Making the most of being on the greens
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NZ U26 team named for Oceania Challenge
With an eye on the future, the best of New Zealand’s youthful talent will be on display at the inaugural 2023 Oceania Challenge - with selectors naming a 10-person team to take to the greens at Blockhouse Bay in April. The Oceania Challenge may include teams from Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island, Niue, Fiji, Cook Island, Tokelau, Australia and both a U26 New Zealand side and NZ Māori contingent. The format will see players selected in singles and fours, and triples and pairs combinations - with the playing order yet to be determined by the selection panel. |
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Congratulations to Auckland bowlers David Motu and Ashleigh Jeffcoat for being selected for the NZ Under 26 squad 
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Para bowlers named for multi-nations
We have another big shout-out and congratulations to make!
Aucklander Teri Blackbourn has been included in the NZ Para Bowls Team 2023 Multi-Nations in the Gold Coast on 25-31 March.
Bowlers of Tonga
Your country needs you!
Tonga Bowls Federation is looking for bowlers from Tonga interested in being of the Tongan National Team to be part of the World Bowls inaugural Oceania Challenge.
Click here for contact details
Dob in a dumper!
Ok, so here's the result of our just-for-fun 'dob in a dumper' poll
- 76% said Yes and 23% said No!
Evolution of bowls
Lawn Bowls has progressed massively over the last 20 years - this short video talks about some of those main changes.
The sport has never been more exciting and I hope this video shows you the same excitement!
Bowls 3Five Open
After last week's postponement, Bowls 3Five teams were eager to hit the green for Rounds 3 & 4 on Tuesday 7 February at Auckland Bowling Club and Epsom Bowls.
Thanks for the BBQ sausages Epsom, bowlers loved them!
Bowls Auckland and Bowls NZ have some awesome bowling opportunities coming up in March and we are excited to get as many students playing as possible.
Bowls is a fantastic sport that has the unique advantage of being fun and accessible to everyone regardless of athletic ability - it suits all students! And... bowling clubs are friendly places that love to welcome and develop new players.
More info to come - so watch this space!
Event entries
National Interclub 7s
There are two divisions in this competition; Men & Women's Open and Auckland Cub Any Combination.
Entries close- Sunday 12 February
The most fun you can have in Pairs
It was an enthusiastic bunch that took to the greens for the Pt Chevalier Classic Pairs over Waitangi weekend. Once again, the different styles of Pairs games and the shortened length format made for an enjoyable day. As an added bonus, the sun was shining, and in the afternoon, a live band, Little Earle, delighted everyone with their repertoire of songs.
With teams from across the Bridge and all over Auckland and Counties, the competition was always going to be fierce. After six games, only two teams remained unbeaten.
First-place honours went to St Helier's combination of Jane Field and Titia Ryder. Both were in fine touch as they amassed 36 ends out of a possible 48. The brother and sister combination of David and Phili Akaruru was 2nd with 30 ends. The best of the five winners saw Siasiona Simpson from Glen Eden in 3rd place with a whopping 36 ends, Colin Ayris-Webster and Colin Haysham 4th with 31 ends, and Pt Chevalier's Nick Thompson and Jenny Stockford 5th with 28 ends.
Sue Curran and Paula Kempthorne (St Helier's) received the consolation prize, which is now affectionately known as the 'Wooden Spoon' Award. One of this experienced duo turned up with only three bowls, to then discover that some of the games required four! On finding out her mistake, the player said 'I thought I was coming to a Pairs tournament'. Her mortified, and unsympathetic partner replied, 'Did you not read the flyer!' You know for next time Paula!
-- Jenny Stockford
Bayleys Keys Tournament
This Tuesday, 7 February, was the first day of our prestigious annual Keys two-day Fours Bowls Tournament, with 13 team prizes totalling $4,000 -made possible by the generous sponsorship of David Nightingale from Bayleys Real Estate in St Heliers.
This year was a little disappointing as it was the first time the natural B-green was unavailable, so we were forced to play one section at Kohimarama Bowling Club. While this was far from ideal, we were very thankful KBC was available.
A total of 26 teams entered, 15 visiting teams and 11 from St Heliers. St Heliers teams comprised eight 1-5 Year bowlers, four of which were in prize-winning teams - they have an excellent future at the club.
Fortunately, we had good weather for the two days, a great relief after the heavy rain & flood conditions Auckland suffered over the past two weeks. While we may have been spread across the two clubs, the hospitality, camaraderie & competitiveness were ever-present.
St Heliers Club President Suzanne thanked everyone for committing to play in this special two-day tournament and making it a success, including those working the bar, catering, raffles & official cards - a special cheer was reserved for the ice cream ladies, Bronwyn & Norma.
Thanks to Margie Sorensen and her team at KBC for hosting a section & of course, a big thanks to Bayleys St Heliers for their sponsorship and valued support.
Keys Cup
Winner: Bruce Hickman, Kevin Beasley, Dean Edge, Linda Fenton - Howick
Runner-up: Ken Batkin, Graeme Lill, Angela Longney, Jo Crooks - St Heliers
Plate event
Winner: Plate Neil Fisher, Bryan Chapman, Ian Fisher, Gary Cotton - Howick
Runner-up: Richard Kempthorne, Paula Kempthorne, Chris Day, Nick Donovan - St Heliers
-- Roger Seaton
Burger and Bowls
Pakuranga Bowls had an amazing first night of Burger and Bowls 2023 on Wednesday 8 February! We had a huge turnout. A big thank you to everyone who turned up for a fun night of bowls and we hope to see you all next week.
-- Michelle Brown
Ultimate Bowls Championship
New Lynn Spiders
The New Lynn Spiders were proudly sponsored by the New Lynn Bowling Club in Auckland.
New Lynn Bowling Club hosted a total of four UBC qualifying events in 2021 and 2022 with players travelling from all over New Zealand to compete. With UBC's software in play, live-streaming, and performance statistics, New Zealand got its first taste of the Ultimate Bowls hype. Read all about it here.
--Rebecca Jelley
Club events
Remuera Bayleys Classic
Remuera Bowling Club's Bayleys Classic is on Thursday 9 March 2023 commencing at 9 am.
Teams can be mixed, but need to be from the same club. The great thing about a Classic format is all disciplines are played - Singles, Pairs, Triples & Fours. And all for a nominal entry fee of $80 per team.
Entries close at 3 pm on Thursday 2 March, so make sure you get your entry in!
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Have you got a story, a bit of news,
or a funny recollection about our bowling community - we'd love to hear from you.
