Twelve bowlers were on the green in last Wednesday’s Jackpot Bowls. Winners on the day were Jason Robbins & Bill Meharg  who defeated Charlie Morley & Richard Carpenter  Runners up were Mo Clare & Kevin Stanley who defeated Brian Charlton & Garry King. Other results were Don Graham & Ron Oxenham defeated Glen Porter & Dave Stace.

The Jackpot was  not won.

Ron Oxenham won the raffle.

Jackpot Bowls are on again today (Wednesday) names in by 1.00pm for 1.30pm start.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Bill Meharg, Ron Oxenham, Richard Carpenter & Terry Dray on winning the Clubs Fours Championships last Saturday defeating Garry King, Dave Stace , Scott Reid & Peter Baker in a very closely contested game 22 – 19 after scores were locked 19 all with one end to play..

Result of Semi Final of the Pairs – Dave Stace & Peter Baker defeated Jason Cornish & Garry King  29 – 11

The second Semi Final of the pairs will be played on Saturday 17 June between Ron Oxenham & Richard Carpenter  V  Jack Charlton & Rob Harvey.

The Draws for the Triples, Minor Singles & Mixed Pairs are on the Board and any members that wish to play their Minor Singles match this Saturday can and a Marker will need to be arranged.

PENNANTS

Just a reminder to the Grade 7 Pennant players that the fee of $120 for Taren Point can now be paid to Terry Dray and MUST be paid by Friday 21 July 2017.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Badge Draw $960

Raffles Meat Trays & Vouchers Tickets on sale from 6.00pm.

Music by local artists.

Welcome back to Golf news. We have results from the past two Wednesday's.

First of all May 31:

Keno 4BBB v Par

Denise Haesler and Cheryl Royal +5 will be representing the Club o Western DIstricts FInals Day

Runner Up:- Pauline Potts and Heather Peiper +2

Min Burge and Gae Drew won the "Nearest the Pins"

June 7:

Round 1 of Championships

Division 1 - Marie Cornish is leading by 4 shots to Denise

Division 2 - Ronda Payne is leading by 4 shots to Cheryl

The Day's event - Marie with Pauline runnerup - Division 1

Ronda with Sue Martin runner-up

"Nearest the Pins" - Min Burge and Marg Macarthur

Friday 10th June - Pennants v Parkes

Well done to the team of Denise, Jan Payne, Marg Hollow, Kathy Martin and Gae Drew on winning 3 games to 2.

However winning didnt get us through to the next level with Parkes going through over Wellington and Wentworth due to their higher overall winning margin.

Congratulations to all the girls that played in the 2 games.

Sunday 11th June Mens Central West Keno 4BBB v Par

Thank you to all the Ladies that assisted with this Tournament

Monday 12th June -Central West Veterans Tournament

Kathy Martin with 33pts won the Ladies Division.

Thank you to all the Ladies who attended to their lunch and manned the Club for the Day.

Get Well Messages: To Peter Payne, Dave Wilson and JImmy Armstrong

It is hoped you all will soon be back out visiting the Club but taking it easy.

Sympathies: The Club extends its sympathies to Jeanie Frappell and Family on the loss of their beloved "Ron".

Ron was awarded Life Membership of the Club a few years ago for his many years of tireless volunteer work

He was given a "grand farewell" yesterday and will no doubt be having a round or two of Golf and beer with some old mates he has now joined.

Loxley relishing level of competitiveness in Group 11

The season is reaching its midway point and Group 11 director of operations Paul Loxley has been delighted by what he’s seen so far.

The competition made headlines all over in round one when CYMS brushed aside Westside in a 102-0 mauling and Loxley admitted at the time it wasn’t a good look for the game.

And while the Rabbitohs and also Narromine remains winless at at the foot of the ladder, Loxley said there has still been plenty of positives.

“I’m pleased with everything because even Narromine has won (in reserve grade) and even though they have been getting beat they keep turning up and they’ll keep improving,” he said.

“You’ve got to take your hats off to Westside and Narromine because they turn up each week and play the right way and they’ve been doing everything right.”

Dubbo CYMS is undefeated at the top of the ladder but the likes of Forbes and Nyngan have proved themselves as premiership contenders while Parkes and Macquarie continue to show glimspes of real class.

Loxley said he was particularly pleased for the Tigers and their passionate fanbase under new captain-coach and former Cronulla Shark Stewart Mills.

“I’m really pleased for Nyngan, at the start of the season you’d like to think every club had an opportunity to win the competition and I still feel that way,” he said.

“CYMS is still the dominant force but as last year showed, anything can happen. But at this stage they deserve their favouritism.”

HODGES RECEIVES OAM

From Bathurst to Broken Hill, Bedgerabong to Enngonia, Colin Hodges is the voice of racing for many of us. From TAB meetings in inland cities to remote picnics, gallops to yabby races, he’s been there. Hodges reckons he’s called 2500 race meetings over the past 47 years, more than 15,000 races – rattled off more than 150,000 racehorse names.

This long weekend, the west’s favourite race caller has been named in the Queen’s Birthday honours, receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia, for his service to the horse racing industry.

Where it all began: Hodges’ interest in races dates back to the playground at Gunning Gap primary school, where in the late 1950s he would spend the recess and lunch breaks calling harness races.

“There were about 20 kids when I started there,” he remembered. “We’d get the skipping ropes and make harnesses out of them, I had kids driving the other kids and I called the races.” Growing up on the family farm, his interest in racing held through school at Forbes High and a career in shearing.

Long-time local race caller Bobby Gunn noticed and encouraged him – the youngster called races into a tape recorder, sitting in the grandstand or the car. “Bobby Gunn gave me my first gallops call – one race at Gooloogong – and then Bobby had a clash with a meeting so I called my first full meeting at Fifield.” When Gunn retired, Hodges took on his rounds and his race-calling career began in earnest – every weekend after a week in the shearing sheds.

“It’s a high pressure job, it takes a lot of concentration,” he said. And that pressure has only increased as technology has enabled racing to be televised live around the world. “When I started, you were only calling to the people on the ground,” Hodges said. “Now with the TAB and Sky Channel the races are beamed around Australia and you’ve got people betting on them from Las Vegas to Hong Kong.”

The other great change in the game has been the rising prize money in country racing and the way it has drawn the Sydney stables west of the mountains.

“They’re coming to Bathurst and further,” Hodges observed. “You might be racing for $20,000 now, so locals are competing with major stables from Sydney.”

Not all his gigs are so high pressure, Hodges has also given his time to hundreds of charity calls over the years. “I’ve called yabby races, a draughthorse race, wheelbarrow races at the Forbes Christmas carnival and exhibition rugby league games,” he said.

“I rode in a charity pony race at Parkes once! and drove in a charity harness race at Bathurst, I was beaten by a neck by the great Tony Turnbull.” 

For 14 years, Hodges travelled to Vanuatu for the annual fundraiser Port Vila races.

“It’s a charity meeting, rebuilding schools and so on after cyclones,” he said. “Everything is made of bamboo, the box I stand in, bamboo running rails. They still invite me but I have too many commitments.”

Hodges calls for 32 race clubs from Bathurst in the east to Broken Hill in the west, north to Enngonia and Louth, averaging 100 meetings a year.

And whether a meeting is TAB, non TAB or one of the picnic race meetings that continue to thrive, he treats all meetings the same.

Reflecting on the honour of adding the title OAM to his name, he said he felt incredibly fortunate.

“All those trainers and jockeys who get up on frosty mornings or go out in the stinking heat, if they didn’t do what they do I wouldn’t have a job,” he said.