Out-bowled by some of the best at intercentres

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Both Bowls Gisborne East Coast teams finished last in their qualifying sections at the Bowls NZ National Intercentre tournament played in Auckland over the weekend.

Out of a total of 45 points available over the five rounds played, the men’s team scored 11 points while the women’s team scored eight points.

With 25 centres participating in the event, the random draw saw our men up against heavyweights Nelson (who finished runners up), Dunedin, Taranaki and Waikato plus Bay of Plenty.

The women drew two tournament favourites Auckland (who were the eventual winners) and North Harbour, plus Kapiti Coast, Southland and Bay of Plenty.

All teams comprised a singles player, one pair and a fours team, and the games were played in a round robin format.

Our GEC Men’s singles player John Kanawa had a tough draw having to play three national titleholders in dual world singles champion Shannon McIlroy (Nelson), Blackjack Mike Kernaghan (Dunedin) and Dean Elgar (Taranaki). Out of the five games played, Kanawa lost four and drew the last one against Waikato’s Chris Lourie.

The Gisborne BC pair of Jamey Ferris (skip) and Steve Goldsbury fared better with wins against Dunedin 17-12 and Bay of Plenty 22-19, and an 11-all draw against Taranaki.

The men’s four skipped by Tolaga Bay’s Vern Marshall with Gisborne BC’s Mal Trowell, Bob McIlroy and Ricky Miller beat Dunedin 20-15 in their last game for their only win, but had close games against Nelson and Waikato, losing both by only two shots.

The final points in the men’s section were Nelson first with 35 points, Taranaki second with 26, followed by Bay of Plenty with 22, Dunedin 21, Waikato 21 and Gisborne East Coast 11 points.

Our women’s singles player, Kahutia’s Dayvinia Mills, started well with a 25-14 win over Kapiti Coast but lost her next four games. Amongst her opponents were national titleholder Mary Campbell (Bay of Plenty), current Blackjack Selina Goddard (North Harbour) and Auckland’s top singles player Karen Hema.

In the pairs, Te Karaka’s Sarah Brown (skip) and Poverty Bay’s Val McGreevy had a 17-all draw in their fourth game against Kapiti Coast and went down only by one shot 14-15 against North Harbour.

The fours, skipped by Gisborne BC’s Queenie Takurua with clubmate Carol Hawes, Te Karaka’s Del Tamanui and Kahutia’s Anita Vaotuua, lost their first four games but made amends in the last round beating Southland 15-9. Like the pairs they only lost their fourth round game by one point, 11-12 to North Harbour.

Winners of the women’s section were Auckland on 39 points, North Harbour second with 27, followed by Southland on 24, Kapiti Coast 19, Bay of Plenty 18 and Gisborne East Coast 7 points.

After considering these results, the members of the Bowls Gisborne East Coast Board are going to have to quickly consider a number of initiatives to improve the performance of the teams at next season’s National Intercentre event.

These could include the appointment of a qualified centre player development coach, the formation of pre-season winter training representative squads and, in a move to attract more younger players to the sport, try to convince secondary school sports co-ordinators that lawn bowls is a creditable sports option for their students.