2023 National Fours Champs

New Zealand Blackjack Val Smith has again skipped her way to a national title, combining with high-performance squad players Deb White, Ashleigh Jeffcoat and Kimberley Hemingway to take out the 2023 Summerset National Women’s Fours.

Read Bowls NZ full report here...

What’s in a shoe!

Wearing appropriate footwear is a bone of contention for many clubs.

Greens are increasingly expensive to install and maintain so wearing the right type of shoes keeps the greens in the best possible condition and will prevent the greens from being churned up by the grip on the player's shoes. Players can be asked to replace footwear that will damage the greens.

In earlier days clubs had a ‘shoe cleaner’ to ensure footwear was cleared of any debris before they hit the green!

Bowls Australia is concerned with the increasingly relaxed standards for the production and sale of footwear for use on Australian lawn bowling greens, they have gone as far as providing a list of approved footwear – Bowls NZ approves all footwear approved by Bowls Australia.

National Interclub 7s

4 & 5 March
Greens around Auckland this weekend will be chocka block as club sides compete in Singles, Pairs & Fours disciplines in three divisions.

The winner of each section will qualify for post section. The Men’s and Women’s Open winners qualify for the National Interclub Finals, and the Any Combination qualifiers will compete for the Auckland 7s Cup.

Good luck, everyone!

Bowls 3Five Open

Tuesday 7 March is earmarked for the Finals of Bowls 3Five Open. Our host extraordinaire, Auckland Bowling Club will take care of everyone, so enter the date on your calendar.

As a reminder... Tuesday is sudden death! So what does that mean for your team?  Can your team mathematically win or tie a set considering power play situations?  Whatever your question, check out the ladder or Special Conditions of Play!

There will be a live draw, so make sure one of your team is at ABC by 5.30 pm to see who plays who!

Club events

Gutsy Glendowie champion returns in style

The recent Men's Pairs Final at Glendowie produced an emotional result after the perennial Colin O'Brien and the indomitable Andrew Lawson were victorious. 

Andrew has overcome enormous odds to return to bowling at all - let alone to this level again, having battled Stage 4 Oesophageal cancer, which was diagnosed in May 2021. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and extensive surgery were eventually put behind him. Andrew gradually and painfully returned to bowls towards the end of 2022 - his determination was ultimately rewarded with another club championship triumph. Andrew was insistent in recognising his playing partner Colin for his incredible longevity and ability to win. Yet another title to add to his own haul, and he also wanted to pay tribute to the support of GBC members throughout his illness and recovery - particularly those members who have gone through their own very serious health issues and have stood alongside him. 

"I'm just grateful to be able to play now really..."

-- John Butterworth

Pictured (left to right): Richard Atkinson-Moore, Colin O'Brien, Andrew Lawson, Frazer Hanning.

Deck officially opened

Graeme Bennett, Chair of Rawhiti Trust, and Dean Bartlett, Bowls Auckland CEO, cut the ribbon to Kohimarama Bowling Club's new deck in the pouring rain Friday, 24 February. The weather did not dampen the festivities of the club's Fiesta Night - a celebration bringing together the membership to enjoy good company, music, and food.

Champ Fours

Saturday 25 February
It is only the second year Kohimarama Bowling Club has been able to field teams for a Men's Championship Fours. This year's winners share a new trophy for the title, the Goldie Trophy, donated by Club Life Member, Rosemary Goldie. Last year's winners cuddled our garden mascot. 

The Club opened to Men in 2013 and our co-ed membership is just about half - quite a difference from the 100% women of the founding Mission Bay Women's Bowling Club!  Read more about our history here 

-- Cynthia Morris

Men's Championship Fours winners - Charles Martin, Jim Jericevich, Graeme McGinnes & Ian Paterson
Women's Championship Fours winners:  Liz Burton, Jill Wood, Marlene Mak & Bev Callingham

Coaching for Collegiate & U20s

Auckland Bowling Coaches Association will be running a series of coaching courses for collegiates and under-20 lawn bowlers. This course will be suitable for beginners to performance players.

This first course will concentrate on preparation for the Bowls NZ competitions: Secondary Schools Bowls35 event on 27-28 March 2023 and Bowls NZ Under-20s on 25-26 March 2023.

DATE: Sunday 12 March 2023
TIME: 9am to 12pm
VENUE: Auckland Bowling Club

For planning, purposes RSVP to Leon Chapman  at chap@talk.co.nz or 022 625 2325