Dream Team – slick Vics the Aussie champs
For Victoria’s team at the 2015 National Disability titles, it was an extraordinary success.
So much so that for their coach Nicole Shortis, it ranks as a moment as satisfying as anything she has achieved as a player in a distinguished and decorated playing career.
“Going away with this team is the best, most satisfying thing in bowls,” Shortis told bowlsvic.org.au.
“They’re just so happy to be playing. They’re a great bunch of people. It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s all about what you can do.”
Victoria returned from the six-day event at the Gold Coast with two gold, two silver, two bronze, plus the overall team title.
Recent world cerebral palsy games champions Lucas Protopapas (Heatherdale) and Josh Barry (Sebastopol) were again to the fore.
Protopapas continued what has been an outstanding 2015 with victory in the B5/6 men’s singles.
Fellow world champion Barry teamed with Ken Argent (Alexandra) to win the men’s B6/7 pairs gold medal, beating South Australia 18-7 in the final.
Alison Meakin and Janet Morrison (Mulgrave Country Club) won silver in the women’s pairs, while Barry also added a silver in his singles event.
Aaron Emonson (Ballarat) and Tim Slater (Fitzroy Victoria) picked up bronze in the B7/8 men’s pairs, while Meakin won bronze in the B7/8 women’s singles.
To cap off the tournament, the Vics won the overall team trophy, decided on a points system involving overall wins and team size.
