Women's Premier Open Singles

22-23 October 2022

The Women's Premier Open Singles was last played in 2019, so we were excited to have this annual event back on the competition calendar. This prestigious competition attracted 63 entries from 10 different centres, players travelling from the Far North, Naenae, Gisborne East Coast, and Dunedin. 

Saturday was qualifying based on sectional play, with the 16 winners going through to the finals on Sunday. We had a live Finals draw undertaken by Howick's President, Noeline Sadgrove.

The Round of 16 showed how close this competition is, with many players losing after holding early leads. Five of the eight games were decided on margins of less than four shots.

The Quarter Finals continued to show the toughness and competitiveness of this event as two games were decided 21-20. Interestingly, in both those games, the winners had a comeback from six-point deficits.

Semi-Final 1 saw Bronwyn Stevens from North East Vally take on Jenny Stockford from Pt Chevalier. Jenny made an early run - then, Bronwyn began to exert some dominance. Jenny fought back, but Bronwyn took out the match 21-16.

Semi-Final 2 saw Leeane Poulson from Papakura take on Millie Nathan from Birkenhead. Unfortunately for Millie, Leeane was running red hot with no mercy and took out the match 21-7.

In the Final, Bronwyn Stevens is competing against Leeane Poulson. The card shows both players scoring for two or three ends - then the other scores! It was a feature of the style of play favoured by each competitor. Bronwyn preferred short ends, whereas Leeane preferred long ends. As each player wrestled the mat from the other, there was a period of adjustment before regaining the mat. At one stage, the score was 11-11 and then later, 17-all, two ends later it was 18 each. Bronwyn then showed some Dunedin magic as she drew three touchers in succession, with her fourth being a positional back bowl right on the plinth. Leeane held her composure and continued to draw to save - by the cruelest of margins, it was not to be. Bronwyn wins 21-18.

It was an exciting final to watch. Congratulations to both finalists. A special thanks to the teams from Howick and Blockhouse Bay for your superb greens and fantastic hospitality.

You can view full results here...
 

Contributed by Gerard Hulst

Marker's training

Blockhouse Bay Bowls
21 October 2022

Blockhouse Bay Bowling Club hosted the qualifying rounds of the Women’s Open Premier Singles on Saturday 22 October, where many markers were needed throughout the day across the two grass greens.

To equip our members with better marking skills, Weng conducted a training session on Friday. He focused on the duties of a marker before, during & after a game. Topics included how to present oneself, introductions, equipment, and knowledge of the Laws of the Sports of Bowls; positioning on the green, communication of information, running/driving bowls, time management & scorecard administration. He started the session with two videos from World Bowls, followed by some finer points on certain aspects of competent marking.

The feedback from the Q&A session from the 16 attendees was very encouraging.  They all did a brilliant job during the qualifying rounds!

Contributed by Weng Lim

Making new friends

Reconnecting with bowling buddies and making new friends was a highlight over the Women's Premier Open Singles weekend. We made new friends with Dayvinia Mills, playing for Kahutia, Gisborne East Coast. It is the second time Dayvinia has entered into this event & she was making the most of her time in Tāmaki Makaurau. 

Dayvinia was part of the Gisborne East Coast Women’s Prem team, who won the Regional Intercentre in May to qualify for the National Intercentre Finals on 15 & 16 October. While the side was in sixth place, Dayvinia said the high point for her was a win against Jo Edwards!

She commented, “the value of getting out from a small community and competing in bigger events is it opens your eyes to become a better player. You learn with each event, and so your confidence grows. The bonus is you make friends along with way.”

Dayvinia was very complimentary about the warm welcome she and her husband Trevor (picture below) received from the team at Blockhouse Bay and how well the event was run. It was great meeting you, we hope to see you again soon.

Auckland Secondary School Pairs

26 October 2022

The Auckland Secondary School Pairs competition was played on Wednesday under sunny skies at Mt Eden Bowling Club. The tournament was rescheduled from the COVID-affected timing of March this year. 

The competition is open to secondary schools in Auckland, any combination teams playing five games of two bowl pairs, 10 ends, 40 minutes per game. While numbers were down because of senior school exams, there was still lots of talent on show.

For some participants, this was the first time they had experienced competitive bowls, so it took them a few games to settle into a routine. At the end of three rounds, three teams were on three wins. Special mention to the MAGS pairing of Mila Medley and Hannah Moy for scoring a two with their last bowl in round 4 to secure a win.

In Round 5, Joshua Curtis and Adam Blucher from Hobsonville Point Secondary School (HPSS) played against Oliva Reid and Aidan Serrano from Kelston Boys. The Kelston duo got off to a good start and led 4-0 after three ends. Beautiful draw bowls by the HPSS skip saw him save and score. After seven ends it was 3-5. The eighth end was a turning point as the Kelson skip ran at the head but missed, resulting in them dropping three. Good composure by Kelston saw the score level at 6-6 after nine ends. The final end saw both leads deliver excellent draw bowls - it was a measure on the turn. The Kelston skip played a weighted shot and missed snaring the jack by a bowl width. HPSS skip drew his first bowl close enough to take out the need to measure. With his final bowl, the Kelston skip was perfectly weighted but a fraction wide. The win was secured by HPSS.  

Second place was the Kelston Boys pair of Pranay Bhana and Tone Totua. Third place went to the MAGS pair of Will Blaikie and Oscar Duffy.

Thank you to all the teams participating, it was a fun day and we certainly saw some great bowlers in the making. A special thanks to members of Mt Eden Club for providing a friendly and fun environment for all the students, their teachers, club coaches & College Sport.

Upcoming events

27 Oct – Bowls 3Five 1-5 Year
29 Oct – Interclub Pennants & Half Day 6s
3 Nov  – Bowls 3Five 1-5 Year
5 Nov – Interclub Pennants & Half Day 6s
10 Nov  – Bowls 3Five 1-5 Year
12 Nov  – Interclub Pennants & Half Day 6s
12-13 Nov – National Interclub 7s
17 Nov  – Bowls 3Five 1-5 Year Finals
19-20 Nov – Men’s Triples and Women’s Singles
24 Nov – Reserve Day: Bowls 3Five 1-5 Year Finals
26-27 Nov – Men’s and Women’s Pairs

Club news

Poka Pū Triples

Ellerslie & Onehunga Districts
22-23 October 2022

Played over two days at two different clubs, Ellerslie and Onehunga & Districts. The top eight from both venues would meet on Sunday at Ellerslie to compete for the $1,500 prize, the first-ever champions of the Poka Pū Triples Tournament.

Filled with the maximum 32 entries, we had 16 teams at each venue; Onehunga & Districts was run by Graham King, Matt Carroll, and Umpire Weng Lim. Ellerslie was run by Bryce Mackie, Joe Whitelaw & Kau Utanga and Umpire Les Smith.

Ellerslie has been closed for tournaments for almost a decade due to a non-playing green. But last weekend, we had a high-quality green that we haven't seen in a while, lots of kudos go to our Greenkeeper Jamie Hill and the abundance of members & volunteers who helped produce what we think is now one of the best greens in Auckland!

Baker and Sons (Iris Posa, her husband & sons Jim and Alex) provided catering for both venues on both days - we had nothing but great comments about the food. (They work out of the Ellerslie Bowls Club if anyone is looking for a caterer.)

Winners: Danny Delany, Liam Hill, and Neville Hill from Ellerslie/Districts. 
Runners up: Pat Bell, Trish Croot & Mere from New Lynn.

More info is on our Ellerslie Bowls Club Facebook page.

Contributed by Bryce Mackie

Have a Go

Howick Bowls
26 October 2022

Using our jack attack kits tonight, here are a couple of youngsters who spent over an hour playing bowls. They said they would be back - I said, "we could host children's parties with a game beforehand and get in burgers with our potential bowlers."

Contributed by Noeline Sadgrove

ACT Tournament

Glen Eden Bowls
23 October 2022

It was great to see visitors from Hobsonville Bowling Club, Te Kuiti Bowling Club, Pt Chevalier Bowls, Royal Oak Bowls, Grey Lynn Bowling Club, Bowls Warehouse - Sunnybrae Bowling Club, Carlton Cornwall Bowls, Bridge Park Bowling Club & our own members who came along on Sunday for our open tournament,

Thanks to everyone who played and of course a special thanks to all the wonderful people who made this event possible. It was an awesome day overall and the bantering between players was fun and games.

Contributed by Darren Schroeder

1st prize: GEBC: Tee, Mukesh, Margarita

2nd prize: GEBC: Sheila, Christina, Dixie

3rd prize: Grey Lynn: Lola, Loni, Liz

Club events

'Rebooted' as a Gumboot Friday fundraiser!

Rocky Nook Bowls
4 November 2022

100% of income from public/visitors who pay to lawn bowl that night will go to I Am Hope #gumbootupnz.

$10 for visitors and members will also be encouraged to donate and if people 'Bowl in Boots' - gumboots that is (a rare opportunity- we had to twist the greenkeeper’s arm!) the club will match their donation.

DJ Sweetpants + Auckland Irish Club Bar + Captain Crêpes food truck…EPIC!
#lawnbowls #audiojacks #jackattackpilsner @bowls_auckland @bowls3five_nz

Contributed by Steve King

Weekly club events