Gisborne East Coast centre fours crowns up for grabs at Te Karaka Bowling Club

All roads lead to Te Karaka Bowling Club this weekend for the Gisborne East Coast centre Peace Shield and Ella Gibson Memorial fours tournaments.

Two centre events – the Peace Shield Men’s Fours and the Ella Gibson Memorial Women’s Fours – are being played at Te Karaka Bowling Club this weekend.

Six teams are contesting the men’s event and nine teams are in the women’s competition.

The Kahutia team of Leighton Shanks (skip), Kyle Pinn, Liam Pinn and July Hoepo look favourites for the men’s competition, although most of the other teams have one, two or three players who could turn a game their way.

Kahutia and Tolaga Bay bowling clubs both have two teams entered, while Poverty Bay and Gisborne have one entry each.

Kahutia also look strong in the women’s competition, where Glenys Whiteman (s), Dayvinia Mills, Millie Allen and Karen Pinn will be hard to beat.

But two teams will be especially tough - the Poverty Bay four of Anita Vaotuua (s), Jessie Davis-Law, Cheryl Jenkins and Deborah Hancock, and the Tolaga Bay team of Clara Taingahue (s), Queenie Takurua, Krystel Williams and Mary Taingahue.

Gisborne have three teams entered in the Ella Gibson Memorial, Te Karaka and Poverty Bay both have two, and Kahutia and Tolaga Bay have one each. Junior and senior representatives are liberally sprinkled among the teams.

The men are playing a round robin of 15-end games, each with a two-hour time limit – three games on the first day and two on the second, with two points for a win and one for a draw.

The women have section play of three 15-end games, each with a two-hour time limit, on the first day. The top eight teams will have post-section play on the second day, when three rounds of play will culminate in a 15-end final with no time limit, and provision for an extra end if the scores are tied.

Peace Shield teams: Leighton Shanks (s), Kyle Pinn, Liam Pinn, July Hoepo (Kahutia); Geoff Pinn (s), William Murray, Kelly Te Miha, Joe Wimutu (Kahutia); Lucan Taingahue (s), Shane Smiler, Malachi Gray, R. Castle (Tolaga Bay); Boon McIlroy (s), Ricky Miller, Ben Elkington, Mark Walker (Tolaga Bay); Hiki Kennedy (s), George Vaotuua, Keith Tamanui, BJ Seymour (Poverty Bay); Mal Trowell (s), Warren Gibb, Chris Bunyan, Andrew Ball (Gisborne).

Ella Gibson Memorial teams: Glenys Whiteman (s), Dayvinia Mills, Millie Allen, Karen Pinn (Kahutia); Anita Vaotuua (s), Jessie Davis-Law, Cheryl Jenkins, Deborah Hancock (Poverty Bay); Clara Taingahue (s), Queenie Takurua, Krystel Williams, Mary Taingahue (Tolaga Bay); Carol Hawes (s), Adrienne Torrie, Kym Brown, Libby Clay (Gisborne); Dianne Phillips (s), Ginny Sherriff, Marise Raklander, Karen Higgins (Gisborne); Diane Murray (s), Lyn Hayes, Karen Macpherson, Vicky Smith (Te Karaka); Kathryn Flaugere (s), Anna Colvin, Jenny Amor, Cheryle Tamanui (Poverty Bay); Barbara Tui (s), Andrea Tui, Jacqui Broughton, Janie Waititi (Te Karaka); Delores Woodcock (s), Jackie Horsfall, Joy McFarlane, Hiria Nepe (Gisborne).