Burton Cup winners are (from left) John Donnelly, Marise Raklander, Warren Gibb and skip Malcolm Trowell. Though commonly called the Burton Cup, the trophy itself bears the inscription "Burton Trophy". Photo / John Gillies
Burton Cup winners are (from left) John Donnelly, Marise Raklander, Warren Gibb and skip Malcolm Trowell. Though commonly called the Burton Cup, the trophy itself bears the inscription "Burton Trophy". Photo / John Gillies
The race for Gisborne Bowling Club’s Burton Cup was won in the home straight.
Neither winning skip Malcolm Trowell nor any of his team members had won the Burton before, but they held off the team led by last year’s winning skip to take the trophy by two points.
Competition for Gisborne Bowling Club’s marquee event was so close that going into the sixth – and last – round any one of five teams could have won, tournament controller Peter Ferris said at the prizegiving.
Trowell, Warren Gibb, John Donnelly and Marise Raklander amassed 45 points over Saturday and Sunday. Boon McIlroy was to have played but he was ill on Saturday, so Gibb took his place.
Two points back were runners-up Don Williams, his daughter Krystel Williams – both in last year’s winning team – with Don’s nephews and junior bowlers Jay Casey and, in his first year on the greens, Kelly Te Miha.
Third were Clara Taingahue, Mary Taingahue, Lucan Taingahue and Shane Smiler, with 41.5pts; fourth were Marc Alexander, Dianne Phillips, Hiki Kennedy and Jessie Davis-Law, on 41; and fifth were Jeff Davis, Joy Davis, Kathryn Flaugere and Nikau Seymour-Reid on 38.5.
Trowell, 49, is Bowls Gisborne-East Coast men’s representative selector and had come close to winning the Burton in the past.
One year he was a late withdrawal, another player took his place and was part of the winning team.
“And last year we dipped out by one point,” Trowell said.
He paid tribute to his team members and their opponents.
Marise Raklander (foreground) and Warren Gibb deliver their bowls during play in the Burton Cup at the weekend. Photo / Gisborne Bowling Club Facebook page
“The spirit was cool, the competition was great, and when you have so many teams fighting for the prize, it’s nice to come out of it with the chocolates.”
For most of its 116-year existence, the Burton was a male-only fours competition that started on Good Friday and sometimes did not finish until Tuesday afternoon. Over 70 teams might enter.
But the Burton’s popularity fell away as competing events emerged in other centres and players became less willing to take part in tournaments lasting more than two days.
In 2017 the tournament was shelved due to lack of interest, and the trophy was given to Gisborne Bowling Club for safekeeping.
Its revival as a two-day marquee event for the Gisborne club, contested by mixed teams in a classic fours format, has brought about a resurgence of interest in what is now a locally dominated event drawing entries from city and country clubs.
Sixteen teams played three rounds on Saturday and three on Sunday, with different opponents every round.
In the first round, one team member played singles (first to 21) and the other three played two-bowl triples over 18 ends.
In the second round, two games of three-bowl pairs were played over 18 ends.
In the third round, two-bowl fours were played over 15 ends.
Pairs teams and singles had to change for the second day’s play, which started with 15 ends of two-bowl fours.
The fifth round was singles and triples, and the sixth was 12 ends of 2-4-2 pairs. In this type of pairs game, the lead delivers the first two bowls, the skip the middle four and the lead the last two. The roles are swapped each end.
Ten points were available in each match of each round of the Emerre & Hathaway-sponsored tournament. Fours were worth 10 points, triples six, pairs five and singles four.
