HEYWOOD bowler Mick Swan has taken out the Victorian Bowlers Arm State Championship Pairs tournament alongside Port Fairy competitor Simon Cullinane in Warrnambool on the weekend.

The two-day tournament welcomed some of the best talent across Victoria who use a bowling arm, an artificial device to assist in delivering the bowl.

Competition was fierce in Warrnambool with a few of the games coming down to the final ends to determine the winner.

The duo won their section on Saturday and moved straight into Sunday’s semi-final before a close win against Warrnambool City put them into the grand final where they won in a dominant display.

“The tournament runs over two days and players who use bowling arms can enter,” Swan said.

“Simon asked me if I wanted to compete with him and I was happy to take the lead, we were a good team out there and playing with him for the first time was fantastic – we combined really well.

“We won the sectional by beating the teams in our group. That moved us straight into the semi-final; that was a good game – we led by seven to love halfway through then at the last end we were just two shots up.

“It came down to the final two bowls and I managed to position it where I needed to to get the win.”

As a keen member of the Heywood Bowling Club for more than 30 years Swan began using the bowling arm just four years ago, a big transition which has clearly been a successful one.

“It’s my fourth year using the bowling arm, for 27 years I played with my right hand then had to transition to my left and it took a lot of practice; back when I played football though I could kick and use both hands so I was a bit lucky in that sense,” Swan said.

Swan is well-versed in the high-pressure bowling environments after competing in many representative tournaments across the years.

While he has come up against some tough competition he says one of his greatest honours is being able to represent his club.

“After doing it for a while you don’t think too much about the shot, you just focus on what you have to do and your experience gets you there,” he said.

“Some of the less experienced bowlers can get a bit nervous in those moments but when you’ve been doing it for as long as I have you’re able to stay composed in those big moments.

“It’s just fantastic competing in these tournaments and I think the best part is that I get to represent my club and be there on behalf of Heywood Bowling Club.

“I’ve bowled there since I started playing and I just love it.”