Long-time bowler and intermittent Yass resident Breeze Howard claimed victory in the Bowls ACT Champion of Club Champions Singles on the weekend of July 8th-9th.
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The win means that Howard is now eligible to compete in the National Championships which are to be held in October this year.
The weekend was bitterly cold, however that did not stop Howard from dominating his first match, which he won 25 – 13.
His second and third matches were tougher, and when Howard scored his 25th point, his opponents had reached 21 and 19 respectively.
A bowling veteran, Howard has competed since the age of 20, and won some titles throughout the early eighties.
He believes that the key for him to be successful at the National Championships is to focus on his own game.
“I know if I play to my best ability, I’ll give it a fair shake,” Howard said.
“I’ve beat a few of them [the other competitors] before.”
This is not Howard’s first trip to the Nationals, however he did concede that he would have been a better chance of winning as a younger man.
“To be honest with you, I’m not bowling as well as I did when I give it away, because I was young.
“And I was with the right players back then, with the club that I was bowling at down in Taren Point in Sydney.
“I met a few Australian representatives and on-and-off state players and they sort of took me under their wing and got me going.
“But I’m still going okay.”
Howard’s competitive career had a long break in the middle, from the eighties up until he took the sport up again in 2009.
He played for a time in Canberra, and relocated himself to Yass this year, at which point he began playing for the Yass Bowling Club once again.
This, according to Howard, has been critical to his success in the latter half of his career.
“They’re a good bunch of blokes up there [in Yass], it’s a good club,” Howard said.
“I got back over there [Yass] on late Sunday afternoon, after the final, because the final’s over in Canberra.”
“I got back there and a heap of blokes had found out, they all got down to the club and shouted me drinks and put this song, We Are The Champions on the dukebox when I walked in.”
Howard said that this comradery and support was “definitely” crucial to helping him play with confidence.
“They’re very competitive too, there’s a few up there [in Yass] who’re quite good bowlers.
“And you’ve gotta have that competition to make it through to the top level, you’ve gotta be up against better players.”
