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.