Close games at national tourney

On the ball: The women’s team are ready to go. Back, from left, Glenda Kapene, Lucy Shanks, Donna Smith and Miro Allen. Front, from left, Paige Richter, Glenys Whiteman, Marie Wright and Jo Sturmey. Pictures supplied

BOWLS By Crackerjack

The 2021 National Interclub Sevens in Christchurch recently was a great four-day tournament.

This year, Bowls Gisborne East-Coast men’s team was represented by Te Karaka Bowling Club and a composite Kahutia-Wairoa represented the women’s team.

The men’s team (played in Section One): David File played the singles, Steve Goldsbury (skip) paired with July Williams (lead) while in the fours John Dawson (Skip), Boon McIlroy (three), Arthur Baty (two) and Willy Murray (lead).

In Round One, Te Karaka played a close game against Riverside (Marlborough) in the singles and won 21-19. Te Karaka’s pairs lost 23-9 against Gore (Southland) and the fours also suffered a loss 19-14 to Takaro (Manawatu).

Te Karaka in the singles enjoyed another win in Round Two, 21-19 against Gore (Southland), while the pairs had a loss 19-10 against Takaro (Manawatu) and the fours lost 20-10 to Mt Maunganui (Bay of Plenty).

In Round Three, Te Karaka enjoyed a big win 21-12 against Takaro (Manawatu) in the singles while the pairs lost 21-11 to Mt Maunganui (Bay of Plenty). The Fours had a bye.

The pairs then had a bye while Te Karaka’s singles won 21-18 against Mt Maunganui (Bay of Plenty) and the fours took the win 17-11 against Awamoa (North Otago).

The singles had a bye in Round Five. Te Karaka’s pairs lost 19-12 to Awamoa (North Otago) and the fours won 17-13 against Far North RSA (Far North).

David File enjoyed a winning streak to take two more games of singles for Te Karaka. He won 21-9 against Awamoa (North Otago) in Round Six and 21-15 against Far North RSA (Far North) in Round Seven. That was a great achievement for File, as he won his six singles games for Te Karaka at the Interclub Sevens.

Te Karaka Pairs lost 20-9 to Far North RSA (Far North) in Round Six and the fours lost 14-9 to Riverside (Marlborough). In Round Seven, the pairs lost 23-10 to Riverside (Marlborough) and the fours suffered a big loss of 27-3 to Gore (Southland).

Even though the Te Karaka Men’s team finished fifth in the section and did not make it to the quarter final, they still put up a great effort.

The composite Kahutia-Wairoa women’s team comprised Glenys Whiteman, Marie Wright, Lucy Shanks and Paige Richter from Kahutia Bowling Club; and Glenda Kapene, Jo Sturmey and Donna Smith from Wairoa Bowling Club.

In the Women’s Section Four, Marie Wright played the singles while Lucy Shanks (skip) and Donna Smith (lead) played in the pairs. Glenys Whiteman skipped Glenda Kapene (three), Jo Sturmey (two) and Paige Richter (lead).

In Round One, Kahutia / Wairoa lost 21-11 to Carlton Cornwall (Auckland). The pairs won 18-13 against West End (Taranaki) and the fours won 18-17 against Awamoa (North Otago). In Round Two, the team had three losses: 21-18 to West End (Taranaki) in the singles, 23-13 to North East Valley (Dunedin) in the pairs and 24-13 to Takapuna (North Harbour) in the fours.

In Round Three, Kahutia/Wairoa played a close game against North East Valley (Dunedin) in the singles and won 21-20. The pairs also had a close win of 19-18 against Awamoa (North Otago). The fours lost 15-13 to West End (Taranaki). The singles enjoyed another win of 21-17 against Awamoa (North Otago) in Round Four while the pairs lost 16-11 to Takapuna (North Harbour), and the fours lost to Carlton Cornwall (Auckland) 15-8.

The Kahutia/Wairoa Pairs won 21-17 against Carlton Cornwall (Auckland) in Round Five.

The fours lost 11-9 to North East Valley (Dunedin) and lost 21-5 to Takapuna (North Harbour) in the singles.

Although Kahutia/ Wairoa did not qualify into the quarter final, kudos to the whole team for their efforts. The team finished fourth in their section.