full for the extremely popular Wednesday evening sessions and the club is looking at ways to accommodate the expected overflow. On Sunday, October 23 there will be a warm-up afternoon at which anyone interested in joining the fun can enrol.