This day in sporting history...

1979 — Sebastian Coe breaks the world record in the mile with a time of 3:48.95 in Oslo, Norway. The time is rounded up to 3:49.

2000 — World record rugby attendance of 108,874 see New Zealand beat Australia, 39-35 in Tri-Nations match at Stadium Australia, Sydney; 5 tries each with Andrew Mehrtens' goal kicking (6) the difference.

National Champ of Champs Triples...

Date: 16-18 July 2021
It's the National Champ of Champs Triples this weekend in Hastings and our hopes are on the two Auckland Triples teams pitting their skills against other regional champs.

Wishing lots of luck to Carol Berry, Karen Kuzimski and Karen Spells from New Lynn and to Mike Galloway, Martin Dixon and Gavin Brown from Royal Oak.  We'll be cheering you on from Auckland.

Click on this link to view the draw
To find out the results and to get links for live streaming - click on the button

Double national title wins for
Auckland...

I had the good fortune to travel to Dunedin to watch and support the Auckland teams competing in the National Champ of Champs Pairs.  I watched both teams qualify at Centre level and had no doubt they would represent their clubs with pride, passion and purpose.

Olivia and Paris...
On Friday,  Day 1, Olivia and Paris avoided the 8:00 am, minus 3 degrees start with a bye.  By the end of the day, it was one win and one loss. The New Lynn pair knew they had to pick up the tempo - they did just that - at the end of Day 2, they had qualified with three wins and one loss.  

There were eight qualifying teams, enabling organisers to begin all matches at 8:00 am so the final could be live-streamed at 1:00 pm.  The blind draw saw three of the four South Island teams in the top half of the draw and three of the four North Island teams in the bottom half of the draw.  A poser on odds for a numbers man like me!

Olivia and Paris played fantastic bowls, their draw shots and telling weighted run shots controlling all three games played, particularly in the final.  They outclassed the talented Dunedin pairing of Sarah Scott and Bronwyn Stevens, winning 17-9. Watch their final on YouTube, and you will see how they maintained their composure and thoroughly deserved their National title.  Well done ladies.

Leif and James...
On Day 1, James and Leif’s first game was against Steve Beel and Nicholas Tomsett from Mount Manganui. In addition to qualifying, bragging rights and rivalry were at stake.  James and Steve are both on the Bowls NZ Greenkeeping Association, plus James left Mount Maunganui to join Carlton Cornwall. 

There was much chatter and chewing up bandwidth in the gallery as spectators searched Google or Wikipedia for Leif Selby while James’ reputation was already known. At the end of Day 2, the results board read four wins, the finer detail showing that no opposition had scored double figures.

The post section draw saw the five North Island teams occupy the first five spots followed by the two South Island teams – again, what are the odds.  The quarter-final and semi-final were tighter matches.  Leif repeatedly demonstrated a draw shot will outperform a drive. In another remarkable statistic, in all seven games of the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the losing teams each scored 11 points.

James and Leif’s semi-final against the Hood brothers from Whangarei was by far the most challenging game of the tournament. They saw a six-point lead clawed back to two points with the final end to play.  James and Leif held their composure and took the win.

Of the 14 ends played, there were only two occasions James was not holding shot on the turn. Time and time again, the opposition Skip chose to run and split the head open, which allowed Leif to draw to a bare jack. The final saw a cracking start from James and Leif scoring two fives in the first three ends. They continued pressure throughout to easily win 20-9.  It was a privilege and a pleasure to watch another National title for Carlton Cornwall.

Gerard Hulst
President – Carlton Cornwall Bowls