Whiteman and File win fours

PLACEGETTER: Harry Green was in the third-placed Peace Shield team. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

BOWLS by Trevor Mills

GLENYS Whiteman is an expert on how to win the Ella Gibson Memorial Fours women’s bowling tournament.

She has skipped the winning team in seven of the past eight Ella Gibson tournaments, a feat that is thought to be unmatched in local women’s bowls.

She skipped Kahutia clubmates Francie Adair, Marie Wright and Dayvinia Mills in her latest Ella Gibson success, at Te Karaka Bowling Club over the weekend.

The men’s Peace Shield fours — also played at Te Karaka — was won by Te Karaka team David File (skip), John Dawson, Lofty Hurrell and Duncan Macpherson.

Both events are Gisborne East Coast centre tournaments and were completed despite forecasts of significant rainfall for both days.

With only seven teams entered in each, the events were played to a round-robin format.

Whiteman’s team were unbeaten, finishing with six wins, but they got away to a shaky start.

Against the Poverty Bay team of Jan Powell in their first game, they recovered from 10-0 down in the early stages to win 17-13.

They won the next four games convincingly but their last game —against the Gisborne club’s Queenie Takurua and junior players Barbara Gibson, Paige Richter and Angela Gibson — was a struggle. The Whiteman four finally got home 16-14 to keep their perfect record intact.

This was the only game played in the last round as Whiteman had the tournament already won but Takurua had a chance to finish second and be in the prize money.

However, this did not eventuate and the Gisborne club’s Carol Hawes ended up in second place with Lorna Reeve, Anne Day and Lesley McIntosh.

Taking three junior players into a centre open tournament was a brave move by skip Takurua. Finishing third and beating some more experienced teams in the process showed it was a worthwhile decision.

The men’s Peace Shield Fours was a different story and the winner was not known until the last end of the last game was over.

David File’s winning team had four wins and 12 points — the same number of wins and points as Tolaga Bay Bowling Club’s Vern Marshall (skip), Mick Maunder, Murray Duncan and Chas Henry.

Marshall beat File 9-8 in the last game to draw level on points.

The winners then had to be decided on the number of “shots for” over the teams’ six games. The total for File’s team was 81 — two shots more than the 79 of Marshall’s team.

File said the round-robin format produced a high standard of play and competitive games.

His team lost their last two games but he knew he could still win the tournament even if he lost to Marshall by one shot because if each team had the same number of “shots for” it would have then gone to a countback on “shots against” . . . File’s total of 43 was well ahead of Marshall’s 79.

Full marks to third placegetters Murray Murton (skip), Harry Green, Marty Ryan and Ray Young, of Kahutia. They also had four wins, including a 15-7 win against Marshall, and only two losses — to the winners and to Bob McIlroy (skip), Adam McIlroy, Kahu Kerekere and Lester Wright.