IT has been a busy bowls season for Robyn Thomassen with no end in sight.

Thomassen recently returned from Bendigo where she teamed up with Grangeburn Bowling Club clubmate, Lead McCabe, in the women’s pairs at the state championships, before contesting the Champion of Champions event.

The Grangeburn Bowling Club member won the club championship, before winning the Far Western Bowls Association Champion of Champions title, winning through the region stage to progress through to Bendigo.

A first-round win against Wimmera’s Karen Brennan saw her progress through to the quarter finals, accounting for Gippsland’s Gail McKenzie, before dropping her semi-final against eventual winner, Bendigo Campaspe Goldfield’s Cassandra Millerick, 9-25.

Thomassen said finishing top four in the state exceeded her expectations.

“I just go in there hoping to win the next game, then if that happens, you concentrate on the next one,” she said.

“We don’t play on grass here, so the surface is quite different to play on.”

The club veteran has been playing since 1993 and the condensed calendar this season meant a lot of the events were played in a shorter period of time.

“It has been busy right from the start of the season, because we have had to put everything in together because of COVID,” Thomassen said.

“Three or four times a month you will be playing in a local state event then if you get through, you have to travel to Portland, Warrnambool or Colac for the West Coast Region then of course then you go to state which is usually in Bendigo or Shepparton.

“People think I play every day, but there are some girls who play more than I do.”

Having spent nearly 30 years on the green, Thomassen said it was a mix of things which kept her engaged with the sport.

“It is the challenge, I love the sport and I enjoy the social side of it,” she said.

“The fact you can go anywhere in Australia if you’re a member of a bowls club and get a game as well.”

Playing at state events also means players need to adjust to the different surface, adding a different complexity to the games.

“The biggest difference is the grass line, which brings the weight of the bowl into it is the biggest adjustment,” Thomassen said.

With the Far Western Bowls Division season complete, Thomassen’s focus has shifted to the state events and is now preparing for another selection process.

The 18-time Grangeburn club champion will return to Bendigo today for the state Over 60s trials in a bid to be selected in the team.

Tomorrow’s trials will select the state team ahead of the nationals in Broadbeach later in the year.