Nathan’s success is a sign of a major development in Gisborne indoor bowls.
Junior bowlers — under the age of 18 — are taking charge in events, with one extended family showing exceptional class and support.
The Easton, Trowell and Foster families are all related, and the youngsters are the ones turning heads.
Watching Nathan and Malcolm Trowell win the Clark Schollum Pairs were Nathan’s grandparents and multiple indoor bowls title-holders Bruce and Kaye Easton, and Nathan’s mum (and Malcolm’s wife) Jenny Trowell.
Nathan and Malcolm teamed up with Nathan’s cousins Matthew and Dylan Foster to be runners-up in Gisborne’s biggest fours tournament, the Robieson Shield. They lost the closest of finals 7-6.
The young Fosters (also Bruce and Kaye Easton’s grandchildren, and Mike and Karen Foster’s children) then teamed up to win the Poverty Bay-East Coast Under-21 Pairs. In a field of 15 teams, they were undefeated, with four wins from four games, and 37 points. Nathan and his sister Kayla Trowell were runners-up with four wins and 34 points.
Dylan Foster, 12, then travelled to Porirua and reached the last eight bowlers in the New Zealand under-18 finals. In qualifying, he won his first game by default, then drew 9-9 against Upper Hutt Valley’s Presley Williams.
Needing to win one of his next two games to qualify, Foster lost 12-7 to Thames Valley’s Matthew Lansdall before bouncing back to beat South Otago’s Lilly Paterson 9-7.
Foster was one of 10 qualifiers, and he drew the bye into the quarterfinals, where he met Jakeb White, from Counties. White has represented his district many times in this event and was too strong, beating Foster 19-3.
It was great experience for Foster, though, and things didn’t stop there for him. He was selected to play for the North Island zone team against the South Island zone, and after a titanic battle the result was four wins each. A countback was required, with the North Island winning by 40.5 ends to 33.5.
The next day, it was the turn of his elder brother Matthew, 14, to share the spotlight. He and cousin Nathan Trowell contested the New Zealand Secondary Schools Singles. Both represented Gisborne Boys’ High School.
With 64 players in the competition, they were drawn to play each other in the qualifying rounds, which disappointed their school and Gisborne bowlers because it reduced the chances of both of them qualifying.
However, they drew their game, and both qualified for sudden-death playoffs. However, they were defeated early on.
Trowell and Foster then teamed up in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Pairs. Of 36 teams who started the event, Trowell and Foster were among the 15 who qualified. They reached the quarterfinals before being defeated 7-1 in a very slow game against Whakatane High School’s Dylan Greyvenstein and Vincent Beard.
With youngsters coming on board, the game here is not losing numbers. It’s a credit to the Poverty Bay-East Coast Centre and its members that they have teamed up with the young, teaching them the game and supporting teams financially. It is also a credit to Tony Garrett, at Ilminster Intermediate School, for bringing young indoor bowlers into the sport.
