Western Australian Business Ladies Golf Association (Inc)
Presidents Report to the 2020 Annual General Meeting
Preseason Day
Our preseason day was held at Gosnells Golf Club on Sunday 16th February with 71 players on course. This was followed by a more relaxed format of a cocktail style buffet which was enjoyed by all in attendance. Many thanks to the Gosnells team for hosting a fantastic day to start our season.
The results were;
Club of Origin Winner: Gosnells 107 – Jo Calvo, Nadia de Vries, Charlotte Hall
Club of Origin Runner up: Pinjarra 101 – Corrina Rudler, Sam Vongyer, Lexie Sutton
Gross Winner: Charlotte Hall – Gosnells
Nett Winer: Glenda Roberts – Royal Fremantle
COVID 19
This year we experienced the unprecedented event of an international outbreak of the virus known as COVID-19 which was subsequently classified by the WHO as a global pandemic. As the virus entered our cities and outbreaks of infections started to spread rapidly, our Government took steps to put our cities and people into major lockdowns. This included the closure of all non-essential businesses, schools and universities, sporting arenas and activities and people were asked to work from home. In WA, the most stringent of these measures extended from March through to July.
From a Golfing perspective, a lot of courses were closed and the private clubs that remained operating were restricted to 1 or 2 players per fairway, clubhouses and facilities closed and strict social distancing measures were put in place to enable them to continue to operate for their members.
It was evident very early in the year that the WABLGA season would be significantly impacted. As a result, the Foursomes event planned for April and Pennant season scheduled for July and August were cancelled along with the May delegates meeting.
Email communications were sent to the Club Delegates on a 6 weekly basis to keep them informed and notices were placed on the WABLGA website the keep its membership base updated.
As the restrictions began to reduce, we saw the opportunity to get the Championships back on track. This was achieved by extending the closing dates for the qualifying rounds and providing considered flexibility to enable clubs to maximise the participation for their members.
2020 WABLGA Championships
This year there were 104 nominations to compete in the championships. Of the 12 Clubs, there were 8 clubs that participated in the qualifying rounds.
I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the host clubs Bunbury, Mosman Park and Pinjarra for their commitment and support to WABLGA which enabled us to make these events happen.
I also would like to thank Maura Morrissey for being the roaming rules official at the Finals.
The results were;
Division 1 Stacy Dhu (Pinjarra) def Jaks Scott (Royal Fremantle) 2/1
Division 2 Allison Adams (Royal Fremantle) def Jo Calvo (Gosnells) 2/1
Division 3 Bev Thompson (Gosnells) def Linda Silverlock (Royal Fremantle) 3/2
Division 4 Jocelyn Bollands (Mosman Park) def Deb Whatley (Bunbury) 4/2
Congratulations to each of the division winners and the runners up.
2020 WABLGA Champion Perpetual Trophy (Awarded to the division 1 Champion)
Winner: Stacy Dhu – Pinjarra
Other Competitions and Trophies
There are several other competitions that run-in conjunction with the Championship rounds based on one or both qualifying rounds. The results for these trophies were;
Maureen Thomas and Patsy Best Perpetual Trophy (best gross over 2 qualifying rounds)
Winner: Stacy Dhu – Pinjarra (15 above Par)
Runner Up: Leith Elliott (24 above Par)
Betty Newman Trophy (best nett over 2 qualifying rounds)
Winner: Jaks Scott – Royal Fremantle (-6)
Runner Up: Norma Holmes – Royal Perth (-3)
Eileen Dawson Perpetual Trophy (5 best team nett scores of 2nd qualifying round)
Winner: Pinjarra – Karen Martin, Stacy Dhu, Corrina Rudler, Kathy Elliott, Stephanie Brakespeare
Runner Up: Royal Perth – Leith Elliott, Norma Holmes, Ann Prior, Jill Penter, Sarah Ridge
Silver Spoon donated by Golf WA
Winner: Jenny Freeman (-7) – Bunbury
Runner Up: Jill Penter (-4) – Royal Perth
Many thanks to Golf WA for their continuing support to WABLGA and donating the Silver Spoon.
Foursomes Championships & Royal Fremantle to the rescue
It was with some persuasion and perhaps the added benefit of being a member at Royal Fremantle, the club agreed to retain the fixtured date of the 2nd August (originally scheduled to host the WABLGA Pennant Final) for WABLGA to host another event which gave us the opportunity to run the previously cancelled Foursomes Championships.
We had 80 players on course which was followed by a buffet lunch. It was fabulous to see all our golfing friends again from the various clubs and we were honoured to have our Life Member Maureen Thomas join us for lunch and presentations.
A special thank you Royal Fremantle for “holding the date” and hosting a fabulous event.
Gross Winners: Donna Parsons – Mosman Park & Allison Adams – Royal Fremantle (91)
Gross Runners Up: Shonna Gobby – Mt Lawley & Beth Deeley – Bunbury (92)
Nett Winners: Maura Morrissey & Jocelyn Hudson – Royal Fremantle (76)
Nett Runners Up: Janet Cowan & Beverly Thompson – Gosnells (76.5)
Closing Day
This year’s event was hosted by The Western Australian Golf Club on Sunday 18th October and we had 60 players on course for a 7.30am shotgun start followed by lunch and presentations. It was a fantastic day and although the numbers were down on previous years, those who attended enjoyed a beautifully presented course and delicious buffet lunch. Many thanks to WAGC for hosting such a fabulous day to close the season.
Nora Watts Foundation Trophy
Winners: WAGC – Lynne Edwards, Lynette Clohessy & Debra Renfrey
Runners up: Mosman Park – Eve Broadley, Jodie Benny & Jocelyn Bollands
Individual Events
Gross Winner: Lynette Clohessy – WAGC
Nett Winner: Eve Broadley – Mosman Park
2020 Charity – Street Chaplains
The fund raising for 2020 was significantly reduced predominately due to the Pennant season being cancelled. Over the past 3 years we have raised in excess of $8,000 whereas this year the total fund raised were $1,802. It will be proposed that we retain the current charity for the 2021 season when nominations are called for at the AGM.
2020 Membership
This year, despite COVID-19, we had 171 members from 10 clubs compared to 203 last year from 12 clubs. We were advised early in the year as the COVID-19 restrictions commenced that The Vines and Melville Glades would not be participating in the 2020 season and we do hope they re-join us in 2021.
I would like to acknowledge our Life Members Maureen Thomas and Patsy Best for their continued participation in WABLGA. I believe we all appreciate their depth of knowledge and history of our Association and welcome their attendance at our events.
Thank you to the WABLGA Committee of Stephanie Brakespeare, Sandy Colson and Pat Dunstan for their efforts and support throughout the year. It was a pleasure to work with such an efficient and collaborative team.
I wish to extend a very special thank you to Stephanie for her outstanding contribution to the WABLGA committee over the past 4 years. Stephanie spent the first 3 years as Secretary and her final year developing the new role of Events Co-Ordinator. She has left us with very solid foundations in these areas which will significantly assist any new Committee member coming into those roles.
As we close out the year, I would like to thank the Club Delegates and Members for their support. I sincerely hope that our 2021 season will be a lot brighter and that we can return to our normal program of events.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the past Presidents of WABLGA, Jill Penter, Julie Lepp and Maura Morrissey. It has been with their support, guidance and knowledge that I have managed to navigate my way through this most challenging year and my first year in the role of President.
I wish you and your families a very safe and happy festive season and hope you enjoy some summer golfing along the way.
I look forward to seeing you all in 2021 at our Pre-Season day in February.
I ask that this report be received.
Linda Silverlock