Lawn Bowls

Bowls Taranaki is looking to appoint an Executive Officer. As outlined in the attached position description, the role has many parts and is fundamental to the success of bowls in Taranaki. Expressions of interest are now being sought for the position, and shall be sent to:

Executive Officer position, Bowls Taranaki, PO Box 4024, New Plymouth 4340 or emailed to taranakibowls@xtra.co.nz

If further information is required please email taranakibowls@xtra.co.nz or telephone 06-757-8000.

The closing date for Expressions of interest is June 27, 2022.

Executive Officer position description

Hamish Kape and Susan Cottam have been named as Taranaki’s best bowlers for the recently completed season.

Kape, a dual member or Paritutu and Okato, and Cottam, of West End, have been respectively named as the best men’s and women’s players.

Kape, who skipped the pairs in the Revital Fertilisers Taranaki representative intercentre side, topped off his glorious season with the men’s award. He started the season with two centre titles to his credit and ended it with five titles and a gold star. Kape skipped the winning side in the centre fours in November and then was part of the winning open triples team in March. His third title of the season came when he skipped his side to victory in the champion-of-champions triples in April. In addition, Kape was also runner-up in the open singles and champion-of-champions pairs.

Cottam, who played No 2 in the women’s intercentre four, also claimed her gold star on champion-of-champions finals day when she won the senior singles. Just prior to Christmas Cottam won the Open pairs for a third time.

Paritutu is the club of the year. It has excelled in the past 12 months connecting with its wider community, especially with an enhanced winter programme and three charity events. In addition, the club has maintained its high standard of greens, hospitality and successes, with numerous titles won over the past season, including both the men’s and women’s division one interclub crowns.

Lloma Hibell (Paritutu) is the umpire of the year in recognition of her dedication and service as a committee member, temporary secretary, divisional organiser and very respected umpire and member.  Lloma started playing bowls at the Smart Road Bowling Club in the 1991-92 season where she served as President for 5 years. She had been disadvantaged at a tournament because she did not know the “Laws of the Sport of Bowls” well enough and so decided to train as an umpire to help her own games and Club. She qualified as an umpire 23 April 2002, before progressing to become a Level 2 umpire and has officiated at a considerable number of centre events during the past season.

The inseparable Inglewood duo of Graham Reive and Steve Sabine are the greenkeepers of the year. Over the past two years they have, using expert assistance, transformed the Inglewood green on a virtual voluntary basis, into the superb playing service it is today. Both men, who work as an absolute partnership, have been both model students and workers in restoring the green.

Sandra Zittersteijn (Paritutu) is the administrator of the year. Zittersteijn was instrumental in both the rise of the indoor complex and the charity events held at Paritutu. The indoor complex was completed 25 years ago and for the first time since then it has someone able and willing to give it what it needs – energy, innovation, connections and desire.

Nathan Goodin (19) is the youth player of the year. Nathan is a member of the Paritutu, Okato and Rahotu clubs. During the season he gained two “pips” towards his gold star as a member of the winning centre fours and champion-of-champions fours sides. In addition, he also won the junior Bowls3five title and the Hugh Moss junior pairs. Nathan has a good future in front of him in bowls.

2022 award winners

2022 Men’s player of the year

2022 Women’s player of the year

Paritutu’s Darren Goodin and Barbara Batley have this afternoon won the Cross Country Rentals-sponsored Taranaki mixed pairs at West End.

The duo defeated clubmates Don Christensen and Cheryll Sharrock 25-10 in the final. Goodin and Batley have been a highly successful combination in the mixed pairs, but this is their first title in the event. Goodin now has 26 Taranaki titles and Batley four.

They led throughout the final and were aided by two fours. The first four came on end five, giving them a 9-2 lead. But Christensen and Sharrock took a four of their own on end eight to reduce the deficit to 12-9. But Goodin and Batley dominated the scoring after that, including a further four on end 13, to claim the title after 15 of the scheduled 16 ends were played.

Meanwhile, in the Bayleys Real Estate-sponsored Hugh Moss junior pairs, Nathan Goodin and Camron Horo (Rahotu) came from behind mid-game to beat Fitzroy’s Dean and Lea File 18-13 in the final.

The Files led 9-6 after eight of the 14 ends. But a three to Rahotu on the next leveled the ledger. Fitzroy took a single on the 10th to edge in front, but a five and two twos to Rahotu settled the issue.

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.

The Paritutu pair of Kaylin Huwyler and Hamish Kape and the Hawera Park duo of Pauline Kennedy and Kristin Stampa emerged unbeaten from the weekend to book double finals.

With the focus on the TCM Limited-sponsored champion-of-champions triples and pairs, Paritutu have worked their way into both men’s finals, with Hawera Park following suit in the women’s events.

Huwyler, despite only being seen occasionally in Taranaki this season, continues to impress as a draw player of some quality. In just his third year, Huwyler has one Taranaki title and one in Whanganui. Kape, who sits on four Taranaki titles, will this Saturday compete in his fourth, and then his fifth, Taranaki finals of the season – a remarkable feat.

On Saturday, at Paritutu, the pair combined with Aidan Zittersteijn to make the triples final, where they will meet the Inglewood’s O’Sullivan brothers – Gerry, Bernie and skip Danny.

Kape’s trio received a big scare in the quarterfinals, when they edged out the 2021 champions Mark Anderson (Tower) 18-17. Anderson led by three shots playing the last end. Kape took a three to force the extra end and then secured the shot on the decider with a brilliant just-over draw weighted shot.

There were no such dramas in the semifinals, with Kape thrashing the West End trio of Bruce Moeller, Dennis Moeller and Craig De Faria 27-4.

In the other semifinal, the O’Sullivans, having been locked at 13-all after 16 ends, cribbed ahead thereafter to beat New Plymouth’s Michael Mathews, Gordon Brown and Bill Foley 20-14.

Both women’s semifinals were relatively one-sided.

Kennedy and Stampa, with Ella Smailes in the middle, ousted Janelle Lane, Lyn Weir and Sue Edwards (New Plymouth) 22-7.

In the other, Fitzroy’s Robyn Klenner continued her progress in the sport by skipping Carolyn Wilks and Joan Richards to a 21-8 victory over Opunake’s Val Langton, Eileen Rothwell and Pauline Davy.

The women’s pairs, which was played on Sunday at Hawera Park, saw Kennedy and Stampa advance, along with the experienced Fitzroy combination of Vickie Kelly and Rhonda Adams.

Like the triples, Kennedy and Stampa had the advantage of a bye during the day, but were comfortable in the semis in beating Waitara’s Yvonne Cann and Jean Keith 25-9.

Kelly and Adams have previously won seven Taranaki titles together but they were made to work hard to make the final. A six late in the semifinal was the difference as they beat Tower’s Alison Sayer and Lyn Scott 20-14.

In the men’s, at Manaia, Fitzroy’s Evan Jones and Ron Gadsby upset their more decorated opponents in the semis, John Roberts and Jordan Linn (West End), 22-16. But Huwyler and Kape will be another big hurdle in the final. The Paritutu pair were untroubled during the day, which included a 26-2 win in the last four over Andy Shearer and Peter Radich (Oakura).

The finals this weekend will occur at West End. The fours, triples and junior singles will start at 8.30am on Saturday, with the senior singles and pairs finals due to start at approximately 12 noon.

The Hugh Moss junior pairs and mixed pairs semifinals are scheduled for Sunday morning, with the finals to follow.

Clubs and members are asked to note the following matters:

• Notices of motion are required by April 30.
• Nominations/applications for President, Vice President, the Centre Board and the Events Committee close on May 1.
• Nominations for the Revital Fertilisers Representative selector’s positions close on May 20.
• The nomination/applications forms can be downloaded here: Nominations 2022
• Tina Atkinson-Watt has resigned as the Executive Officer. Please direct any queries to the Chairman. The normal correspondence channels (email, PO Box, telephone) remain accessible. A timetable for a replacement will be determined shortly.

The draws for the TCM Limited-sponsored champion-of-champions triples (to be held on April 23 at Paritutu) and the pairs (to be held on April 24 – men at Manaia and women at Hawera Park) have been released.

For the draw and results of the TCM Limited-sponsored champion-of-champions triples, go to: Champion-of-champions triples draw and results

For the draw and results of the TCM Limited-sponsored champion-of-champions pairs, go to: Champion-of-champions pairs draw and results

The finals weekend on April 30 and May 1 will be held at West End. This weekend will also see the semi and final games of the Bayleys Real Estate-sponsored Hugh Moss junior pairs and the Cross Country Rentals-sponsored Mixed pairs take place. The full programme for this weekend will be released on April 26.

Taranaki’s champion-of-champions finals weekend is shaping up as a celebration of clubs right across the province.

Six of the 10 events had the preliminary rounds completed over the weekend and eight different clubs will be represented amongst those 12 finalists in the TCM Limited-sponsored series.

The fours events were played on Saturday at Stratford-Avon, with Bill Foley (New Plymouth) and Darren Goodin (Paritutu) emerging as the finalists in the men’s event, while Heather Johns (Paritutu) and Liz Johnstone (Waitara) are the surviving women’s sides.

Foley’s team of Graeme Earl, Ian Avery and Wayne Te Huki were decisive in their three wins, which included a 29-13 semifinal effort over Okato’s Mark Grogan, Mickey Manson, Ken Kape and skip Dale McEldowney.

Goodin, skipping Nathan Goodin, John Zittersteijn and Rodger Hassall, survived a couple in scares in the earlier rounds before beating defending champion Paddy Deegan (Opunake) 19-7 in the last four. Deegan’s side of Levi Davis, Daryl MacKenzie and Kewene Ratahi had been impressive in the previous rounds, ousting Scott Roberts (Tower) and John Garrud (West End).

Johns has the same side that won the Dominion fours in 2013 – Carolyn Harris, Debbie Smith and Val Keightley. They beat West End’s Shirley Simpson, Molly Nagle, Denise Cottam and Susan Cottam 19-7 in the third round.

Johnstone’s side of Norma Jane, Ann Hinton and Kathy Gower won its semi 18-7 over Tower’s Alethea Rowlands, Hazel Schwartfeger, Alison Sayer and Patty Symes.

Sunday saw the singles take place, with Susan Cottam and June Ward (Lepperton) advancing emphatically from the senior women’s semifinals at Fitzroy.

Cottam beat Jilly Kimber (Waitara) 21-5, while the ageless Ward, who last won the event in 2008, was also merciless in defeating the 2013 champion Barbara Batley (Paritutu) 21-4.

In the junior women’s at Lepperton, both semifinals were also one-sided. Judy Crawford (Fitzroy) beat Alethea Rowlands (Tower) 21-4 while Briar Atkinson (Paritutu), the champion from two seasons ago, accounted for Tina Quilter (Lepperton) 21-3.

Both men’s singles events were played at West End, with Grant Anderson (Tower) and Dean Elgar (West End) the two senior finalists.

Elgar, having won the open singles last month, remained on track to do the double, beating Neil Earley (Inglewood) 21-5 in the semifinals.

Anderson highlighted that he is back operating at a level similar to when he reigned supreme as a skip in Taranaki. After edging Darren Goodin (Paritutu) 21-19 in the last eight, he beat Stratford-Avon stalwart John Sextus, who had belied his 82 years throughout the day with some tremendous draw play, 21-10 in the last four.

Sporting experience overcame youth in the two junior semifinals.

Accomplished snooker player, Lindsay Franklin (Stratford-Avon), who recently won the first year singles, came from 19-6 down to deny Nathan Goodin (Paritutu) 21-20.

Franklin will meet New Plymouth’s Michael Mathews in the decider. Mathews, who first moved from England to take up a semi-professional soccer contract with Dunedin City, called on his composure to defeat Camron Horo (Rahotu) 21-14.

Wellington dominated both the men’s and women’s events of the regional intercentre bowls contest at Paritutu on Saturday.

In the final analysis, it was a comprehensive victory for both teams from the capital. But that was not before some anxious moments.

Conversely, Revital Fertilisers Taranaki came up short. The men finished second, while the women had a disappointing day, winning just one game and drawing one other from the nine played. They shared third with Wanganui.

In the men’s section, Wellington won its three matches against Kapiti, Taranaki and Wanganui.

After Taranaki had squeaked past Wanganui 2-1 in the morning, it created a somewhat premature final against Wellington in the second round.

Seamus Curtin proved a little too hot for Darren Goodin in the singles, winning 25-18. Goodin had pipped Gavin Scrivener 25-24 in the opening round to secure the Wanganui match.

Dean Elgar and Hamish Kape, after a first-up one-point loss, levelled the ledger beating Stephen Ditfort and Raymond Martin 19-13.

That meant it all came down to the fours. Craig De Faria’s quartet of Adam Collins, Dave Wilson and Steve Walker, which had opened impressively 21-8 over Ray Park, trailed Ben King’s quartet for the entire match. However, the deficit had been reduced to one shot playing what became a short, loose, final end.

Taranaki held three on the charge over, but King drew the shot to ensure an 11-9 victory that clinched the match for Wellington.

Wellington completed their dominance beating Wanganui 2-1 in the last round, although Scrivener ousted Curtin 25-16.

At the same time, Taranaki beat Kapiti 2-1, with Goodin and De Faria winning.

Taranaki were never in the hunt in the women’s event.

Wellington, with a youthful and talented side, were emphatic in the first round with a 3-0 whitewash. Kristin Stampa’s team of Anne Brophy, Susan Cottam and Trish Howard, added a degree of respectability losing 16-12 to Nicole Toomey in the fours without ever threatening to win.

Val McEldowney took on the singles role in round two, narrowly falling 25-22 to Jane Selby-Paterson (Kapiti). Kapiti also took the pair and four, which left both them and Wellington with perfect records heading into the last round.

Wellington took that clash 3-0 to secure overall honours. But Lisa White had to come from behind to deny Selby-Paterson 25-23 in the singles. It was a similar situation in the pairs, where Dale Rayner and Kaaren Guilford won the last four ends to edge Audrey Stevenson and Diane McGill 16-15. Toomey’s four won 21-9 over Eileen Jones.

Taranaki’s last round match with Wanganui ended in a tie. Margy Carey and Rhonda Adams took the pairs, while Sue Winter drew the singles.