Tasmanian bowlers claim gold and silver at Australian Championships
Port Sorell’s Amity Bickley and Burnie’s Tony Simpson have delivered a sensational start to The Nationals 2026, claiming gold and silver respectively at the Australian Champion of Champion Singles Championships in Perth this afternoon.
Competing at North Beach Bowling Club in Western Australia, Bickley won six of her seven games to convincingly claim the Women’s Champion of Champion title, finishing two games clear of the next three players, who each recorded four wins.
The victory earns Bickley the opportunity to represent Port Sorell at the World Champion of Champion Women’s Singles Championships.
Simpson also produced an outstanding performance, winning five of his seven games to secure the silver medal in the men’s event. He narrowly missed out on gold on a countback to Raymond Terrace’s Jay-Bye Norris from New South Wales, despite Simpson defeating Bye-Norris in their round-robin match earlier in the day.
The achievements of both Tasmanians are even more impressive given the challenges they faced getting to Perth. Their flight from Tasmania on Thursday was delayed, forcing an unscheduled overnight stop in Sydney and resulting in the pair missing a full day of practice on the North Beach greens on Friday.
Bickley and Simpson’s performances are a fantastic result for their clubs and for Tasmanian bowls.
Congratulations Amity (pictured) and Tony – you have done Port Sorell, Burnie and Tasmania proud.
