Coolangatta Ladies Bowls

A great finish to our Coolangatta Ladies 100 Up Championship on Wednesday, with Raine Freeman and Joyce Watson battling out a very close final.

There was little between them throughout, with Raine eventually reaching 100 first to take the title 100–96. Congratulations Raine, and well done Joyce on a terrific final. 👏

Meanwhile, plenty of social bowls continued around the green — another busy Wednesday at Cooly Bowls.

Congratulations to our 2026 Ladies 100 Up Champion, Raine Freeman! 🏆

100 years young – and she’s still got it! 🎂

A very special day at Coolangatta Bowls Club as Muriel, mother of our Ladies President and a former bowler herself, celebrates her 100th birthday.

And of course, she couldn’t resist having a bowl — still showing us how it’s done!

Happy 100th Birthday, Muriel! 🥳💐

The field is down to the final two in the 2026 Ladies 100 Up Championship, following this week’s semi-finals at Coolangatta Bowls Club.

Raine Freeman secured her place in the final with a 100–79 win over Barb Serle, while Joyce Watson defeated Marj Davey 100–79.

Congratulations to all four semi-finalists, and particularly Raine and Joyce, who will now face each other in the 100 Up Final next Wednesday. 🏆

Meanwhile, there was plenty of social bowls happening around them, with another beautiful winter’s day on the greens.

📸 A few photos from Wednesday’s championship and social play.

Amidst our Wednesday social bowls, the Coolangatta Ladies 100 Up Championship continued, with the field now heading towards the semi-finals.

The latest results saw Marj Davey, Raine Freeman and Sue Robinson progress through the second round, joining Jan Yule, Joyce Watson and Barb Serle in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals are now well underway, with:
🏆 Marj Davey defeating Lyn Hulston 100–97 in a very close contest
🏆 Raine Freeman defeating Lyn Sheppard 100–88
🏆 Barb Serle defeating Sue Robinson 100–76

Marj, Raine and Barb have now booked their places in the semi-finals, while Jan Yule and Joyce Watson are still to play for the remaining spot.

Congratulations ladies – we're getting down to the business end of the championship! 🏆

Who says it's winter! ☀️

Wednesday treated us to a stunning winter's day at Coolangatta Bowls Club, with warm winter sunshine and perfect conditions for bowls. A terrific 41 ladies took to the greens, enjoying a great mix of social bowls and the opening rounds of our 2026 Ladies 100 Up Championship.

Congratulations to our first-round winners:
🏆 Bev Goodwin defeated Lorraine Dickson 100–88
🏆 Tanya Vandermaat defeated Karen Smith 100–57
🏆 Maureen Faley defeated Gail Rottier 100–89
🏆 Raine Freeman defeated Fay Stephen 100–86
🏆 Lyn Sheppard defeated Donna Alexander 100–69

With several players receiving first-round byes, the second round is now taking shape. One second-round match was also completed, with Barb Serle defeating Julee Scott 105–85 to book her place in the quarter-finals.

Under periodic showers of rain, play continued across both greens at Coolangatta Bowls Club on Wednesday morning. ☔🎳

Green 1 hosted our regular Wednesday social bowls, while Green 2 was the stage for the 2026 Ladies Veterans Final between Fay Stephen and Joyce Watson.

Fay took control early to build an 8–1 lead before Joyce mounted a determined fightback to close within four shots. Fay finished strongly, winning the final two ends to claim the Ladies Veterans title, 21–15.

Congratulations to Fay on her victory, and well played to Joyce on a terrific final.

Congratulations to all our prize winners from yesterday's third annual Mixed Medley. 👏

Thanks to everyone who took part and helped make it another successful event.

The Commemorative Shield

Yesterday, 10 teams from Coolangatta Bowls Club faced off against Club Tweed for the right to wield the Commemorative Shield – a big, weighty and, in my opinion, pretty ugly trophy with an interesting history.

The story began in 1921 when the Tweed Heads–Coolangatta Bowling Club was established at Coral Street, Tweed Heads. As membership grew, it became difficult to operate as a single cross-border club, so in 1948 members voted to separate. The split took effect on 31 December 1948, with Coolangatta moving to Scott Street while Tweed Heads remained at Coral Street.

To preserve the friendship between the two clubs, the annual Commemorative Shield was born.

Yesterday marked the 77th running of the Shield. Unfortunately, Coolangatta went down 209–178, but while we'd all rather win, the day was about more than the result. It was another chance to celebrate a tradition that has brought the two clubs together for more than 75 years.

There was plenty of good bowls (and bad), lots of banter, the occasional friendly sledge and, of course, the all-important post-match sausage sizzle and drink.

Congratulations to Club Tweed on retaining the Shield. We'll be back next year to have another crack.