Lawn Bowls
29 June, 2026
Vale Chris Young: Tributes honour champion golfer and bowler
Tributes flow for sportsman Chris ‘Yobbo’ Young in the wake of his passing on June 10. Young was an accomplished golfer and lawn bowler and was awarded the Wimmera Sports Star of the Year Award in 1990.
Beyond his many accolades, he was a true gentleman, a dedicated team man, and a mentor to many.
Young’s accomplishments with the Chalambar Golf Club span a career of five decades, including 13 Club Championships, including 11 consecutively, and serving with distinction as Club Captain.
Regionally, he played Wimmera Pennant for Chalambar for many years, winning the Wimmera Championship and Wimmera Champion of Champions multiple times, as well as captaining the Wimmera at Country Week in Melbourne.
Young’s incredible athletic legacy in lawn bowls is equally remarkable, winning 10 singles championships at Chalambar, including the last six consecutively, and numerous pairs, triples, and fours titles.
He represented Victoria in 170 games, winning two state singles titles: the Victorian State Singles and the Victorian Champion of Champions Singles.
After leaving Ararat, he played Pennant with Horsham City, winning their singles crown multiple times and going on to win the State Champion of Champions after only one year with the club.
Young worked at the Moama Bowls Club as the bowls coordinator for a few years, where, by chance, he met a local Ararat girl, and they married and moved back to Ararat.
After a brief hiatus from bowls, he returned to the sport seven years ago, where he was selected to skip a rink in the Victorian Over 60s state team, securing two additional state titles in the Over 60s singles and winning in the mixed pairs last year.
Recently, he proudly represented Australia in the men’s fours and mixed fours in Cyprus.
Young was deeply respected by all who knew him and has left a lasting legacy in the community.