Summerset Men’s Division 2 and Dean File Colliers Real Estate Junior Interclub were rained off at Paritutu. The next scheduled date is Saturday the 23rd December. 9am Start.
Summerset Men’s Division 2 Interclub Finals will be played at Opunake.
Dean File Colliers Real Estate Junior Interclub Finals will be played at Stratford-Avon.
Good luck to all those involved.
Lawn Bowls
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.
This weekend sees the completion of the Cross Country Rentals Mixed Pairs, the Summerset Men’s Interclub, Vospers Women’s Interclub and the Dean File Colliers Real Estate Junior Interclub.
Please note: We will use the stadium if required to finish the Mixed Pairs on Saturday, and on Sunday Division 1 of Men’s Interclub.
If there is rain, information will be available on the website on the morning of play. Draws are available through chartroom, on the Website. Good luck to all those players involved.
We are happy to welcome a number of new teams to Taranaki for The Devon Hotel Women’s Open Fours. At this stage entries have closed, however we are looking for one more team to prevent a bye, if you would like to visit from out of town for the tournament, we do also have some spare accommodation available. See below for the full list of teams this year. Good luck to all the teams entered.
The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours Team List 2024
Due to rain during the final days play of Vospers Women’s Interclub, Division 1 and the final of Division 2 have been rescheduled. The final games will be played on 3rd December at Manaia starting at 9am.
Final games to be completed are:
Division 1: Paritutu v Opunake, and
Division 2: Tower v Paritutu
Thanks
With the persistent rain, a full day’s play is not possible (on November 19). Please note the following:
Play in division one will occur in the Indoor Complex at Paritutu – see below for the specific times and rink allocations.
The scheduled division two final between Tower and Paritutu is postponed. A new date will be advised.
Division one schedule for 19 November 2023:
9am: Opunake v West End (rinks singles 2, pairs 3, fours 1, round 5 fixture); Fitzroy v New Plymouth (rinks singles 5, pairs 6, fours 4, round 5 fixture).
11.15am (approx.): Paritutu v Waitara (rinks singles 2, pairs 3, fours 1, round 5 fixture); Fitzroy v Opunake (rinks singles 6, pairs 4, fours 5, round 6 fixture).
2pm (approx.): Waitara v Stratford-Avon (rinks singles 3, pairs 1, fours 2, round 6 fixture); Paritutu v New Plymouth (rinks singles 6, pairs 4, fours 5, round 6 fixture).
This will leave one full round to be played – clubs will be advised in due course.
Paritutu’s Briar Atkinson has been named as the Taranaki Junior Sportswoman of the Year.
At a gala dinner for the annual Sportsperson of the Year awards held at the Devon Hotel on Friday evening, Atkinson overcame an impressive field to become the first bowler to take out the title.
Headlining an impressive 2023 for Atkinson was her victory in the New Zealand champion-of-champions singles in Hastings in July.
That victory followed Atkinson representing the New Zealand Under-26 side at the Oceania Challenge earlier in the year. There, she skipped the women’s pair to a gold medal.
Atkinson also claimed three Taranaki titles during the season – including the open and champion-of-champions singles double – on the way to collecting her gold star.
She was unable to attend the awards function as she is currently competing in the Hong Kong Classic.
However, on a video recording played during the night, Atkinson said that she was thrilled with the award, which was accepted by her mother, Tina Atkinson-Watt, in person.
Atkinson made the last 16 of the women’s singles in Hong Kong and, with Selina Goddard, is currently well-placed to qualify in the pairs.
Atkinson’s success continued a rich history for bowls at the Sportsperson of the Year awards, which were first established by Taranaki Newspapers in 1965, with Ross “Pascoe” Brown the inaugural winner.
Bowls got its first taste of success when Dave Baldwin won the title. Over the years, various additional awards have been added, such as the team title in 1991. Paritutu’s interclub side became the first winners, one of five times bowls has taken that particular award.
Bowls success at the Taranaki Sportsperson of the Year awards
Overall winner:
1974 Dave Baldwin (Commonwealth Games gold medal, Dominion fours winner)
1990 Taranaki men’s intercentre team – Brian Baldwin, Geoff Hawken, Neville Hill, Chas Candy, John Murtagh, John Lambert and Dave Baldwin (New Zealand intercentre winners)
1991 Brian Baldwin (New Zealand Superbowls and interclub winner)
1995 Brian Baldwin (Dominion singles winner)
Sportsman of the Year:
1995 Brian Baldwin (Dominion singles winner)
Sportswoman of the Year:
2005 Cathy Fleming (Dominion singles finalist, NZ interclub winner)
2013 Val McEldowney (Dominion singles winner)
Team of the Year:
1991 Paritutu men’s seven – Brian Baldwin, Bryan Sanger, John Murtagh, Alan Malloy, Gary Mounsey, John Lambert and Dave Baldwin (New Zealand interclub winners)
2003 Lepperton women’s fours – Mary Maxwell, Elaine Miller, June Ward and Ellie Goble (New Zealand women’s club fours)
2005 Paritutu women’s seven – Cathy Fleming, Heather Johns, Raewyn McEldowney, Val Keightley, Dulcie Bishop, Valda Rowan and Margaret Baldwin (New Zealand interclub winners)
2006 Alton men’s fours – Mark Anderson, John Roberts, Bruce Phillips and Grant Anderson (New Zealand men’s club fours)
2015 Taranaki men’s intercentre team – Dean Elgar, Cameron Nairne, Scott Roberts, Dennis Osborne, John Garrud, Steve Walker and Craig Johns (New Zealand intercentre winners)
Junior Sportsman of the Year:
2018 Aidan Zittersteijn (Commonwealth Games bronze medal)
Junior Sportswoman of the Year:
2023 Briar Atkinson (New Zealand club singles winner, New Zealand Under 26)
Volunteer of the Year:
1995 Gloria Bryant
Impact award:
2022 John Murtagh
Special award:
1999 Hugh Moss QSM
2003 Alan Boulton
Hall of Fame:
2012 Dave Baldwin
We are excited to welcome all of our new players and returning teams for the Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Open Fours this season. You can view all of the teams below.
We are looking for an extra team, to fill a section, so if you have missed out and want to put your team in, get in quick and contact the Centre Office on 027 757 8800. We do have some accommodation available for visiting teams, so if you would like to come to Taranaki and experience The Best Week of Bowls in New Zealand, get in touch.
Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Open Fours Teams List 2023-24