The 2016 Queensland Junior Cup held at Go Bowling Ashmore showcased some of the country’s most exciting emerging Bowling talent with Personal Bests, 300 Games, and fierce but friendly competition throughout the weekend of 23-24 July.
A record field of players aged 18 years and under from almost every State in Australia assembled on the Gold Coast with a range of spectacular prizes and trophies in the offing, including return flights for two to Singapore for both the Girl’s and Boy’s division champions.
Matt Clague from Arundel on the Gold Coast came out of the blocks strongly, posting a 233 average in Saturday’s first squad. The 18-year-old maintained his early lead throughout the tournament to secure back to back QJC titles with a stunning 221.3 total tournament average. In hot pursuit, Victorian Daniel Perrella shot a 278 game in Stage 2 of qualifying and posted a tournament average of 216.6 to finish second in the Boy’s division. The 16 year-old from Moorabbin also made the All-Stars at this year’s Junior Nationals and according to his mother Maria “he’s got the bug now”.
A 279 game and bonus points for wins in all five games of matchplay elevated Jay Davy from South Australia into third overall, ahead of Sam Blake from Campbelltown in Sydney who completed this year’s QJC with a flourish on Sunday by throwing his first perfect game. “Sam entered his first Junior tournament in March this year on an entering average of 139 - he now holds an average of 189 and has improved SO much in the last four months,” reported Daniel Webb who accompanied a group of six young bowlers from Campbelltown to compete in the QJC.
Stage 2 of the Girl’s division got off to a thrilling start on Sunday with a 279 game by interim leader Rebekah Commane from Point Cook in Melbourne. The first perfect score of the tournament was then shot in Game 2 by 17 year-old Chloe Wilson from Townsville in North Queensland. She began bowling at the age of 3 and with a previous high game of 290, it was Wilson’s first 300 game - which she described later as ‘such an unreal feeling’.
17 year-old Rebekah Commane maintained an impressive lead in the matchplay final, holding off strong finishes by Chloe Wilson and 15 year-old Taneisha Griffiths from Shellharbour on the NSW south coast to win the Girl’s division with a 210.9 total tournament average. Commane’s bonus prize of return flights to Singapore will be shared with her sister Kaitlyn, who are both now planning to compete in the Singapore Open in May next year.
With an entering average of 162, 14-year old Cameron Stein from Toowoomba won the Graded top prize by posting a tournament average of 181.1, with notable performances by 16 year-old Bradley Logozzo from Picton near Sydney and 14 year-old local Ashmore bowler Sophie Smart who both also recorded well-above-average scores. “Cameron has been bowling since he was 3 years old and on a pathway at the moment after being drafted for President’s Shield at this year’s Junior Nationals … he’s really learning from experiences like this,” his father Nathan commented afterwards.
The prize for the highest-scoring Queensland bowler outside the cut was won by 15 year-old Kaleb Coyne from Bundaberg who will select a bowling ball of his choice from the wide array of STORM bowling balls distributed in Australia by tournament sponsor BPD Bowling Australia.
Gift card Encouragement Awards were presented to the two youngest competitors, 10 year-old Matthew McKinnon from New South Wales and Tahlia Corbett from Queensland.
First held in 2015, the Queensland Junior Cup is now established as a popular fixture in the series of ranked tournaments by the sport’s national governing body, Tenpin Bowling Australia and the success of this year’s tournament was praised by the CEO of the Tenpin Bowling Association of Queensland, Gail Torrens.
“The tournament was a fantastic success from every aspect - the South Queensland Junior Committee and Ashmore Bowl did a terrific job organising the event which ran smoothly from start to finish, and the talent and sportsmanship we saw throughout the weekend from the young players is really inspiring – it promises great things for our sport when you see the level of enthusiasm, skill and enjoyment displayed by these young people, and I take my hat off to their families who support them,” she said. “The additional incentives of international travel, thanks to SCOOT Airlines, and the ongoing support our founding sponsor, the City of Gold Coast, are invaluable – and of course the sunny weather was another major drawcard that everyone commented on,” she added with a broad smile.
Full results for the Queensland Junior Cup 2016 can be found via a link on the Events page of the TBAQ website – www.tbaq.org.au
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