Four Sturt women bowlers recently defeated Premier League bowlers in the 2025-26 Bowls SA State Pairs - Metro - Women's competition.
Playing on Sunday 30 November, Sonia Matteucci and Diana Frankcom competed at Marion Bowling Club and Margie Haines and Jackie Hammond competed at Modbury.
Sonia reports:
“Di and I were hoping to at least score something and to our surprise we managed 12 points in the first game against Premier league ladies from Hawthorn and then won our second game against Premier league ladies from Happy Valley.
“We didn’t have enough overall points to proceed to round 3, which was fine as we were both exhausted and actually enjoyed watching the next round from inside the calm, cosy clubrooms with a well-deserved drink.
“It was such a good experience for us both and we learnt a lot.
“The wind was a nightmare that day at Marion but the Manager said that it was nothing compared to the usual gale-force winds they have on their greens.
“We will be encouraging more Sturt ladies to enter the competition next year. “
Meanwhile, Margie and Jackie played at Modbury under their cover and on the synthetic surface. The weather was poor and it was a “miserable morning," added Margie.
Margie reports:
“We won our first game by one shot against ladies from Edwardstown, but lost our second against a couple of serious bowlers, Karin Lynch from Laura and Katrina Green from Kapunda.
Katrina skippered in the Ladies State side in the recent championships in Tassie where Izzy played – we went down 23-10, so not embarrassing.
“In the final game we played a premier league pair from Somerton and won by four shots.
“All in all, not a bad effort for a couple of Sturt old girls who would be more at home in the over 60s.”
Congrats to Sonia, Diana, Margie and Jackie for having the energy and courage to enter the SA State Pairs championships, beating Premier League opponents and learning so much, including from their losses. Inspiring for others at our club.