On the mats — Indoor bowls news

OPEN FOURS WINNERS: Poverty Bay-East Coast indoor bowlers (from left) Keith Setter, Malcolm and Nathan Trowell, and Waikato bowler Steve Flaszynski won the open fours at the Rotorua Queen’s Birthday Weekend Tournament.Picture supplied

Poverty Bay-East Coast indoor bowler Keith Setter was the star of the Queen’s Birthday Weekend Tournament in Rotorua. Had there been a player-of-the-tournament award, Setter would have won it hands down.

Setter started the weekend by gaining third-equal placing in the open singles, in a field of 101 bowlers. He then teamed up with Waikato’s Steve Flaszynski to win the open pairs, which started with 70 teams.

Setter teamed up with Flaszynski and Poverty Bay-East Coast’s Nathan and Malcolm Trowell to win the open fours, which attracted 30 teams.

Setter had previously won the singles in 1999 and 2007, and the same fours team retained their fours crown, as they had won the event in 2019, before Covid-19.

Other Bay singles players who qualified and made it to the last 32 were Malcolm Trowell, Matthew Foster, Dylan Foster and Nathan Trowell.

Dylan Foster and Nathan Trowell had a play-off to find the junior under-18 player going the farthest in the singles. Trowell won the play-off to take the Caie Trophy for the third time. He had previously won it in 2017 and 2019.

Nathan Trowell and his father Malcolm had a great weekend, reaching the pairs semifinals before being ousted by Setter.

Mike Foster and Matthew Foster qualified in the pairs event, teaming up with out-of-town players, but they were put out in the early stages of the sudden-death playoffs.

Dylan Foster failed to qualify in the pairs, but was first-equal in a consolation pairs event with four straight wins. Matthew Foster also reached the last eight teams in the fours event, playing in a Waikato team.