Plenty to celebrate with Bowls3Five qualifying event win and a birthday

Bowls3Five qualifying event winners are (from left) skip Adam McIlroy, Karen Pinn and Geoff Pinn, of Kahutia Bowling Club. Pictures supplied

by Paddy Stewart

Geoff Pinn had plenty to celebrate on his birthday this year.

He and his wife Karen joined skip Adam McIlroy to win the Gisborne-East Coast centre Bowls3Five qualifying event on Labour Day, which this year fell on Geoff Pinn’s birthday.

Poverty Bay Bowling Club hosted the event, in which mixed teams of three play games of two sets, each of five ends. Powerplays give double points, and if two teams are drawn at one set each, a one-end shootout is held.

The four top teams played off for the main trophy. The teams were Adam McIlroy (skip), Geoff Pinn and Karen Pinn (Kahutia); Dayvinia Mills (s), Glenys Whiteman and July Hoepo-Williams (Kah); Kathryn Flaugere (s), Andrew Ball and Anna Colvin (Poverty Bay); and Malcolm Trowell (s), Boon McIlroy and Dianne Phillips (Gisborne).

The bottom four teams played for the plate.

The teams were Steve Berezowski (s), Les Whittington and Lesley Seymour (PB); Gerry Kora (s), John Kora and Del Tamanui (Kah); Anita Vaotuua (s), George Vaotuua and Jessie Davis-Law (PB); and George Tamihana (s), Jeff Davis and Kym Brown (Gis).

The win by Adam McIlroy’s Kahutia team puts them in a playoff with either Hawke’s Bay or Bay of Plenty and offers the opportunity of a national title bid.

Runners-up Flaugere (s), Colvin and Ball, of Poverty Bay, also did well. Plate winners were Anita Vaotuua (s), George Vaotuua and Davis-Law, of Poverty Bay. Plate runners-up were Tamihana (s), Davis and Brown, of Gisborne.