Paky 5000

Paky 5000 – 2019

Unfortunately there was a delay to the start of this year’s two day PAKY 5000 as two inconsiderate teams failed to show up and did not even have the common courtesy of making a simple telephone call (which nowadays costs most of us nothing). The consequent need to conduct a complete redraw soaked up valuable playing time and was frustrating for organisers and competitors alike and did not leave our President in the best frame of mind – it also caused further hiccups at the commencement of round two. Those issues apart, however, the 2019 PAKY 5000 was yet again a successful blue ribbon event for the club.
It would not even have got of the ground though, without the generous support of our sponsors: Terri Fellows (Barry Plant Real Estate); Price Line Pakenham; AVAN; David Bull Funerals; Sun Patrol; and Lifestyle Communities, Officer. Many thanks also to the local businesses which donated prizes for the raffles – they also were acknowledged as the prizes were drawn. There is another part to the formula which makes a tournament successful and that is the enormous amount of work performed by the host of volunteers, many of whom probably would rather be playing bowls – the greens are not prepared, the meals are not dished up, the drinks are not served and the tournament is not organised and results tallied by magic.
Day one kicked off under overcast and hazy conditions with a chill in the air but little or no breeze. With four games of twelve ends it was a long day and some players were feeling somewhat weary by the end and complained that “the dogs were barking”. There may not have been quite as much frivolity as in past tournaments but all games were played in good spirit and the level of camaraderie was high (many of the players are known to each other through Pennant, Group events and/or the Tournament circuit). Lunch was (logically) taken after game two and players were surprised with an Asian dish, rather than the usual roast or salad.
By the end of the day, there were only two four game winners – Matt Ferrari’s Traralgon team and Scott Guymer’s crew from Somerville. There were also four, three game winners. Coincidentally as the luck of the draw would have it, the two teams at the top of the leader board were scheduled to play each other in the first game of the second day – in the absence of a draw therefore, two was about to become one.
Clear blue skies and bright sunshine greeted the players at the start of day two. Much of the spectator’s interest was in the match between the ladder leaders. They were not disappointed – both teams won six ends, however it was the Somerville crew who prevailed; fifteen shots to nine. Scott continued his winning ways until the last game where he was held to an eight all draw by John Curtain’s team from City of Frankston – however six wins and a draw was good enough to retain top spot. Three teams including the eventual runner up won all three games on the second day.
When the final points were checked, third place overall was awarded to the composite team of Ted (Ski) Witcowski (Heathmont), Anthony (Ounch) Witcowski (Croydon) and Ryan (Rhino) Drummond (Pakenham), with five wins a draw and a loss –two prerequisites for this team were first a nickname, then you had to be a half decent bowler! The runner up was another composite team in Matt Koek, Brett O’Donnell and Mick Gardener, a combination from Yarraville/Footscray and Elsternwick – they had six wins and one loss.
However the lion’s (pun intended) share of the prize money went to the Somerville team of Scott Guymer, Rick Jago and Matt Arnold who finished an outstanding weekend, unbeaten with six wins and a draw. All of the prize winners indicated that they were keen to return next year. They also echoed the words of President Terry (Tmac) McRedmond in acknowledging the generosity of our sponsors.

Des Leigh