Summer...

Divine time when the cicadas are screeching, when peaches, strawberries and nectarines are at their juiciest when chrysanthemums and dahlias are in bloom.  Ah, but best of all, when the rinks are hard and fast for good bowling, and, heaven be blessed, with daylight saving, it doesn't get too dark to see kitty until 9pm.

Source: The Lawn Bowls Dictionary by Keith Dunstan

Upcoming events

5-6 March – Auckland National Interclub 7s
8 March – Auckland Secondary School Pairs – rescheduled to October
13 March – Auckland Rep Day: Open Prem 1 & 1-5 Year
17-20 March – Bowls NZ National Intercentre
19-20 March – 1-5 Year Interclub
26-27 March – Interclub 8s & Interclub Half Day 6s 

Aucklanders master wins 

A number of Auckland bowlers competed in last week's North Harbour NZ Masters. The Masters was defined by age group but the player's experience, skillset and game stamina would progress them beyond section play.

The strong combinations in the Pairs and Fours were paying off and delivered success for the Aucklanders.  Congratulations.  It was a great tournament and a reminder to us all - age is not a barrier to winning a title in this sport!

PE @ CCB

Students from St Cuthberts have been enjoying lawn bowls as PE at Carlton Cornwall Bowls. The young ladies have been thoroughly enjoying their experience.  Who knows, there could be a Millie Khan or a Jo Edwards in the making!

From our clubs

Dream team win Pairs!

New Lynn
19-20 February 2022

It's a whoopie & a huge congrats to this dynamic duo Olivia Buckingham and Paris Baker.  They were crowned New Lynn's Champ of Champ Women's Pairs following their matchup against Hokimate Barton and Hemoata! 

They did it again...

Royal Oak
19-20 February 2022

Last weekend, nine men’s teams took part in the Open Triples event. After an early downpour, play was slightly delayed to give David a chance to remove the water. But then it was full steam ahead and we saw some great bowls being played.

By Day 2 we had five teams were left including two 2-lifers who played each other in the first game. Mike, Marty and Gavin were the victors of that battle against David, Zac and Ray. Another downpour meant the squeegees came out before the second round could start, changing the green yet again.  The team of Kerry, Phil and Peter had a great game against the Mike Galloway team, storming out to an early lead and holding their own for the first half of the game. However, Mike’s team knuckled down and was able to claim the win. The final game of the day saw Mike against David for the 2nd time, and once again, Mike, Marty and Gavin claimed the win thereby giving them the Men’s Open Triples title for the season. Congratulations to all players for an excellent weekend.

Contributed by Nathan Koppens

Talk about Tough

Glen Eden 
19-20 February 2022

Under the hot sun, Glen Eden Bowling Club played their Champ Fours Finals on Sunday, 20 February.  A small group of supporters were on hand to enjoy the top bowling on display - played in the best spirit of serious but friendly competition. 

Talk about tough... Jenny and Jeff Tough!  Both had a great day on the green - both were crowned champs. Yup, it must have been a tough negotiation at home over whose silverware gets the prime spot on the mantelpiece!

Looking at our Honours boards, the Tough's have a great history in the Fours format. By my reckoning, this is Jeff's sixth win as a part of a Champ Fours team since his first in the 79/80 season - he has always played as Second. This is Jenny's seventh Fours win. Her first was in 94/95 for the then Glen Eden Women’s Bowling Club. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to tally up all their other champ wins.

Contributed by Darren Schroeder

Five finals

Carlton Cornwall
19-20 February 2022

Carlton Cornwall Bowls tried something different this year, we introduced a Finals Weekend for our club championships.  On 19 & 20 February, five trophies were up for grabs. 

Men’s Singles: This match-up was between James Williams and David Ball.  The two met in an earlier round with James taking the win 21-20.  So David was out for redemption.  The match was an interesting tussle on this occasion James had the measure on David and scored a comfortable win.

Women’s Singles: Ashleigh Jeffcoat squared off against Linda Ralph.  Ashleigh got off to a flying start, Linda did not panic.  With patience and persistence, Linda clawed her way back into the game - then she administered the coup de grace. 

1-5 Year Singles: The little ones wanted to play like the big ones. So this year the traditional 2-life, 21 shots, no time limit format was introduced. After four very keenly fought matches, Allen Lockie (2-lifer) was up against Peadar MacElvanna (1-lifer).  The
scoreboard was neck-in-neck with the lead constantly changing.  After 23 ends it was 17-17.  Allen upped the ante, three ends later he clinched his first 1-5 Year title 21-17.

Men's Triples:  The final came down to the underdogs, Peter Whiting, Scott Jolly and Leif Selby against the champions David Ball, James Williams and Petar Sain.  The underdogs were not to be intimidated, they focused on drawing bowls. Time and again Selby’s team held the shot on the turn - all Leif had to do was add the odd bit of icing to the cake.  The scorecard makes flattering reading and will be framed and lauded over by the roll-up crowd for years to come.

Women's Triples:  The final match-up was Karen Hema, Linda Ralph and Lisa Prideaux against Estelle Hickey, Helen Blick and Jo Cheng.  Both teams had beaten each other during earlier rounds.  It became another grudge match final.  Straight away Jo Cheng found her radar matching Linda Ralph bowl-for-bowl.  After five ends they lead 8-2.  The game then turned... after 10 ends the score was 10-10.  Karen Hema’s team kept the pressure on to take out the win.

Contributed by Gerard Hulst

Hot finish to social bowls

St Heliers
23 February 2022

St Heliers Bowling Club hosted its Finals night for the Social Bowls3Five on Thursday, 23 February. Another tropical night complimented the friendly competition and festive attire amongst the teams. 

The teams were pretty evenly split between the serious “in-it-to-win-it" teams and the “let’s not cook dinner tonight & have a great time outside together this summer" teams.  Sponsor, PakNSave Glen Innes has supported Wednesday evening's social league for 20 years. Many of the social league teams have impressive participation records as well. 

23 teams were involved this year, five were new to the competition. St Heliers plans to bring full greens back to the competition next year.

2022 top teams: 1st - Hot Property, 2nd - Barfoot & Thompson, 3rd - Alliot Ltd, 4th - The Gunners.  Hot Property definitely plans to play (and win!) the Auckland Social Bowls Final scheduled for Sunday, 10 April at Bridge Park Bowling Club.

Pictures below: Hot Property (white shirts) and Alliot Ltd enjoy their post-game celebration.

Contributed by Cynthia Morris

Club events