Easter bowls the latest COVID-19 victim

Unfortunately the tournament, which saw entries exhausted, will not go ahead now due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

While RSL Bowling Club president and tournament organiser Ken Wellard was disappointed he could not host the event, he was still optimistic about the situation.

‘‘First and foremost is the health and safety of everyone, so we had no choice but to follow suit with everyone else and call it off,’’ he said.

‘‘The majority of people who play bowls, and in particular our club, are in that older age bracket that are at higher risk.

‘‘Ours was one of the last tournaments that was still going to go ahead because everyone still wanted to play, but with the new guidelines from the government we knew holding the tournament would be impossible.

‘‘Financially it will hurt the club for the short term, but everyone I have spoken to said that they want to come here and play next year.

‘‘It’s encouraging for our club to see such eagerness from those who were set to play this year and we look forward to hosting them in 2021.’’

The RSL Bowling Club’s Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal fundraiser planned for Good Friday has also been cancelled.

The event, which was going to feature a day of bowls and a show n shine from the Deniliquin District Veteran & Vintage Car Club, was organised by RSL Bowling Club outdoor activities organiser Kim Hume.

Wellard said Hume was quite devastated by the cancellation.

‘‘Kim put a lot of work into the event and now it feels like she put in all that work for nothing,” he said.

‘‘It was going to be bigger and better than last year’s event.

‘‘It’s not only the Royal Children’s Hospital that misses out, but the local businesses also are affected by these events being cancelled.

‘‘A lot of travelling players have cancelled their accommodation, with the RSL also missing out on extra customers for dinners.

‘‘It’s a terrible situation and we hope everyone comes out of this okay.’’