HUSBAND and wife Martin and Jenny Brown have been a team for 42 years.
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Now, they’re taking their partnership to the Western District Bowls Division greens.
The Browns, both 63, will play Tuesday pennant for Koroit Orange together this season.
Koroit Orange, which made finals in its top-grade return last season, started its 2016-17 campaign with a win over Terang Gold and meets Timboon Maroon in round two action.
“We absolutely love it. We have only been playing four seasons,” Jenny said.
“Marty normally plays on Saturdays but because we had to make numbers up for this season, he agreed to help us out.
“We are in different rinks – I am a second and Marty is a lead. Men can only lead in division one (in Tuesday pennant), just to give women an opportunity to skip.”
Lawn bowls proved a connector to the community for the parents-of-three when they moved to the south-west.
The sport – one Jenny rates as the most frustrating-yet-satisfying she’s played – has since become a staple of their weekly routine.
The Browns also play on Saturdays – Marty in division two and Jenny in whichever grade needs extra numbers.
“We retired here from Geelong seven years ago. It’s a lovely community, it’s beautiful,” Jenny said.
“We just love Koroit and we got to know our neighbours and got involved in the Warrnambool Rock ‘n’ Roll Club.
“But as a way of getting involved (in the Koroit) community, a friend suggested we try bowls and we love it.”
The Browns chose Koroit for their retirement sea-change for a specific reason.
“We wanted a garden because in Geelong we were on the end of five-year stage five water restrictions,” Jenny said.
“Here and Gippsland are the two highest rainfall areas in Victoria and Gippsland was too far from family.”
Jenny said Koroit Orange had welcomed another high-calibre player to its team in the off-season too.
“We were lucky enough to get another player to boost our ranks this year,” she said.
“Katrina Dycer is skippering for us in one of our rinks. She is fitting in well.
“She’s come from City Memorial.
“She and her partner Des live in Mailors Flat and Trina felt being close to Koroit that she’d like to play somewhere closer.”
In other Western District round two games, reigning premier City Memorial Gold, which sits atop the ladder after a strong start to the season, hosts Warrnambool Gold, Terang Gold and Mortlake Blue will chase their first wins of the season and Port Fairy Gold welcomes 2015-16 runner-up City Memorial Green.