The Linda Deep Cup was first held in 2007 at the former AMF Enfield Bowl (now Strathfield Superbowl), on the night of Linda’s birthday, March 30th.
The initial LDC was an informal affair, with one game of bowling between Linda, husband George and their son, Anthony, held after The Simpsons Bowling League games played by Anthony that evening.
Played initially for a makeshift trophy constructed from a Nesquik can and aluminium foil, the LDC concept was officially revived in 2009 (with the new Linda Deep Cup perpetual trophy installed as the tournament’s prize) and held on an annual basis, with the exception of 2012-2015 (with LDC2014 standing alone in that period), as well as LDC2020, which was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
The LDC has become a beloved family tradition which has continued to grow and thrive, with over 20 players expected each year competing.
The Linda Deep Cup is the premier competition of each LDC event, contested by all players over a 2-game series (with the exception of 2010 and 2011 in which a final game was played by the top-2 players from the “Qualifier” series). It is an individual “scratch pinfall” competition, meaning the score bowled by players over the entire series is used to rank players and is not adjusted or handicapped.
The Linda Deep Cup perpetual trophy was purchased in 2009 and is the ultimate prize of the event. Presented to the champion player (although it remains in the care of the Deep family in perpetuity), each winner is engraved onto the Cup’s base (with a new base added in 2023 to accommodate future winners).
Since 2017, medals have also been awarded to the top-3 finishers at each event.
In response to the growth of the event, a new team-based competition was introduced at LDC2014 and runs alongside the individual competition. The Team Challenge is run by aggregating and normalising scores (i.e. adjusting scores to balance out teams of unequal size) accrued by the members of a team of all the players on a given lane.
Initially contested between 2 teams, Team Pink and Team Purple, the event was expanded at LDC2018 in honour of Linda’s 50th birthday, with an interim “Team Challenge” trophy first awarded the year prior.
The Susan Smeeton Shield perpetual trophy was purchased in 2020 and has been awarded to the champion team of the 4-team competition.
Named after Linda’s mother Susan, who last participated at LDC2018 due to travel considerations but was a great team player in her time with the LDC, the Shield was also retroactively awarded to the winning teams of previous 4-team competitions at LDC2018 and 2019.
Each member of the winning team in the Susan Smeeton Shield also receives a medal.
The Najat Deep Medal was introduced at LDC2018 as the Spirit of the Cup Award to recognise a player who finishes outside of the podium places but embodies the “Spirit of the Linda Deep Cup” during the event, serving as the best-and-fairest award.
The award was rechristened the Najat Deep Medal in honour of Linda’s mother-in-law, Najat Deep, prior to LDC2019, only months before her passing - her portrait added to the medal prior to LDC2020 (with past winners receiving updated medals at LDC2022).
Affectionately known as “Taita” (the Lebanese colloquialism for grandmother) by all who played in the LDC, Najat played in every event she physically could and often teamed with Linda and/or Linda’s mother, Susan, and truly embodied the Spirit of the Linda Deep Cup.
The matriarch of the Deep family, she was retroactively and posthumously awarded the medal for LDC2017 and is now the first recognised recipient of her own honour.
In honour of Linda’s 50th birthday, the Linda Deep Cup Hall of Fame was created ahead of LDC2018 to recognise people who have made the LDC special off of the lanes and excelled upon them.
The ultimate non-bowling honour of the LDC, Linda, her mother, Susan, and her mother-in-law, Najat, were enshrined as the inaugural Class of 2018, with one new member being inducted at each LDC event (excluding 2023 when the Kalouche Family were inducted as a collective).
Eligibility for the Hall of Fame requires participation at 5 LDC events at a minimum and is based on a person’s contributions to the LDC both as a bowler, as well to the Spirit of the Linda Deep Cup and service to the event.
The Class of 2026 will see the tenth member inducted to the Hall of Fame at LDC2026.