Tathra’s Jamie Reynolds holds aloft the Far South Coast Bowling Association singles trophy, which he won in 2012. Reynolds was last month named as the 2012 NSW Disability Bowler of the Year.
TATHRA lawn bowler Jamie Reynolds capped off a remarkable year after being crowned the 2012 NSW Disability Bowler of the Year.
Bowls NSW honoured the outstanding performances of 2012 at the players awards night held at the Bowlers Club of NSW recently, where the bowler of the year, club of the year and hall of fame inductees were announced.
Reynolds enjoyed a stellar year in all formats of the game.
He won gold in the national disability singles title and won silver in the pairs.
Reynolds again dominated at the NSW Wheelchair Sports disability events where he won gold in the classic singles, and silver in the state singles.
Despite his disability, Reynolds is regarded as one of the state’s best able bodied bowlers. He is renowned as a formidable opponent on the greens.
Last year was his most successful after 20 years in the sport.
Other standout performances in 2012 included qualifying for the finals of the Australian Indoor Singles championships after winning the NSW qualifier.
He was selected to represent Country for its clash with City, and he also qualified for the 2013 Australian Open in the open singles and multi-disability singles.
On his day, Reynolds is capable if defeating just about anyone and the local bowls fraternity will watch with keen interest as his progresses through the Aussie Open competition.
If that wasn’t enough, one of Reynolds greatest triumphs was to win the Far South Coast District Bowls Association (FSCDBA) “grand slam”.
One of the rarest feats in bowls, Reynolds won the singles, pairs, triples and fours, a feat not many have done in the past.
He went on to win the Zone 7 fours, and reached NSW fours quarter-finals.
Reynolds said 2012 was a phenomenal year on the greens, and he achieved many personal goals along the way.
"After 20 years of playing lawn bowls, 2012 has proved to be my most successful,” he said.
“Being a goal orientated person and to achieve a few long term goals such as selection for Country, and to win the FSCDBA grand slam, I am just thrilled."
Reynolds is not one to relax, and he has hit the ground running in 2013 with a number of goals on his radar.
He will this weekend contest the finals of the district fours with his teammates, and will more than likely face a strong Merimbula-Imlay contingent boasting former Australia bowler Michael Wilks.
The match will be perfect preparation as he will also take on the nation’s best in the Australia Open, and will later in the year vie for Australian selection.
“2013 looks to be a challenging year starting with the Australian Open, as well as an Australian team camp later in the year for which I hope to make the Australian team which travels to Glasgow for an eight-nation warm up event for the 2014 Commonwealth Games,” Reynolds said.
"It is a huge personal satisfaction to have achieved my goals over the past few seasons, and a huge thank you must go to my club and employer, Tathra Beach Bowling Club.
“Most importantly to the board who allow so many trips away to achieve the success I have accomplished, but more so the bowls committee members, in particular Ray Coates and Leigh Hardingham, who run the social competitions whilst I am away.
“I'm very lucky and also very grateful for such wonderful support."
Reynolds also gives back to his sport, being the head coach of the South East Region Academy of Sport lawn bowls squad, which he tour New Zealand with recently.
The finalists of the Disability Bowler of the Year included Paul Hollingsworth (Gulgong), James Sigsworth (RSL Sussex Inlet) and Ray Walter (Grenfell).
The 2012 NSW Senior Bowler of the Year was Crawford Linton (Belrose), while Ben Glasson (Mt Lewis) was named as 2012 NSW Junior Bowler of the Year.
The 2012 NSW Bowler of the Year was, for the first time, awarded to joint winners, Cameron Curtis and Carl Healey of Roselands.
Cameron Curtis and Brett Duprez were announced as inductees to the John Young NSW Hall of Fame.