Bowls Taranaki’s blockbuster TCM Limited-sponsored champion-of-champions finals day turned into a golden dream for eight players at West End on Saturday.
Across the 10 finals, five players headed into the day needing one further title to claim a gold star for five Taranaki wins, while three further players needed one more victory to receive subsequent bars.
Remarkably, all eight players succeeded. Gold stars were won by Paritutu’s Hamish Kape in the men’s triples, Hawera Park’s Ella Smailes in the women’s triples, Paritutu’s Debbie Smith in the women’s fours, West End’s Susan Cottam in the women’s singles and Fitzroy’s Ron Gadsby in the men’s pairs.
Joining Smailes in the triples were Pauline Kennedy, who collected her 10th Taranaki title, and Kristin Stampa, who claimed her 15th.
And rounding out the awards, Paritutu’s Darren Goodin became the third player to hit 25 when he skipped the winning men’s fours side.
Gadsby skipped Evan Jones to a 17-16 win in the afternoon pairs over Kaylin Huwyler and Kape, in a match settled on an extra end. Never more than three points separated the sides, although with one bowl remaining on the 21st head, it was advantage Kape. He led on the board by one and held four useful shots. But Gadsby calmly drew the ace to tie up the game. Then on the extra end, Gadsby rolled in one of Jones’ bowls with his first delivery and Kape couldn’t dislodge it.
Smith also needed an extra end as her four, including Carolyn Harris, Val Keightley and skip Heather Johns, edged Waitara’s Norma Jane, Ann Hinton, Kathy Gower and skip Liz Johnstone 17-16.
Johnstone’s side held a slender lead for most of the game, before a three to Johns on the penultimate head put Paritutu two in front. Waitara gained two shots on the last end to square it up.
But Johns settled the issue with two excellent deliveries on the extra end.
Despite the pairs loss, Kape had skipped Huwyler and Aidan Zittersteijn to a 20-15 triples victory over Danny O’Sullivan, who was skipping his Inglewood brothers, Gerry and Bernie. After trailing 12-3, the O’Sullivan’s closed to 17-15 behind with three ends to go, before Kape cribbed away.
Smailes, Kennedy and Stampa had the joy of achieving their milestones together when they beat Fitzroy’s Carolyn Wilks, Joan Richards and Robyn Klenner 26-13. The Hawera Park side, after trailing 6-0, and being tied at 13-all after 14 ends, broke free thereafter.
Cottam got home 21-18 over the ageless June Ward (Lepperton) in the senior women’s singles. Ward had led 10-2 in a tense encounter that had the gallery entertained.
Goodin was the individual star in a mediocre men’s fours final, as his side of Nathan Goodin, John Zittersteijn and Rodger Hassall led throughout to beat New Plymouth’s Graeme Earl, Ian Avery, Wayne Te Huki and Bill Foley 25-10.
In the women’s pairs, Fitzroy’s Vickie Kelly and Rhonda Adams dominated the contest to beat Kennedy and Stampa 21-10.
Dean Elgar (West End) completed the double of Taranaki singles titles for the season when he beat Grant Anderson (Tower) 21-5, having earlier led 7-5 in a match decided in 13 ends.
In the junior singles, Briar Atkinson claimed her second victory in the event, beating Judy Crawford (Fitzroy) 21-9, while Michael Mathews (New Plymouth) grabbed a three on the last end to pip Lindsay Franklin (Stratford-Avon) 21-18.