What happens when two stars of the Central Highlands Bowls competition join forces?
They win a state title.
Kyneton’s Desma Budd and Bacchus Marsh’s Amy Gloury were rivals on the greens, but a decision to team up for the Victorian Bowls Championships proved a stroke of genius.
Just a few months later they are state champions after claiming gold in the pairs event in Bendigo last week.
“We played against each other in pennant and we were talking one day and decided to pair up and see how we went,” Budd said.
“We thought, why not give it a go and see what happens?”
There was nothing easy about Budd and Gloury’s quest for state championship gold.
They were forced to fight through an association tournament and a regional event just to qualify.
And after seeing off a number of talented teams, Budd and Gloury saved their best for the biggest stage, winning their semi-final and final by a combined 24 shots.
Budd said the fact both had skipped for their respective clubs played a large part in their success.
“That really helped us. We could both play the shots we needed to play,” she says.
“I led and I had to do a lot of drawing and Amy was the skip.
“Some of the heads I actually had to have a go at and mess it up …
“Because I play skip in our pennant team that worked well for me because I could play those spots and Amy knew that.”
While it was a big win for Budd and Gloury, it was also a great result for the Central Highlands Bowls competition.
