Hitchcock starts new year in fine form with wins in fours and pairs at Albany Bowling Club championships

Albany Bowling Club captain Craig Hitchcock has had a successful start to 2026, picking up two club titles and being selected for the Southern Bowling Zone side in the upcoming inter zone round robin. He was in the winning quartet which clinched the men’s club championship fours last Saturday, and he also triumphed in the classic pairs carnival the previous week, teaming up with Ash Cooper to blow away the field. The fours was a two-day competition which had players battling through rough weather last Saturday. Hitchcock teamed up with Dave Williams, Bill Tidy and Greg Lloyd to finish ahead of runners-up Jako Swart, Jack Vandervan, Ray Hobley and Dean Offer. The plate winners were Steve Harris, Roy Sharpe, Rob O’Brien and Geoff Bain. The classic pairs attracted 32 teams playing on three different rinks on January 10 to 11, with Hitchcock and Cooper seeing off Barry Rendell and Phil Ramsden — who filled in on day two for Brian Osman — to take top honours. Rick Rogers and Andy Cowcher were third and Gav Evans and Darryl Stephens fourth. Albany Bowling Club members John Davidson and Wayne Jones were picked to join Hitchcock in the Southern Zone team after Lower Great Southern took out the interleague round robin on January 11. The inter zone competition will be held in Halls Head from January 31.