Lawn Bowls

Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours Preview

Yes, it is time for the annual Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours which begins Monday. And it starts with 180 teams – an increase of 14 sides on last year.

The increase in numbers is a reflection of the growing popularity of the tournament with visiting bowlers who have flocked to Taranaki from all over New Zealand, as well as six quartets from Australia. There is also a partial team from California, which is headed by former leading New Plymouth footballer Peter Ritchie.

In fact 136 teams are from outside the province – the most since 2006.

The Open remains the pinnacle in provincial bowls in New Zealand, with no other event coming close to matching it in terms of popularity and therefore size as well.

There is a combination of reasons for this – starting with the games which consist of 25 ends. All teams will play two games per day for the first four days, with those sides winning six or more games qualifying for Friday’s post section rounds.

The finals are scheduled for Sunday.

The length of those games and the qualifying rounds greatly enhance the camaraderie amongst the players which is supported in no small way by the hospitality from the host clubs.

Those same clubs, and their scores of volunteers, are the key recipe to the success of the tournament, especially those involved in maintaining the greens, which visitors inevitably rate as the best in the country. It’s another reason why so many return year after year.

And then to top it off there is the competition itself, which for the few that have been skilful and fortunate enough to win one of the great prizes in Taranaki sport over the years, there is the thrill of success.

As the 120th tournament rolls underway – with play around New Plymouth and also in Waitara, Lepperton, Inglewood, Stratford and Oakura – there will be many yearning to have their names etched into the history books and there are many prospects.

Leading visitors include Phil Todd (Johnsonville), Neville Hill (Onehunga & Districts), Billy Fulton (Henderson), Dave Walker (Tahunanui), Petar Sain (Carlton Cornwall), Dan Delany (Royal Oak) and Peter Belliss (Aramoho).

Of the 54 Taranaki teams, John Gray (Fitzroy), Scott Roberts and Grant Anderson (both Tower), Darren Goodin (Paritutu) and Craig De Faria (West End), all past winners, are favoured to make the post section rounds.

The second half of the fortnight, The Devon Hotel Women’s Open Fours, commences on January 28.

Welcome to the Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2025

Welcome to the best week of Lawn Bowls in New Zealand. Bowls Taranaki and our clubs are looking forward to hosting you. Check out our website for regular news, and results and Facebook for photos and information. The Semifinal and Final will be live streamed on Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel. If you need to contact the Tournament Committee or Centre Office at any stage during the week please call 027 757 8800.

The Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2025 is proudly sponsored by Midlands Funds Management with support from the Toi Foundation and Venture Taranaki

Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours – Conditions of Play
Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours – Handbook

The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2025 is proudly sponsored by The Devon Hotel and supported by the Toi Foundation and Venture Taranaki.

The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours – Conditions of Play
The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours – Handbook

Taranaki reps ready for national champs

Taranaki players will be looking to build on the province’s proud history at the New Zealand bowls championships when the event commences in Auckland on January 2.

A total of 17 players will trek north, all with aspirations of some sort, for the singles and pairs competitions. The fours and mixed pairs events will be held in Christchurch in February.

Briar Atkinson presents Taranaki’s best chance of success. She knocked loudly on the door last season, narrowly losing the pairs final with Tannih Potgieter and placing third-equal in the singles.

Atkinson should go close in both disciplines. She will lead in the pairs for Selina Goddard. The same combination will face Australia in the trans-Tasman in late January.

Goddard and Tayla Bruce, who played such a spectacular final two years ago, and reigning champion Leeane Poulson, all current Black Jacks, present the biggest hurdles for Atkinson in the singles. But the field is more open this season with Val Smith, Jo Edwards and Katelyn Inch all absent.

Taranaki will also be represented in the women’s pairs by Bridget Fletcher and Tina Atkinson-Watt, and Trish Howard and Kristin Stampa.

Atkinson-Watt also contests the singles, as does clubmate Amanda Crehan.

Dean Elgar, the winner of the men’s singles in 2017, showed enough form in the Taranaki interclub competition, to suggest that he could challenge again.

He won’t take part in the pairs, but both finalists from the recent Christmas pairs will – victors John Roberts and Craig De Faria, and the runners-up Kaylin Huwyler and Hamish Kape.

Rahotu young guns Nathan Goodin and Camron Horo are also in the field, while John Gray links up with Tauranga’s talented Dan Dickison, the 2021 Open winning skip.

Among the other Taranaki players that will feature are Kevin Gledhill, Bruce Hall and Ross Henderson.

Taranaki rates a good prospect in the disability event, where newly selected international Kurt Smith takes part in the singles and pairs. He combines in the latter with Teri Blackbourn, the winner of the world para pairs title in 2023.

The finals of the disability and women’s singles and the men’s pairs are scheduled for January 5. The disability and women’s pairs and the men’s singles will be concluded on January 9.

Grant Hassall
Courtesy of Sports News Taranaki
https://sportsnewstaranaki.co.nz/news-article?id=1874

Craig De Faria hits 30 Taranaki titles as West End does the double

Craig De Faria has now won 30 Taranaki bowls titles.

The West Ender achieved the milestone, the first player in the province to do so, when he skipped John Roberts to win the Christmas pairs on their home green on Saturday. It was the fourth victory for the duo in the event and Roberts’ personal overall tally moved to 28.

In the final of the Auto City-sponsored pairs they beat Kaylin Huwyler and Hamish Kape, playing under the Okato banner, 22-15.

There was double joy for West End as Lorraine Heal and Trish Howard claimed the Andersons Pies-sponsored Taranaki women’s open pairs. In a nailbiter, they edged out Fitzroy’s Judy Crawford and Rhonda Adams 22-21 in the final, played inside at Paritutu. Play had been transferred from Stratford-Avon midway through the earlier semifinals.

Roberts and Defaria, with a three, hit the lead at 8-6 after seven of the 21 ends in the final. It was a lead they did not relinquish.

While Huwyler and Kape were certainly competitive, they did not produce the same consistency that they had earlier, especially in the quarterfinals when they were completely dominant.

Two ends of the final settled the issue in the overall analysis. West End scored a drawn five on end 13, with Okato wayward. That took the score to 17-8. Huwyler and Kape replied with a three and then held a five on the next head. With the final bowl, De Faria came off the third shot to take the ace making it 18-11. Had he missed, a 17-16 scoreline would have created a grandstand finish.

As it was, the trademark steadiness of Roberts and De Faria prevailed. It gave De Faria, with his adroitness and inexorable determination, another career highlight as he hit the magic 30 mark.

It was not as clearcut in the semifinals for the victors, though. After holding a handy lead, De Faria was required to drive off one of the Paritutu bowls belonging to Don Christensen and Darren Goodin to force an extra end. And then, on the decider, De Faria had to draw the winner with his last bowl, to win 23-22.

In the other semi, Huwyler and Kape beat West End’s Bruce Colgan and Steve Walker 21-12.

The victory by Heal, her maiden Taranaki crown, and Howard, her third and all in the same event, was meritorious but not without plenty of nervous moments.

They started the final brightly, leading 10-3 through six ends. But three ends later Crawford and Adams had narrowed the margin to just one point.

Heal and Howard took the ascendancy again, creating an eight-shot advantage. They looked good, leading 20-12 after 16 ends. But Fitzroy with consecutives threes and a two brought it back to level.

West End took a brace on the penultimate, but Fitzroy held the advantage on the last head holding two, possibly three. However, Howard calmly landed among the counters to take second shot to enable her and Heal to sneak through by one point.

In the semis, West End beat Paritutu’s Briar Atkinson and Tina Atkinson-Watt 23-17 while Fitzroy defeated Paritutu’s Bridget Fletcher and Cathy Andrews 20-11.

CRAIG DE FARIA – 30 Taranaki titles

Open singles 1993, 2005, 2008, 2016, 2019 and 2020

Christmas pairs 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022 and 2024

Open triples 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2019

Centre/New Year fours 1997, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2024

Open fours 1987, 2019 and 2022

Champion-of-champions pairs 2007, 2011 and 2012

Champion-of-champions fours 1990, 1999 and 2017

Markers

We have some events coming up including the Men’s and Women’s Junior Hexagonal. If you would like to be involved and would like to mark some of the games of singles, or are interested in volunteering to mark from time to time, then please get in touch with the Centre Office by email.

Thanks.

Office Hours

I’d like to thank everyone for their time and effort this year, and wish everyone the best of luck with their bowls this season. To let you know, I will be working from home over the School Holidays. If you need to reach the Centre Office please call 027 757 8800 anytime during the week. The office at Paritutu will be open again on Friday the 17th January.

Thanks
Ian Lewis
Executive Officer
Bowls Taranaki

Draw for The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2025

The Draw for The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2025 has been made. We have 88 teams contesting the Women’s event this year, and welcome a new team from Australia and new teams from all across New Zealand. Good luck to all involved.

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The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2025 Draw

Bowls Taranaki and our Open Fours events are proudly sponsored by The Devon Hotel, Midlands Funds Management, Auto City and supported by the Toi Foundation and Venture Taranaki.

If you need to update your team listing please email the Centre Office.

Draw for the Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2025

The Draw for the Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2025 has been made. We have 180 teams contesting the Men’s event this year, and welcome new teams from Australia, California and across New Zealand. Good luck to all involved.

Midlands Funds Management Taranaki Men’s Open Fours 2025 Draw

The Devon Hotel Taranaki Women’s Open Fours 2025 Draw – coming soon

Bowls Taranaki and our Open Fours events are proudly sponsored by Midlands Funds Management, The Devon Hotel, Auto City and supported by the Toi Foundation and Venture Taranaki.

If you need to update your team listing please email the Centre Office.

Christensen takes 15th Taranaki title

Paritutu life member Don Christensen added to his illustrious bowls career when he claimed his 15th Taranaki title at Pihama in a nail-biting conclusion on Saturday.

Christensen won the Cross Country Rentals-sponsored Taranaki mixed pairs title with clubmate and cousin Cheryll Sharrock. But it was oh so close, with the duo needing an extra end to pip Adam Collins and Cathy Andrews, also from Paritutu, 11-10 in the final.

Christensen had an excellent final, his delivery immaculate, and with Sharrock led 8-1 through seven of the 16 ends. Collins drove the jack into the ditch on the next end to take a brace and with it the momentum. He and Andrews took the lead for the first time on the 15th end at 10-9.

But Christensen drew a winner on the last to force the game into overtime. He repeated the dose on the extra end, drawing a side toucher with his first bowl.

Sharrock moved the jack latter in the head towards her own bowl, which made the recovery for Collins or Andrews even more difficult.

In the end it was full honours to Christensen, in achieving his milestone, and Sharrock, with her maiden win. It was also third-time lucky for the duo, having twice previously lost the final together.

In the semifinals, Christensen and Sharrock beat Fitzroy’s Ron and Maree Gadsby 17-8, while Collins and Andrews beat West End’s Bruce Hall and Leanne Halls 21-8.

Christensen began his bowls at Kaponga, before moving to Hawera Park and then Avon.

It was from the latter club that he won his first Taranaki crown in the Christmas pairs on Boxing Day 1995.

The following season he transferred to Paritutu where his next 14 titles have been secured – the Open fours (1997 and 2024), the champion-of-champions fours (1997), the champion-of-champions pairs (1999, 2009 and 2015), the champion-of-champions singles (2003), the New Year fours (2001), the champion-of-champions triples (2004 and 2013), the Christmas pairs again (2009), and the open triples (2022 and 2023).

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Paritutu, with an unblemished record, emphatically defended the Summerset men’s division one interclub title. The third round was abandoned early, with Paritutu on seven wins and Fitzroy next best on three wins and one draw. The winning Paritutu side was Dean Elgar, Collins, Darren Goodin, John Zittersteijn, Kurt Smith, Daryl Read and Camron Horo.

Paritutu also won the Vospers women’s division two title. The winning squad was Sharrock, Alesha Quay, Barbara Harvey, June Gledhill, Amanda Crehan, Val Keightley, Kileigh Barber, Marlene McArthur and Jocelyn Stevenson.

The men’s division two title went to West End after it beat New Plymouth 3-0 in the final. The West End side comprised Steve Temperton, Blair Clark, Norm Broughton, Lindsay Murfitt, John Dickinson, Martin Dravitzki, John Sexton and Paul Darbyshire.

Bruce Chapman, Jeff Ward, Todd Curtis, Lee Broughton, Chris O’Dea, Barny Barnard, Jonty Linn, Malcolm Scott and Kewene Ratahi won the division three title for Tower.

In the popular Q Transport-sponsored junior interclub, it was a home victory for Lepperton’s Chris Ropitini, Shelley Baldwin, Matt Smith and Mike Baldwin. They scored a 19-4 win in the final over Paritutu’s Craig Atkinson, Jimmy Seed, Keith Brown and Rhys Hood. It was the second time the Baldwins have won the John Murtagh Trophy, having also been victorious two seasons ago.