2023-24 Multi-Disability State Championships Singles Report
The Multi-Disability State Championships concluded on Saturday, 16th March as Aaron Kelly and Paul Redden were crowned Multi-Disability Open Singles and Reserve Singles State Champions respectively at North Dubbo RSL Sporties.
After a tough day battling the wind on Friday, a much cooler day followed with some spells of rain as the gold medal and bronze medal finals in the Open Singles and Reserve Singles competition took place in the morning.
Open Singles
In the Open Singles semi-finals, which took place on Friday afternoon, Geoffrey Seton (Leichhardt) competed against Peter Jackson of Raymond Terrace in semi-final one, while on form Aaron Kelly faced another Raymond Terrace player, Michael Kedwell in semi-final two.
Seton opened up a narrow lead in the opening ends before Jackson got back to even the score after six ends. They were tied again after 11 ends however, Seton pulled away to win 21-16 after 17 ends.
It was a nail-biting showdown in the other semi-final between Kelly and Kedwell, with the former narrowly clinching victory 21-20 in a fiercely contested match.
In the final, Kelly showcased his top performance against a formidable opponent in Seton, ultimately securing the win. The match was evenly poised after five ends and just three shots separated the two after 10 ends. But from there, Kelly surged ahead, scoring a three and four on his way to victory to finish 21-7.
Speaking about his performance during the Championships, Kelly said:
“Leading into the tournament, my form has been a little scratchy to be honest. This is a really tricky surface to play on and with the wind coming across it made it even harder. To find the line and find a bit of form during the tournament it was really good and obviously it got me through to the gold medal final.”
Kelly spoke highly of his competition at the State Championships, he added:
“It’s been great, the level of competition and standard is always increasing. More people are getting involved and it’s increasing which is great.”
In the open singles bronze medal play-off, Michael Kedwell, unfortunately fell ill and was not able to play, leading to him forfeiting the game to his club mate Peter Jackson.
Reserve Singles
In the Reserve Singles semi-finals, Keith Roberts (South Tamworth) took on Paul Redden (Raymond Terrace) while Wayne Sullivan (New Lampton) competed against Cheryl Benbow (Raymond Terrace).
Redden had a commanding win over Roberts, winning 21-5 to see him through to the final. Benbow unfortunately had to retire early due to illness during her match, resulting in Sullivan progressing to the final.
In his State Championship debut, Redden emerged victorious to claim the Multi-Disability Reserve Singles title, a huge achievement for the Raymond Terrace player. He faced tough competition from Sullivan, as both players were neck and neck throughout the whole match. Redden opened up a five-shot lead with 10 minutes remaining on the clock but Sullivan produced an incredible 4 shots to bring it back to a one point game, however Redden sealed the deal in the final end to finish 17-15.
In the Multi-Disability Reserve Singles bronze medal play-off, Roberts had an outstanding performance securing a dominant victory over Benbow with a score of 21-1. Despite a challenging week of play, Benbow expressed pride in reaching the finals and was happy with her performance all week.
Attention now switches to the State Mixed Pairs where the opening round takes place at Club Dubbo and Macquaire Club at 3.30pm.
Shendelle Smith & Nathan Dawson (Maitland City) v Shelby Powell & Haydn Bojkowski (Raymond Terrace/ East Maitland) will be livestreamed on the Bowls NSW Facebook and Youtube channel from 3.30pm.
Competition continues tomorrow, Sunday 17th March with rounds two and three of the State Mixed Pairs category in the morning followed by the quarter-finals from 2pm.
Karen Croker & Darren Morrison (Ettalong) v Vikki Wilson & Gary Mills (Merrylands/Springwood) will be livestreamed on the Bowls NSW Facebook and Youtube channel from 8:30am.
At 11am, Karen King & Jack Forbes (Woonona) v Roberta Henry & Trent Whittingam (Penrith) will also be livestreamed on the Bowls NSW Facebook and Youtube channel.
Click here to view the full event results
