Paritutu

Paritutu are back on top of New Zealand bowls. 

The club, which was renowned as the top in the country in the 1970s and 1980s, won the New Zealand interclub title in Wellington on Sunday.

The seven-man side won a thrilling final two games to one over Central Cambridge.

In the final, Dean Elgar took the singles 21-11 over Garry Cotter, but the four of John Zittersteijn, Kurt Smith, Daryl Read and Camron Horo lost 20-7 to Jesse Russell’s quartet.

That meant the title came down to the pairs, where Adam Collins and Darren Goodin were in all sorts of bother mid-game, trailing Brent Hawken (son of Geoff) and the 2019 Dominion singles winner Taylor Horn 16-5.

But they rallied, closing to one point behind. With two ends to play, Horn still led by two, before Goodin drew the shot with his last bowl on the penultimate end to take a single.

On the last end, Goodin again did the trick with his last bowl, sitting through the Central Cambridge shot to hold two. And with Horn too big with his last, the game was won 19-18 and the title was Paritutu’s to salver. Paritutu last won the men’s title in 1991, the inaugural year of the competition, and has got close on numerous occasions since, including finishing third-equal last year.

Paritutu had an excellent blend of youth, experience and talent in its side which was selected by Rodger Hassall and managed by Mike Walsh.

Elgar, with two Dominion titles and now three other national titles, handled the singles berth expertly, his only blemish in the national playoff coming in the semifinals where he bowed 21-15.

Horo’s four went through the Taranaki competition and national finals unbeaten – until the final against Central Cambridge. Finishing the season with a 10 win-one loss record is, given the quality of the opposition, worthy of a NZ title.

They were marginally bettered by the Collins and Goodin, who became the ultimate contributors. While Collins and Goodin were restricted to a draw in their opening game in the Taranaki event – ironically, against fellow Paritutu members Kevan Sellers and Steve Cottam, playing under the Vogeltown banner – they won their other 10 games to finish the season unbeaten.

Paritutu beat Riverside (Marlborough) 2-1 in the semifinals, having beaten Victoria (Wellington) 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

Heavy rain on Friday meant that the section play rounds were abridged with clubs placed into sections of three. Paritutu recorded cleansweep victories over Awamoa (North Otago) and Paraparaumu Beach.

In the women’s Paritutu lost 2-1 to Papakura and beat Geraldine 2-1. Papakura also beat Gearldine to win the section.

In the women’s final, Stoke beat Raumati 2-1.

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.

For the first time ever, the Greenkeeper of the Year has in 2024 been awarded to a greenkeeping team, rather than a single greenkeeping individual.

The team of Mike Walsh, Don Christensen, Ian Andrews and Aidan Zittersteijn has not only produced outstanding greens at the Paritutu Bowling Club, but has also been influential in outstanding greens being produced across Taranaki … this last year, and in previous years.

Of course the touted quality of a green triggers much debate in the bowling community, and there are as many different opinions about greens as there are bowlers in the community.

But what can’t be debated is the fact that this last year, the Paritutu Bowling Club was the headquarters for four of New Zealand’s largest annual tournaments : the Taranaki Men’s Open Fours and the Taranaki Women’s Open Fours in January, and the National Open Fours and the National Open Mixed Pairs in February.

The greens must have something going for them!

And whilst sumptuous cheese rolls and lamingtons are welcome exigencies to earn the privilege to headquarter such prestigious tournaments, it is the greens that need to be spectacular … the many, many eyes of the players, the umpires, the spectators and the television cameras are critically scrutinising every blade of maniototo.

The greens were spectacular at Paritutu for all four tournaments.  And in fact they were spectacular all season. So mature is the leaf that when the club hosted the Para nationals in November there was no long-term damage to the surface.

“The greenkeeping team at Paritutu has challenged current thinking,” says Grant Hassall, President of Bowls Taranaki.  “They produced a quick green when the season opened last October, and the green was still playing quick more than six months later in April.  Traditional thinking would have you believe you can’t keep a green in that form for that long.”

Grant points to the ‘team’ approach to greenkeeping at Paritutu as maybe the key.

“With teamwork,” continues Grant. “They can share their knowledge and their experience … acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses … and delegate and allocate accordingly.  It’s been a great prototype, or a reminder to show other clubs in New Zealand an alternative way to manage greens.”

“But the really great thing about this greens team is that they see the bigger picture … it’s not just about doing the best for Paritutu … but the best for clubs around the Taranaki Centre.  And they’ve made themselves available to consult at other Taranaki clubs like Waimea, Waitara, Inglewood, West End and New Plymouth.”

“The team is thinking about the game of bowls New Zealand-wide, not just their own patch at Paritutu.”

Grant credits the team with being influential in creating the best greens in the country in Taranaki.  And frankly, you’d have to be a brave bowler (or a one-eyed bowler from elsewhere) to dispute the pre-eminence of the greens in the province.

Most bowlers are very envious.

“Sure, we’ve got the climate and the volcanic soil which are both conducive to maintaining great greens.  But the gamechanger happened twenty-odd years ago when the majority of Taranaki clubs started changing from cotula greens to maniototo greens.” There had been less than a handful prior to this.

“Before then, there were many Centres In New Zealand with much better greens than Taranaki.”

“Now with the right climate, the right soil, the right weed, and the right greenkeeping team like Mike, Don, Ian and Aidan, natural greens will continue to have a great future in Taranaki.”

And that’s fantastic.

Sometimes you can’t help feeling that we’re ‘succumbing’ to artificial greens.  So it’s great to see the Paritutu team fighting back!

Well done Mike, Don, Ian and Aidan.  And congratulations on being Bowls New Zealand’s Greenkeeping Team of the Year in 2024.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Awards held at The Devon Hotel. Congratulations to all the Award Winners and we look forward to next season.

Club of the Year – Paritutu Bowling Club

Male player of the year (determined by points) – Kaylin Huwyler (Paritutu Bowling Club).

Female player of the year – Briar Atkinson (Paritutu Bowling Club).

Youth Player of the Year – Briar Atkinson (Paritutu Bowling Club).

Umpire of the year – David Brunton (Fitzroy Bowling Club- New Plymouth).

Coach of the year – Vickie Kelly (Fitzroy Bowling Club- New Plymouth).

Greenkeeper of the year – Wayne Robinson (Oakura Bowling Club).

Administrator of the year – Fiona Liddall (Okato Bowling Club).

Monday, Apr 08 2024

Grant Hassall

Two bold efforts netted two bronze medals for Paritutu in the New Zealand interclub bowls finals in Auckland on Sunday.

Both the men’s and women’s sides had enjoyed successful competitions on Friday and Saturday, securing positions in the semifinals on Sunday morning.

But that was where it ended, with the men falling 2-1 to Gore and the women losing 3-0 to Invercargill.

The two Southland clubs were in turn beaten by Auckland, in the men’s final, and Carlton Cornwall, in the women’s decider.

Singles player Dean Elgar went through with five-straight wins in section play, before dropping his two post section games, the semifinal 21-13 to Sheldon Bagrie-Howley. Adam Collins and Darren Goodin won three in section play and the quarterfinal, but fell 18-15 to Craig Tinker and Craig Merrilees in the last four.

The Paritutu four of John Zittersteijn, Kurt Smith, Camron Horo and Aidan Zittersteijn, after four victories in section play, won both knockout games to complete an excellent tournament.

In the women’s, Paritutu won two of its four head-to-head matches in qualifying, advancing to the knockout stage after winning six of the 12 individual games. Briar Atkinson took three wins from four in the singles, Amanda Crehan and Bridget Fletcher won twice in the pairs and the four of Alesha Quay, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Barbara Harvey and Gale Fache had one win.

Atkinson led the charge in a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Stoke, winning the singles 21-12. After the pairs had been trounced 25-4, the Paritutu four secured the tie with a 14-10 victory. Paritutu had a sniff in all three games in the semis but lost the lot.

Meanwhile, there was a terrific result in the Bowls3five regional playoff at Hawera Park on Sunday for the New Plymouth trio of Sharleen Healey, Michael Healey and Laurence Hori.

The team met Aramoho’s Reen Belliss, Keith Slight and Peter Belliss, the Whanganui winners. New Plymouth took the first set 5-4 and Aramoho the second 3-2, meaning it all came down to a one-end tiebreaker. New Plymouth took two shots on the deciding end to secure its position in the New Zealand finals which will be held in Wellington on May 3-5.

On the local scene, both the Fitzroy/Stratford-Avon under-10s 2-4-2 pairs and the Okato men’s fours attracted maximum fields of 32 sides each for the two-day tournaments.

Overall honours in the under-10s event went to Fitzroy’s Ian Dawson and Evan Jones while the popular winners of the Okato event were Emmett Fleming, Jonty Linn, Steve Walker and Jordan Linn (West End).

Courtesy of https://sportsnewstaranaki.co.nz/news-article?id=1702

Grant Hassall

Paritutu will look to top off their centennial celebrations when the club competes in the New Zealand interclub finals in Auckland.

The event, for both men and women, brings the provincial winners to compete for the big prize, which has twice been won by Paritutu women and once by Paritutu men. It starts on Friday.

The women’s side will fancy its chances of advancing through its section. A top two finish is required and with only five in its pool, Paritutu look a strong prospect. They will compete against co-favourites Carlton Cornwall, along with Havelock North, Blenheim and Waimate.

Briar Atkinson plays the pairs, with Amanda Crehan and Bridget Fletcher the pair. The four is Alesha Quay, Tina Atkinson-Watt, Barbara Harvey and skip Gale Fache, with Jackie Moeahu the eighth player.

The chances of the men advancing appear less likely although there is certainly enough talent to do so. They are in what appears to be an even group with all of the teams comprising a number of representative players.

Paritutu will meet Ngongotaha, Taieri, Timaru’s West End, Naenae and Thames Coast.

Dean Elgar plays the singles, with Adam Collins leading in the pairs for Darren Goodin. Aidan Zittersteijn skips the four with his father John leading. Kurt Smith and Camron Horo complete a competitive unit.

Meanwhile, Paritutu’s centenary celebrations over Easter weekend were well received by all of those in attendance, including the dinner on Saturday night where Grant Nisbett and John McBeth kept the guests well entertained.

The men’s and women’s one-day events on Saturday, while somewhat disappointing in numbers, produced some exciting results.

The women’s section was won by four of Paritutu’s 14 female gold star holders – Marlene Barrowman, Heather Johns, Barbara Batley and skip Cathy Andrews.

Second went to Fache, from Val Keightley and Anne Duggan.

There was a boilover in the men’s event, where overall honours went to a Paritutu team of James Carter, Eddie Betts, Trevor Knowsley and Paul Howell.

Howell continued his excellent touch, following his recent open triples triumph, but it was a big moment for the other three – and a just reward.

Retired lawyer Knowsley is a midweek selector, Betts authored Paritutu’s centennial publication, while the loveable Carter, nigh on 90 years, has for many years been the epitome of participation.

Noel Probyn, Maurice Symes and Elgar shared the minor placings on Howell’s green.

The other men’s green was won by Steve Muller, from Brian Baldwin – back from the Gold Coast with Gary Mounsey for the event – Bowls NZ president Piripi Huwyler and Kevin Crawford.

Fache took out the main prize in Sunday’s mixed drawn fours, combining with Heather White, Allan Sanger and Trevor Keightley.

The other prizes went to teams skipped by Rodger Hassall, John Honeyfield, Andrews, Baldwin and Gloria Shaw.