The Annual Golden Eagle Classic

Hosted by Orange City Bowling Club, the Golden Eagle Classic Pairs will be on from Monday February 17th to Thursday 20th, next week. The prize money and trophies total an incredible $16,000. Something the Orange City Bowling club are very proud to be hosting for the 52nd year, as it remains one of Orange’s most-loved annual competitions, attracting some of the world’s best players.

This year the age range is quite impressive, the youngest age being 21 years and the oldest being late 70s, the National Ranking event is set to take place rain, hail or shine. Players will travel from as far as South Australia, and Melbourne, and as close as Condobolin, Dubbo and Molong.

Chairman of the Golden Eagle Jim Gersbach re-calls, “There was one wash out in 1986, otherwise every other year it’s been played. For many of our players they rock up in walkers and come to life when they get out on that green and size up the opposition.”

“It’s a great tournament of friendly competition, many of the players have been coming for the past 16-18 years or even longer!”

What starts off as a round robin type of competition soon becomes a knockout competition, even when it comes down to the nitty gritty it is still said to be fun, with many choosing to stay and watch the finals which take place on the Thursday afternoon.

The unique trophy is a crowd favourite and rightly so, made of bronze, wood and a stem’s mould that is made out of butter. The Golden Eagle trophy stands just over one metre tall, with a wingspan of 95 centimetres.

Secretary Manager Neil Southcombe added, “It’s a big week for us, the bowlers are bowling from 9am through to 5pm in the afternoon. They are on the green the whole time so it keeps them pretty busy, but they all know how it works.

Even though it’s an older man’s sport you’ve got to be quite fit because there’s no chance to sit, they are on their feet for long periods of time and there is quite a bit of walking involved.”

Last year’s winners from Victoria, David Maloney and Adrian Bates will be returning again this year. With that being said, we wish our locals all the very best in taking out the Eagle this year.