The dates for next years Taranaki Open Fours tournaments have been confirmed. The Open starts with the Men’s tournament which is held on the 3rd Monday of January each year.
Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2026
Starts – Monday January 19th 2026 to Sunday 25th January 2026
Entry Form – Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2026
The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2026
Starts – Tuesday January 27th 2026 to Sunday 1st February 2026
Entry Form – The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2026
Simply print the form, and send back to: taranakibowls@xtra.co.nz with payment via Internet Banking. Payment details are on the entry form. Entries through the website with credit card payment will be available in July.
Lawn Bowls
Bowls Taranaki will be holding their AGM on Saturday 28th of June at 9.30am at the Stratford-Avon Bowling Club.
Look forward to seeing you there. Documents will be sent out to all clubs via email.
If you want to be involved in the the Junior or Senior Women’s Representative Sides this season coming, please fill out the following nomination form. Our first fixture is on Sunday the 20th of June against Whanganui.
https://taranakibowls.co.nz/womens-representative-player-nomination-form/
Good luck to all.
Congratulations to the following winners of our Bowls Taranaki Annual Awards for 2024-25. There were many notable achievements throughout the year, and after much discussion it was decided to award the following winners:
Youth Player of the Year: Camron Horo
Women’s Player of the Year: Briar Atkinson
Men’s Player of the Year: Craig De Faria
Greenkeeper of the Year: Willie Fleming – Manaia
Coach of the Year: Maurice Symes
Administrator of the Year: Steve Muller
Club of the Year: Stratford-Avon
Congratulations to you all and thank you to all those volunteers and clubs who made the 2024-25 season one to remember.
Bowls Taranaki are pleased to announce our Men’s and Women’s Selector for 2025-26. Congratulations to both Chris Commane (Women’s) and John Gray (Men’s). Kevan Sellers will be our Senior Men’s Manager and Cathy Andrews will look after our Women’s side. Our first fixture is a mid-winter fixture against Whanganui in July. Good luck to all.
Men’s Selector: John Gray
Senior Men’s Manager: Kevan Sellers
Junior Men’s Manager: Kevin Gledhill
Junior Men’s Coach: Moe Kelly
Women’s Selector: Chris Commane
Senior Women’s Manager: Cathy Andrews
Junior Women’s Manager: Kristin Stampa
Interested in helping our new bowlers learn the game? With the help of Bowls New Zealand we are running a weekend for all people interested in becoming a coach at the Paritutu Indoor Stadium on the 14th and 15th of June. Saturday for Foundation Coaches (beginners and club coaches) and Saturday and Sunday for Development Coaches. Contact the Centre Office or Coaches Association for more information.
Coaches Weekend Information
Monday, Apr 28 2025 – Sports News Taranaki
Grant Hassall
Fitzroy’s Paul Spurdle created bowls history on Saturday when he claimed two Taranaki titles in one day.
The feat was achieved in the Suchy & Co Realty champion-of-champions finals day at Stratford-Avon and while there have been other players also win multiple events on one day, Spurdle is the first to do it as a first-year player.
The first victory came in men’s fours final, where Spurdle combined with substitute Simon Rowe, Chris Campny and skip John Gray to beat Darren Goodin’s Paritutu four. The Fitzroy quartet gave as good as they got and while they were aided by one fortuitous Gray drive, deservedly pulled a five on the penultimate end to win 16-12.
Spurdle’s second triumph came in the men’s triples, where with Mark Hawken and Maurice Symes, they beat Kaylin Huwyler’s Paritutu side 17-16 on an extra end. Huwyler’s trio was aiming for an unprecedent three-peat, and that appeared inevitable as they shot to an 8-2 lead in the final. But the veteran Symes kept his team in the game, and after he encouraged his front two to reach the head, they responded better.
Spurdle is part of Taranaki’s first-family of bowls, with three of his great-uncles, Bill, Ernie and Barney gold star holders. There was also poignancy in the fours win, with the trophy named in the memory of his great grandfather, Fred.
Finals weekend also brought career milestones for Elaine Hodge (New Plymouth) and Mark Anderson (Tower).
Hodge skipped her side of substitute Carolyn Batchelor, Anne Brophy and Margie Carey to a 20-9 win over Trish Howard’s West End team in the women’s fours final.
While Hodge had never intended to follow her late mother, Grace Green, into bowls, she eventually did and Saturday’s win qualified her for a gold star for five titles.
Her previous titles were secured in the junior singles (2010), the champion-of-champions fours (2011), the champion-of-champions triples (2012) and the open pairs last season.
Anderson skipped his brothers, Brendan and Grant, to the men’s open triples title on Sunday. They ran away from West End’s Denis Rudman, Blair Clark and Darren Scott 26-8 in the final. Appropriately, their family business, Andersons Pies, sponsored the triples, and for Mark Anderson, the victory was his 20th Taranaki crown.
Elsewhere, Hamish Kape took the senior men’s singles 21-11 from Gray, while Kristin Stampa (Stratford-Avon) won the women’s 21-14 from Chris Commane (Opunake).
Val Langton and Eileen Rothwell won the women’s pairs 20-13 from Melissa McEwen-Shepherd and Stampa, while the red-hot form of Kurt Smith and Daryl Read (Paritutu) continued when they won the men’s pairs from Levi Davis and Ross Sinclair (Opunake) 22-9.
Tower’s Alethea Rowlands, Ella Smailes and Frances Busby won the women’s triples from Cindy Nicoll’s Inglewood team 16-13, while in the Abraham’s Open triples, it was victory to Fitzroy’s Lea File, Judy Crawford and Rhonda Adams. They beat Paritutu’s Marlene McArthur, Marlene Barrowman and Heather Johns 22-16.
In the junior singles, it was a double for Opunake with Lois Debique beating Linda Kape (Okato) 21-7, and Sinclair taking the men’s.
Sinclair’s 21-16 win over Fitzroy’s Ian Dawson was arguably the highest quality game of the weekend, with the appreciative gallery enthralled.
SUCHY & CO CHAMPION-OF-CHAMPIONS FINALS 2024-25
AT STRATFORD-AVON BOWLING CLUB
Women’s pairs final: Eileen Rothwell and Val Langton (Opunake) 20 Kristin Stampa and Melissa McEwen-Shepherd (Stratford-Avon) 13.
Men’s pairs semifinals: Daryl Read and Kurt Smith (Paritutu) 17 Kelly Hill and Noel Probyn (New Plymouth) 9, Ross Sinclair and Levi Davis (Opunake) 21 Camron Horo and James Connell (Rahotu) 9.
Women’s fours final: Elaine Hodge, Margie Carey, Anne Brophy and Carolyn Batchelor* (New Plymouth) 20 Trish Howard, Leanne Halls, Daphne Paynter and Kay Fabish (West End) 9. Congratulations to Elaine Hodge on her Gold Star.
Men’s fours final: John Gray, Chris Campny, Simon Rowe* and Paul Spurdle (Fitzroy) 16 Darren Goodin, Adam Collins, Rodger Hassall and Nathan Goodin (Paritutu) 12.
Hugh Moss junior pairs semifinals: Tom Crehan and Rhys Hood (Paritutu) 14 Stephen Fevre and Travor Taunt (Manaia) 10, Shae Fleming and Joel Chard (Rahotu) 14 Irene Taunt and Alethea Rowlands (Tower) 13. Final: Shae Fleming and Joel Chard (Rahotu) 15 Tom Crehan and Rhys Hood (Paritutu) 14
Men’s senior singles final: Hamish Kape (Okato) 21 John Gray (Fitzroy) 11.
Women’s senior singles final: Kristin Stampa (Stratford-Avon) 21 Chris Commane (Opunake) 14.
Men’s triples semifinals: Maurice Symes, Mark Hawken and Paul Spurdle (Fitzroy) 15 Paddy Deegan, Ross Sinclair and Levi Davis (Opunake) 7, Kaylin Huwyler, Piripi Huwyler and Kevan Sellers (Paritutu) 18 Paul Digby, John Sextus and Alan Kiddie (Stratford-Avon) 14. Final: Maurice Symes, Mark Hawken and Paul Spurdle (Fitzroy) 17 Kaylin Huwyler, Piripi Huwyler and Kevan Sellers (Paritutu) 16.
Abraham’s Women’s Open triples final: Rhonda Adams, Judy Crawford and Lea File (Fitzroy) 22 Heather Johns, Marlene Barrowman and Marlene McArthur (Paritutu) 16.
Women’s junior singles final: Lois Debique (Opunake) 21 Linda Kape (Okato) 7.
Women’s triples final: Frances Busby, Ella Smailes and Alethea Rowlands (Tower) 16 Cindy Nicoll, Loris Ropitini and Jill Forbes (Inglewood) 13.
Men’s junior singles final: Ross Sinclair (Opunake) 21 Ian Dawson (Fitzroy) 16.
Andersons Pies Open triples semifinals: Mark Anderson, Grant Anderson and Brendan Anderson (Tower) 23 Paddy Deegan, Ross Sinclair and Daryl Mackenzie (Opunake) 11, Darren Scott, Blair Clark and Denis Rudman (West End) 19 Shae Fleming, Joel Chard and Daryl Chard (Rahotu) 17. Final: Mark Anderson, Grant Anderson and Brendan Anderson (Tower) 26 Darren Scott, Blair Clark and Denis Rudman (West End) 8. Congratulations to Mark Anderson on winning his 20th Taranaki title.
Men’s pairs final: Daryl Read and Kurt Smith (Paritutu) 22 Ross Sinclair and Levi Davis (Opunake) 9.
Good luck to all those involved with the Suchy & Co Realty Champion of Champion’s Finals weekend.
Please see the following schedule for play at Stratford-Avon Bowling Club on the 26-27th April.
Programme for Suchy & Co Champion of Champion’s weekend
Ōpunake Bowling Club player Ross Sinclair is the find of the Taranaki lawn bowls season.
Sinclair has been in such superb touch that he has played his way into the final stages of four different events, all of which scheduled to be finalised at the Stratford Avon club on April 26-27.
Sinclair’s latest success came at the weekend when he qualified for the semifinals of the triples and the pairs in the Suchy & Co champion-of-champions series.
He has previously made the junior singles final and is also in the last four of the open triples.
Cool and controlled, both in technique and temperament, the fit farmer should also have the endurance to handle such a tough programme on finals weekend. But it will be gruelling.
He comes from excellent Taranaki bowling stock. His late mother, Barbara, won nine Taranaki qualifying titles plus the 2000 New Zealand Intercentre. His father, Bob, the 1978 Christmas pairs winning skip, has had the satisfaction of watching Ross’ winning ways this season.
Ross Sinclair first got into bowls on a green located on the family property at Opua Rd and as a teenager in the mid-1980s when he joined his dad at Rahotu for three years.
Family and other sporting commitments then took precedence. He was a useful utility back for the Coastal senior rugby side before he returned to bowls, linking up with the Ōpunake club last season.
Levi Davis led in both the triples and the pairs over the weekend, with Paddy Deegan skipping the former. In both disciplines they posted wins over the highly decorated Anderson brothers from the Tower club.
Ōpunake will also feature in the women’s pairs, with Val Langton and Eileen Rothwell set to meet Melissa McEwen-Shepherd and Kristin Stampa (Stratford Avon).
Langton and Rothwell edged Althea Rowlands and Irene Taunt (Tower) 14-13 at New Plymouth on Sunday, while McEwen-Shepherd and Stampa beat Ella Smailes and Pauline Kennedy (Hawera Park) 17-12.
Grant Hassall