SHANE AND SUSAN DOYLE FROM GEMLIFE WOODEND ARE NO STRANGERS TO SPORTING COMPETITION OR TO HAVING FUN.
They’re leading a contingent of Woodend homeowners for the inaugural GemLife Games to be held at GemLife Maroochy Quays on 8 September.
“We heard about the GemLife Games and thought it was such a good idea,” said Shane.
“And of course, we decided that Woodend ought to have a presence in Queensland.”
Susan said the group came together fairly recently.
“It all started after an ABBA concert at the resort,” she said. “I don’t know whether it was the Woodend ready for fun music or a few drinks afterwards, but before we knew it, we had a team of six!
Susan and Shane will be competing in three sports. The couple have signed up for ten-pin bowling and lawn bowls, while Shane has added pool to his list. Joining the Doyles are Geoffrey Pamenter, Judy Condon as well as Robert and Susan Lawson.
Sporting competition is not new for this couple who are originally from New Zealand. In 2005, they competed in indoor bowls (also known as carpet bowls) in the World Masters Games in Canada where they won silver.
“However, it has been a while since we’ve competed,” said Susan modestly. “We don’t play as regularly as we used to but we are enthusiastic!”
It was that combination of friendly competition and meeting new people which was the appeal of participating in the GemLife Games.
“We’re looking forward to meeting more GemLife homeowners,” said Shane. “It’s not quite a ‘nip up for the day’ but we’re absolutely looking forward to it.”
This is not the first time the Doyles have visited another GemLife resort. They flew up to Queensland to look at GemLife Bribie Island and were blown away by the quality of the homes and the facilities.
“We love GemLife, but we didn’t want to move to Queensland, so we were thrilled when GemLife Woodend was announced,” said Susan.
“We were one of the first ‘pioneers’ at GemLife Woodend,” Shane added. “We’ve been here nearly from the beginning because we love the land lease community model – no deferred management fees for us!”