Competitors to wear the green again at Kahutia

In the spirit of the day: Steve Ward prepares to send down a bowl during last year’s Saint Patrick’s Day bowls tournament, The Wearin’ of the Green, at the Kahutia Bowling Club. Both Ward and Bruce Gledhill (left) were appropriately clad in green for the day. File picture by Paul Rickard

Gisborne lawn bowlers will again celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a tournament.

Kahutia Bowling Club will host the second edition of The Wearin’ of the Green, the tournament brainchild of Tipperary-born Martin Ryan.

It started last year as a rotational triples competition in which everyone had a go at being skip.

The $10 entry fee included a helping of Marty’s Irish Stew and plenty of “craic” (fun).

Covid-19 has persuaded Ryan to do without the Irish Stew this year. Consequently, the entry free for the tournament on Thursday is down to $7.

He is hoping to soften the blow of a stewless day by having his old Gisborne City football teammate Victor Hooks — brought up over the border in Belfast — turn up with his guitar.

In the time between the end of play and the presentation of prizes in the Kahutia Bowling Club headquarters, Hooks and Ryan will sing Irish songs.

Ryan said other entertainment was also possible but could not be confirmed yet.

The Robert and Ethel Jenkins Memorial Cup will be presented to the winning team. It commemorates the maternal grandparents of Trevor Jukes, a non-playing supporter and sponsor of the Kahutia club. Jukes Carriers is the major sponsor of the tournament.

Robert Jenkins was a long-time member of Kahutia until his death in 1947. He held the positions of treasurer and auditor and was a popular player.

His wife Ethel was the first president of the former Riverside Women’s Bowling Club.

Their daughter Elizabeth, wife of Arthur Jukes, and Trevor’s wife Carol bought the trophy and it was contested at Riverside as the Ethel Jenkins Memorial Cup. Carol Jukes skipped the first team to win it.

When Riverside wound up, the cup went to Kahutia. Now it has a new life with an expanded name and a fresh tournament for which it is the symbol of victory.

Players from other clubs in the Bowls Gisborne-East Coast centre will be welcome, and Ryan said local businesses and the trades community had been generous with their support.

Prizes would be awarded to the “best-dressed colleen” and the winners of the “nearest to the leprechaun” bowling challenge.

Play will start at 12.30pm on Thursday. Each team will have three games and prize-giving is expected to start between 4.30pm and 5pm.

Organisers ask that everyone attending abide by the Covid-19 restrictions applying at the time.

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