Kahutia in dominant form for centre pairs

KAHUTIA Bowling Club members showed their prowess when their club champions took out three of the four centre pairs titles. The victorious Kahutia pairs were Glenys Whiteman and Francie Adair in the women’s open, Lucy Shanks and Anita Vaotuua in the division for women with up to eight years of bowls experience, and Murray Duncan and Leighton Shanks in the division for men with up to eight years of bowls experience.

Te Karaka pair Bob McIlroy and July Hoepo won the open men’s title. Play was in the round-robin format. No team in any division came through unbeaten, so it was down to differentials. In the men’s open, Te Karaka had a plus-39 differential against Kahutia’s +33. In the women’s open, Kahutia had four wins and +22 against runners-up Gisborne, who had three wins and +32.

In the eight-and-under divisions, the Kahutia men had a differential of +26 against Poverty Bay’s +18, while the Kahutia women had +63 against Wairoa’s +38 and Poverty Bay’s +30.

The open women’s victory was Whiteman’s 56th centre title and Adair’s 26th.

Playing formats much discussedThe relative merits of the two-life system — the playing format for many years — and round-robin were much discussed. Round-robin play requires a different approach to the two-life matchplay format. You have to be a quick starter and get early shots on the board, make sure that if your opposition win a head they score only one, and make the most of your point-scoring opportunities when they present themselves.

In essence, second shot is a valuable asset to have while making your bonus-point play when you have the last bowl or have the opportunity to play a safe turnover.

The two-life system is very much matchplay — be ahead at the completion of the prescribed number of ends and you win, and after two losses you are out of the competition. Teams need to keep a close watch on the charts to see how their competitors are doing. If you get behind on games/differential, you might need to take a different strategy for your future games.

What could have been . . .Vern Marshall’s Kahutia pair were 10-0 down in their game against Tolaga Bay and still won . . . what would they have scored had they got a good start. Tolaga Bay were ahead of Gisborne 7-6 at the halfway point, then dropped a six (remember, second shot is a winner). The final score was a differential in Gisborne’s favour by seven. It would have been a tight game but for that mishap.

In the men’s u8yrs division, Poverty Bay beat eventual winners Kahutia 14-10, yet I am told they gifted their opposition points in other games, severely affecting their own differential. Gisborne players play for wins/differential on a regular basis. Having round-robin evens things out.

Perhaps the centre operations team could introduce a final for the top two individuals or teams. That would require a shift in the playing psyche and show who adjusts to the change in approach.

Kahutia had a great tournament, and the challenge is for players of all clubs to try to take the step up to centre competition.