Lawn Bowls

Camron Horo named Bowls New Zealand Emerging Player of the Year

It will be little surprise to the bowls community that Camron Horo has been named Bowls New Zealand’s Emerging Player of the Year in 2025.

The reason is simple. He has been a player to watch since the 2018/2019 season. As far back as 2020, he was awarded the Pakiri Rangatahi Trophy at the 46th Aotearoa National Bowls Championship, given to the top under-20 Māori bowling talent.

Every year since then, Camron has continued to improve, so much so that it could even be argued that he has already ‘emerged’.

He has certainly emerged at his home club of Rahotu, a small bowling club at the western end of the Taranaki coast. (If the name rings a bell, it is the place the rugby-playing and occasional bowling Barrett brothers call home.) Camron started bowling there at the age of 14, inspired and motivated by his father and grandparents, who also bowled at the club.

He has also emerged at his competition club, Paritutu in New Plymouth. Camron has not ‘defected’ to Paritutu. He still plays much of his bowls at Rahotu, where he lives, but Paritutu provides an opportunity to experience the wider bowling world, a club rich with young talent including Daryl Read, Kaylin Huwyler, Aidan Zittersteijn and Nathan Goodin.

He has already emerged at Centre level as well and is well known in Taranaki bowling circles. This year, Camron won the Taranaki Singles and was named Taranaki Youth Player of the Year. He has also been a regular member of the winning Paritutu Bowling Interclub team for the past three years.

“He’s dedicated to the game,” observes Paritutu Selector Rodger Hassall. “He puts in hours of practice. At the same time he always shows a willingness to listen and be guided on all aspects of lawn bowls. At the Wellington Interclub finals this year, he was a pleasure to have in the team. He is a delightful young man.”

Camron is now emerging on the national stage. He was part of the Taranaki team that came third in the Under 26 Nationals. He won the Under 21 Kittyhawk Singles. He represented the Aotearoa New Zealand Maori team, winning four silvers and a bronze in the Oceania Challenge. He was also selected for the Under 25 Indoor World Championships.

Barbara Harvey, President of the Paritutu Bowling Club, is a big fan of Camron.

“He’s one of our ‘young guns’,” enthuses Barbara. “He doesn’t just rely on his talent. He puts in the hard yards. He’s always out practising under the roof.

“Plus, he’s also a really nice guy. He’s got great family values. His mum is always down here watching him play. He also gets a lot of encouragement from our members. But there’s no chance of his success going to his head. They keep him grounded!”

Congratulations to Camron Horo on being named Bowls New Zealand’s Emerging Player of the Year for 2025.

Kurt Smith wins Bowls New Zealand National Award

It will be no surprise that Kurt Smith has been named Bowls New Zealand’s Disabilities Player of the Year.

No surprise to his home bowling club of Oakura, just down the road from New Plymouth, where Kurt lives. Nor is it a surprise to the Paritutu Bowling Club, where Kurt spreads his bowling wings to complement Oakura’s efforts to keep him competitive.

It is also no surprise to Bowls Taranaki, where Kurt has become a well-known name. Not as you might expect in para bowls, but by mixing it with the best able-bodied bowlers throughout the province.

Even the New Zealand disabled bowls community will not be surprised, as he has made an impact on and off the green. And almost certainly no surprise to followers of international disabled bowls, particularly in Australia, where they are probably already considering him an ‘Australasian,’ like pavlova and Phar Lap.

Hopefully, it will also be no surprise when he fronts up for the Blackjacks team in Kuala Lumpur for the World Cup in November.

What may be surprising to bowlers outside Taranaki is that at club and centre level, Kurt plays all his bowls alongside able-bodied bowlers. He only competes with other para bowlers at national and international levels.

Take last season for instance. At club level, he won the Paritutu Club Champ of Champ Pairs with Darryl Read. He was also selected for the Paritutu A Interclub team playing at two.

At centre level, Kurt was in the winning Centre Interclub team. He and Darryl won the Centre Champ of Champ Pairs, and he won six-and-a-half of his seven games at the Centre Octagonal.

At national level, he played in the Paritutu team that won the National Interclub title. As a para player at national level, he and Teri Blackbourn won the Summerset Open Disability Pairs.

At international level, he was selected for the Blackjacks to play in the Trans-Tasman with Teri and Mark Noble. He also qualified in the Australia Open in both the disabled Fours and the Pairs.

You would have to think that if there were an inter-planetary level in bowls, Kurt would have been there or close to it.

“It’s not just about his bowls,” says National Para Bowls Coach Kevin Smith. “He’s a wonderful person as well.

“When he received his cap as a Blackjack, he mentioned nothing about what he had done, but what his mother had done to help him overcome his cerebral palsy. At his mother’s coaxing, Kurt learned to adapt at a young age. Even today you can see that adaptability in the small things in his game, like bowling off the wrong foot or the slight pre-delivery hesitation to assure his balance. It’s amazing.

“Kurt has never let what he can’t do stop him. Instead he has always concentrated on what he can do.”

Barbara Harvey, President of the Paritutu Bowling Club, agrees.

“Off the green, he’s a wonderful club person. Despite his youth, he talks to everyone in the club. He’s friendly, respectful, and helpful. He’s always here helping if he can, either personally or through the family refrigeration and air-conditioning business.

“And on the green, he’s a wonderful team mate, inspiring those around him and keeping them focused. He’s what we all aspire to be: humble when winning and gracious in defeat. We are proud to have him in the club.”

Congratulations to Kurt Smith on being named Disabilities Player of the Year.

Waikato too good for Taranaki

Grant Hassall

Even after an impressive opening session, Taranaki was unable to contain Waikato in a representative bowls fixture at the Paritutu Indoor Complex at the weekend.

The visitors won both the men’s and women’s sections nine games to six to comfortably retain the Ron Buchan Plate.

Perhaps Taranaki used the fixture as more of a trial than Waikato did. Waikato arrived with just one reserve in each gender, whereas the Taranaki men had four and the women three. And they were all used throughout the weekend over the five rounds.

Craig De Faria, who admittedly has had the advantage of playing regularly at Paritutu during the winter, returned a 100% win-record. But he was only used in three games.

The better Waikato performers were Debbie White, the reigning Dominion singles titleholder, who won four games from five skipping the pair, and Malcolm Moore.

Moore, who actually played a couple of tournaments with Buchan years ago, impressed as a cool customer. He has “19 or 20” Waikato titles and certainly did well to craft four wins from five games too.

Taranaki looked clearly superior in round one, before Waikato found their gear.

Jasmine Merrick and Amanda Crehan both gave good accounts of themselves, with three wins from four games, while in the men, after De Faria, Kurt Smith and Bart Robertson both won two matches out of three.

Although the defeats were by narrow margins, Camron Horo and Daryl Read, who some observers had labelled as heading towards the certainty category for the seven-man intercentre, both managed just one win from four outings each.

But with a truckload of bowls in the coming months, players in both squads have plenty of opportunities. So, too, do the selectors, coupled with the knowledge of combinations from the Waikato and earlier Whanganui fixtures.

A moment’s silence was held before the commencement of play on Sunday to remember Tower’s Russell Hardy, a double gold star holder, who died on Saturday after a short illness.

Hardy commenced bowls in 1983 and, after making the Taranaki junior singles final in 1988, was thrust into the senior 15-man side later that year. It was a rude awakening, with Hardy receiving plenty of criticism.

“He’s useless,” one experienced team-mate said to another in the opening game which, despite the comment, ended in victory over Whanganui.

Possessing a good attacking game and confidence in his own style, Hardy accumulated 11 Taranaki titles, the best of which was the 2003 Open fours. Hardy skipped his Nolantown side, which had narrowly lost the final the previous year.

Hardy’s other Taranaki titles came in the champion-of-champions (singles 2001, pairs 1998, 2002 and 2004, triples 2006 and fours 1998 and 2016), the open triples (1994) and the New Year fours (2002 and 2005).

He became a regular in the Taranaki representative side, despite the initial scruples, and was part of the Taranaki-Wanganui side that won the national Super Eights in 1999.

In later years Hardy became an advisor to the rep team and then men’s selector.

Article Courtesy of The Taranaki Daily News.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360808481/waikato-too-good-taranaki-pre-season-bowls?fbclid=IwY2xjawMkZ95leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFNTmNOTnZjQVhUNHRSZHRsAR40ex5H6wF2NTvL-pBBaePySHshtS5-nC4i7DXGQs8E4ytzui-Ii7e6iGoHPQ_aem_YX1BCacQ87xb3qzZsC81Hw

Taranaki Under 26’s Win Silver at Nationals

Taranaki finished runner-up in the New Zealand under-26 intercentre challenge in Wellington on Sunday.

In the third edition of the event, Taranaki has now had a first, a second and a third in the eight-team tournament.

The Taranaki side of Briar Atkinson, Camron Horo, Nathan Goodin, Joel Chard and Luca Dobson excelled during section play, winning 12 games from 14, to finish top seeds.

However, they found Canterbury too hot to handle in the final.

Canterbury took both morning rubbers, in the pairs and triples, and then rounded out the contest by taking the fours, too. Atkinson’s 21-8 singles win had given Taranaki some hope of a turn-around but it was not to be.

Atkinson finished with three singles wins from four games, to finish top of the players in four-bowl discipline.

Her and Horo, with four wins from five, were the best pairs combination on show, as were the four of Chard, Dobson, Goodin and Horo. They won three out of four.

This weekend, at Paritutu, Taranaki will take on Waikato for the Ron Buchan Trophy. Three rounds will be played on Saturday, from 9am, with a further two rounds on Sunday, from 8.30am.

Both selectors have named larger squads, with nine players involved each round, of which three are required to be of eight-year-and-under experience. Men’s selector, John Gray, has the luxury of bringing in both Darren Goodin and Adam Collins, after they were unavailable for last month’s Whanganui fixture.

Kurt Smith has also been included. Smith was recently announced as the Para men’s player for the New Zealand side that will take part in a newly established World Cup which is being held in Malaysia in November.

Women’s selector, Chris Commane, has, as earmarked, introduced Rhonda Adams, Maree Gadsby, Trish Howard and Briar Atkinson, after a swag of younger players were used against the Whanganui.

Men’s team: Craig De Faria, Bruce Colgan, Kelly Hill, Darren Goodin, Dean Elgar, Adam Collins, Camron Horo, Bart Robertson, Daryl Read, Kurt Smith, Nathan Goodin, Simon Rowe and Gavin Benton.

Women’s team: Rhonda Adams, Maree Gadsby, Trish Howard, Briar Atkinson, Alethea Rowlands, Vivienne Hall, Rita Davey, Amanda Crehan, Alesha Quay, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Jasmine Merrick and Judy Crawford.

Meanwhile, Paritutu’s Don Christensen and Cheryll Sharrock are Taranaki’s last hope of medalling in the national champion-of-champions series when they contest the mixed pairs in Tauranga from this Friday.

All of the past eight Taranaki entries have missed out on the semifinals, with just two of the teams qualifying for post section – Fitzroy’s Paul Spurdle, Simon Rowe, Chris Campny and John Gray (fours) and Paritutu’s Kurt Smith and Daryl Read (pairs).

Bowls Taranaki sides selected to compete against Waikato

The following selections have been announced for the upcoming Bowls Taranaki fixture against Waikato. This fixture sees Waikato travel to compete against Taranaki at the Indoor Stadium at Paritutu on Saturday and Sunday 30th & 31st August. Both Taranaki and Waikato sides will feature three players with 8 years of playing experience or less as preparation and development for the upcoming season. Good luck to all those involved.

Taranaki Men:
Craig De Faria, Bruce Colgan, Kelly Hill, Darren Goodin, Dean Elgar, Adam Collins, Camron Horo, Bart Robertson, Daryl Read, Kurt Smith, Nathan Goodin, Simon Rowe, Gavin Benton.
Selector: John Gray, Manager: Kevan Sellers.

Taranaki Women:
Rhonda Adams, Maree Gadsby, Trish Howard, Briar Atkinson, AJ Rowlands, Viv Hall, Rita Davey, Amanda Crehan, Alesha Quay, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Jasmine Merrick, Judy Crawford.
Selector: Chris Commane, Manager: Cathy Andrews.

National Under 26 Team Announced

Our Under 26 team to play in the National Under 26 Tournament at Wellington has been announced. Briar Atkinson, Joel Chard, Luca Dobson, Camron Horo and Nathan Goodin have been selected (Manager: Simon Rowe). Last year our team performed well winning their way through to third place. Good luck this year!

The tournament starts on Friday 22nd of August with live results and coverage provided by Bowls Wellington.
Results:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YEv-mA9lxJfeS4vopPi6QsojZxgeE6zyEVUkOgAPSOE/edit?usp=sharing






Bowls Taranaki Under 26’s Coaching Clinic

Want some free coaching? Or interested in learning to play Lawn Bowls with some fun games? We are looking for people between the age of 13-26 to join us for our Under 26’s Coaching Clinic. Simply fill out the form below to register. Sessions start 7pm, Tuesday, 5th, 12th & 19th of August at the Indoor Stadium at Paritutu.

Register for Under 26’s Coaching Clinic

Image Courtesy of Burnside Under 26’s

Representative Squads v Whanganui

Taranaki are hosting Whanganui in a pre-season fixture at Paritutu over the weekend of the 19th and 20th July. Good luck to all those players involved.

Taranaki Men’s Senior and Junior Representative squad for fixture 19th July Versus Whanganui.
Seniors:
Camron Horo, Craig De Faria, Dean Elgar, Kelly Hill, Daryl Read, Kurt Smith, Bruce Colgan, Bart Robertson, Nathan Goodin. Unavailable/rested: Darren Goodin, Adam Collins.

Juniors:
Ross Sinclair, Shae Fleming, Ian Dawson, Blair Clark, Steve Fevre, Joel Chard, Peter Van Dyk, Jimmy Quay, Luca Dobson. Unavailable/rested: Gavin Benton, Mark Hawken, Simon Rowe.

Taranaki Women’s Senior and Junior Representative squad for fixture 20th July Versus Whanganui.

Alesha Quay, Alethea Rowlands, Amanda Crehan, Angela Debique, Ashleigh McGaw, Briar Atkinson, Christine Grant, Cindy Gray, Colleen Hodges, Dallas Voss, Diane Chapman, Janice Ropitini, Jasmine Merrick, Jill Forbes, Judy Crawford, Julie Hemahema, Lois Debique, Maree Gadsby, Melisa McEwen-Shepherd, Mihi Hona, Rhonda Adams, Rita Davey, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Tricia Seaver, Trish Howard, Viv Hall.

Unavailable: Irene Taunt, Linda Kape

There will be no catering available so could all players and management bring their own food with them.

Bowls Taranaki Board for 2025-26

Following our Annual General Meeting at Stratford-Avon Bowling Club, the Bowls Taranaki Board for 2025-26 is as follows:

President: Grant Hassall
Vice President: Kristin Stampa
Chairman: Grant Hassall
Board Members: Chris Commane, Dean File, Kevin Gray, Val McEldowney and Robert Wolfe.
Executive Officer: Ian Lewis