RUSSELL STEVENSON THOUGHT LAWN BOWLS WAS FOR ‘OLD FARTS’ BUT NOW HE’S BEEN BOWLED OVER BY THE GAME.
Russell took up the game just one month after moving to GemLife Maroochy Quays almost two and a half years ago.
“My wife Tina wanted me to get out a bit more, and I said ‘nah’, but then I gave it a go on the green here, and thought ‘this is fantastic’,” Russell recalls, laughing.
“Now Tina thinks it’s fantastic too and she plays as well! Tina’s team even got to the finals of the 2023 GemLife Games and won, along with another of the Maroochy Quays men’s teams.”
So busy has the lawn bowls social group become in the past couple of years, that morning bowls might run five mornings a week instead of four or be offered in the afternoons too.
“We have four rinks here, and it’s fantastic to be able to leave my house and walk down for some morning exercise, while being social at the same time,” Russell said.
“We start about 9am and finish about 11:30am and we’ve had some special shirts made up. We have close to 60 bowlers playing at Maroochy Quays, spread out across the week, and sometimes players from GemLife Palmwoods come across for a friendly competition.
“We’ve got reserves each day too as we play 24 people at a time, which makes for a good comfortable game.”
Russell said while playing lawn bowls took him by surprise, he was certainly not the only one to discover a love of the sport when moving to the resort.
“So many people thought the same as I did – that it’s an old farts’ game. Then you have one go and it’s so addictive and you keep coming back because it’s a challenge to become skilled at it,” he said.
“We also have people who volunteer their time to train others, so they become confident enough to play a social game. Everything is volunteer run.”
Fellow homeowner Phillip Koy has a roster for cleaning the greens, with Russell as the deputy.
“Phillip has a program of different people who will come down to make sure the green is clean and prepared, and there are two people rostered who will pick up the leaves or tidy the coffee room. It’s a real team effort.”
Russell said while lawn bowls had taken him and Tina by surprise, they knew they’d enjoy the resort lifestyle at GemLife.
“We moved from a relatively big house in Logan, where there was a lot of yard work trimming trees and cutting grass, and we moved to the coast and into Maroochy Quays when we retired,” he said.
“We have two children and five grandchildren who all wish they could move here too – they just love it, especially the ten-pin bowling and the swimming pool!”