GM Ladies are Victorian Region Champions

The 2026 Region Championships were played in cold and blustery conditions in Ballarat over the weekend of 10 & 11 January. The Goulburn Murray ladies were runners up in the silver tier in very wet conditions the previous year, and as a result had been promoted to the gold tier.

The team took on the challenge of the higher grade and won all three of their section matches on the Saturday. They defeated Bendigo Campaspe Goldfields 49/31, West Coast 44/40 and Sandbelt 52/33 putting them into the final on the Sunday.

The section games had been reduced to 15 ends as a result of the cancellation of Friday’s play due to catastrophic weather conditions, but the final was played over 21 ends. Ovens and Murray were the opponents and some wonderful bowls were played by both teams, but Goulburn Murray prevailed with a 67/44 victory. A fantastic effort by all!

The members of the winning team were: team 1: Lidija Patching, Robyn Hodgkin, Ann Milkins & Marianne Kirk; team 2: Carla Miles, Kerry Baldacchino, Loris Houlihan & Kate Bush; and team 3: Kris Wright, Jo Crowe, Lyn Nicholson & Bree Warren.