Shields stay north of Waioeka Gorge

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

BAY OF PLENTY Premier 1 bowlers won both the Endeavour Shield and the Waioeka Shield in matches against Bowls Gisborne-East Coast representatives at Whakatane Bowling Club's greens last Sunday

Gisborne-East Coast senior men had four wins for 12 points compared with the eight wins for 24 points of Bay of Plenty Premier 1 men.

Meanwhile, Gisborne-East Coast senior women had five wins for 15 points, while Bay of Plenty Premier 1 women had seven wins for 21 points.

Bay of Plenty Premier 1 men and women had a combined points total of 45 compared with the combined GEC tally of 27. Bay of Plenty thereby comfortably secured the Endeavour Shield.

On the same day, Gisborne-East Coast junior teams played against the Bay of Plenty junior one-to-five-year teams. These are teams made up of players with up to five years of bowls experience.

Both Bay of Plenty junior teams played exceptionally well considering the number of new players in the squad this season.

Hats off to the Bay of Plenty women, who almost pulled off a clean sweep of all three rounds. This is not new in the BoP junior ranks as the women almost always lead the way on the scoreboard.

The overall result was a big win to Bay of Plenty Juniors, 52-19, which meant they had secured the Waioeka Shield for another year.

The GEC senior men's team: Charlie Ure, Steve Goldsbury (Gisborne Bowling Club), Andrew Ball, Steve Berezowski (Poverty Bay), John Dawson, Willy Murray (Te Karaka), Ben Elkington and Marcus Merrick (Tolaga Bay). Manager: Tim Sherriff.

The senior women's team: Carol Hawes, Tanya Harrison (Gisborne), Dayvinia Mills (Kahutia), Mere Nepia, Jessie Law, Lesley Seymour (Poverty Bay), Jasmine Merrick (Te Karaka), Sharon Olsen (Tolaga Bay) and Glenda Kapene (Wairoa). Selector: Bobbie Beattie. Manager: Anita Vaotuua.

The GEC junior women's team: Karen Pinn, Joy McFarlane, Adrienne Torrie, Libby Clay (Gisborne), Win Baker, Anna Colvin (Poverty Bay), Erica Thompson and Alicia Ruru (Te Karaka). Selector/manager: Sarah Brown.

The junior men's team: Vern Withey (Wairoa), Geoff Pinn, Peter Clay, Peter Ferris, Chris Bunyan (Gisborne), Jack Clark, John Andrews and Les Whittington (Poverty Bay). Selector/manager: Peter Walters.