Grant
Paritutu continues to celebrate its centenary year in style.
On Sunday, Paritutu claimed the Vospers-sponsored division one women’s interclub title at Manaia and the Summerset-sponsored men’s division one men’s interclub title indoors at Paritutu. Also, at Manaia, Tower claimed the women’s second division title.
Paritutu needed to win just one game in the final round of the women’s interclub. But they were pushed all the way by Opunake, with Briar Atkinson claiming a four on the last end to beat Julie Hamahama 21-16, while Amanda Crehan and Bridget Fletcher came from behind to take the pairs from Val Langton and Eileen Rothwell 19-15. Pauline Davy’s four took down Gale Fache 15-7, but Paritutu, with 28 points, safely got home from Fitzroy (24) – who had a bye in the final round – and Opunake (18). The other members of the Paritutu squad were Alesha Quay, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Kileigh Barber and Barbara Harvey.
On the adjacent rinks at Manaia, Tower took out the second division title with a 2-1 victory over Paritutu. The winning Tower side comprised Faye Hopkins, Frances Busby, Frances Parkes, Lyn Scott, Jane Augustine, Alison Sayer, AJ Rowlands and Geneva Barnard.
In the men’s interclub, which was forced inside with the wet weather, Paritutu got off to a slow start winning just one game in the opening round. But they went clear after that to finish on 14 points, heading off West End (9), Okato (7) and Tower (6).
Aidan Zittersteijn’s four of his father John, Kurt Smith and Camron Horo excelled with three wins, while Dean Elgar in the singles and the pair of Adam Collins and Darren Goodin both recorded two wins.
Paritutu’s Briar Atkinson and Adam Collins are this season’s Tarranaki mixed pairs bowls champions
The duo turned on an impressive performance on the finals day at Paritutu to run out convincing winners of the Cross Country Rentals-sponsored event on Saturday.
In the final, they beat New Plymouth’s Val McEldowney and Kelly Hill 18-8, with the score reflecting the domination of the Paritutu pair. They drew more consistently and placed more bowls around the jack.
New Plymouth did have their moments – including a four on the second end – but after 12 of the scheduled 16 heads, Atkinson and Collins had taken control at 17-5.
McEldowney and Hill gave a brief flicker of hope when they pulled back three shots on the 13th. Their hope for a bonfire gathered some momentum on the next when they held four shots.
However, Collins expertly extinguished that when he drew a pearlier with his last bowl; New Plymouth immediately produced the white flag.
In the semifinals, McEldowney and Hill edged clubmates Anne Brophy and Bill Foley 15-13, while Atkinson and Collins were commanding 22-4 victors over West End’s Susan Cottam and Steve Temperton.
The victory gave Collins his third Taranaki crown, while Atkinson continued her growing domination on the women’s game by climbing to six. Atkinson’s latest victory follows her recent Taranaki junior sportswoman of the year award and a good performance at the Hong Kong International Classic, where she made the last 16 of the singles and the last six of the pairs.
The New Zealand selectors have given a further indication of their confidence in Atkinson, too. She is one of 14 women picked in the NZ High Performance squad for the season. There is further good news for Taranaki in the squad, with Hamish Kape (Okato) and Kaylin Huwyler (Paritutu) among the 19 men selected, while Kurt Smith (Oakura and Paritutu) is one of the 11 Para players included.
With the commencement of the rain, and more scheduled, players are asked to note the following:
- Vospers women’s division one and two interclub – please report to Manaia as scheduled for a 9am start.
- Summerset men’s division one – play will be indoors at Paritutu with a 9am start.
- Summerset men’s division two and Dean File junior interclub – no play today. Alternative dates will be confirmed, noting that 23 December 2023 is a reserve day in the programme.