Three members of the Bedfordview Country Club Bowls are gearing up to take part in the Atlantic Senior Fours Tournament (ASF 2025). The announcement was made by club president Fiona Duke during a bowling game on September 27.

Gianni Gatti, who represented South Africa in the ASF 2023 and helped secure a silver medal, confirmed that the ASF 2025 will be held in Cyprus from December 1–14. He said the Bedfordview contingent includes himself, Allan Gordon, and Brian Dial.

Women players will also participate, with the competition featuring three categories – women’s fours, men’s fours, and mixed fours (teams of two men and two women).

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Current South African Men’s Vets Singles Champion and ASF 2025 men’s team member, Otto Holicki, will lead the team to Cyprus.

He explained that the ASF is a World Bowls-sanctioned international competition held every two years, with national teams made up of players aged 55 and older. The 2025 edition will see 21 nations competing, with some entering B teams.

Holicki added that the men’s and women’s fours will each play between 12 and 13 games over the first seven days, averaging two games per day. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals, with winners progressing to the finals.

“These games, along with other selected matches, will be filmed and streamed live on various media and TV platforms.

“Medals will be awarded to winners, runners-up, and both losing semi-finalists,” he said. The mixed fours will then follow over five days, using a similar format.

He also noted that while Bowls SA has not been able to fund the ASF 2025 teams due to competing international commitments, the organisation has assisted in facilitating sponsorships.

“These sponsorships have substantially reduced the financial burden on individual players, for which we are very grateful,” he said.

Gordon expressed excitement at being selected, adding that the team has trained on different surfaces in preparation and is aiming for gold this time around.

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Meanwhile, Duke highlighted ongoing improvements at the club, noting that the greens are currently undergoing spring treatment during the off-season.

“We recently installed lights and solar at the clubhouse because we want to encourage more people to come and play.

“We’re also planning a business league during the week and invite businesses to take part. Bowls is a very sociable sport and not just for older people – we have many young players too, and we encourage everyone to give it a try.”