Club bowls news

CHAMPION PAIR: Robin Jefferson (left) and Steve Goldsbury (skip) won the Weatherley Brothers Memorial Trophy for Bowls Gisborne-East Coast’s men’s open pairs championship. Picture supplied

Gisborne

Steve Goldsbury (skip) and Robin Jefferson won the Gisborne-East Coast men’s open pairs at the weekend, holding off a strong field on the Gisborne Bowling Club’s greens.

Jefferson, in the autumn of his bowling career, handled the wet, windy and cold conditions better than most, continually putting his first bowl on the money after delivering the jack.

In the final, the Gisborne pair were too consistent for Kahutia’s Vern Marshall (s) and Mick Maunder.

As they had in the centre fours championships the previous week, Gisborne provided half of the semifinalists in the pairs.

In the men’s event, the draw pitched a Gisborne pair against a Gisborne pair and a Kahutia pair against a Kahutia pair. That meant Jamey Ferris (s) and Ricky Miller were knocked out by clubmates Goldsbury and Jefferson.

Bob McIloy (s) and July Hoepo, and Arthur Hawes (s) and David Beattie were quarterfinalists.

Gisborne’s well-performed “juniors” — Beverly Davy, Kay Goldsbury, Ginny Sherriff and Kym Brown — were again into the semis but that’s where their tilt at the title ended.

Goldsbury (s) paired with Sherriff and, after an unbeaten run on Saturday, they fell to the eventual winners, Kahutia’s Judy Taylor (s) and Marie Wright, on Sunday. And that’s when Davy (s) and Brown’s run ended, too.

Battle of the Bays

Gisborne club bowlers make up almost half the Gisborne-East Coast team to play Hawke’s Bay in the annual Battle of the Bays in Napier this weekend.

Jamey Ferris, Malcolm Trowell, Robin Jefferson, Bob McIlroy, July Hoepo, Steve Goldsbury, Arthur Hawes, David Beattie and Ricky Miller provide the backbone of the men’s team.

Beverly Davy, Queenie Takurua, Tanya Harrison, Bobbie Beattie and Lesley McIntosh will play for the GEC women.

Kahutia

Last Wednesday, 36 players in 12 teams contested the Kiri Te Kanawa Retirement Village single-entry tournament for the Jack Booth Trophy.

With the wind playing its part, it looked as if a grenade had gone off on a lot of the heads, scattering the bowls all over the place.

However, some good bowls were also delivered. The wind can be a great leveller, even for the more experienced players.

Poverty Bay fronted up with a few players and the Gisborne club managed two.

Thanks, also, to the Kahutia club members who supported the tournament, especially those who made themselves available to take the place of players who withdrew on the day.

Winners for the day were Kevin Bright (skip), Murray Duncan and Richard Mann.

Second were Murray Murton (skip), Jock Smith and Tony Dobson.

Third place went to Ropata Ruwhiu (skip), Dianne Christie (PB) and Kahu Kerekere (Gis).

This weekend, some Kahutia players head to Napier to represent the centre in the annual Hawke’s Bay-versus-Gisborne-East Coast fixture. Congratulations on your selection and best of luck down there.

The club also has some women in Auckland playing in the North Island Cosmopolitan Tournament.

They had three from three on their first day and were looking comfortable.

Go get ’em, Gisborne-East Coast. — Blocker