So it's already that time of year again...time for the caravan crew to start meandering back to Perth, for the bowls bag to come out of hibernation and for the Saints uniform to get dusted off.

For those of us who haven't quite shaken the shackles of full time work, there was still plenty happening in the off season...

We've had our traditional Thursday and Saturday Fours and Pairs events keeping the greens busy week in and week out.

The club held its super successful Everest Qualifier, with Glenn Martin and Alan Southern winning their way into the 100k Everest to be held at the Dudley Park Bowling Club on 11-14 October. The 100k Everest attracts the biggest and best bowlers to Western Australia for a great weekend of bowls. Be sure to get down to Dudley Park to watch some WA legends take on the best Australia (and the rest of the world) has to offer.

The ladies and mens state selectors announced the state training squads for the 2019 side series to be held in NSW. Congratulations go to Cody Packer and Lewis Grigg from the mens side and Hailey Adams-Packer, Kaitlin Tyrrell and Shaan Saunders from the ladies side. A special congrats to Shaan and Kaitlin for their first time picked in the squad. I'm sure everyone will wish their fellow club mates the best with the hefty selection process ahead of them.

WA's over 60s side heads off soon and OPBC is again well represented with Gary Caffell, Steve O'Neil and Grant Nicol sure to make their presence felt when they play in the National Senior Sides Series to be held on the Copper Coast of South Australia from October 15th to 18th.

In the next few weeks the season starts to kick off good and proper. The annual 5-a-side competition held at Manning will see the OPBC side of Cody, Hailey, Lewis, Darren Rowlings and Gary. There are some brilliant teams set for this year so its well worth the trip to Manning on the 6th and 7th October to check it out. For those that don't know the 5-a-side competition its a great concept involving a team effort across all the disciplines so singles, pairs, triples and fours.

But before all that gets underway...don't forget to get your names in for the open day on the Sunday 30th September. Its sure to be a great day with rotational fours on the agenda followed by a BBQ. $15 for your games and food and a good chance to play with some new and different people. Look forward to seeing you all there!