Latest Northland bowls news with Gwen Lawson

Former Northland bowler Gordon Bond, the current holder of the most Centre Northland titles with 45, has just won his fifth Waikato title and reached his first Waikato Gold star.

With bowls being an outdoor game, we have once again been disrupted by the weather.

The Bowls 1-5 Year Interclub was cancelled, and although we came up with a date of February 25 for a rematch, this date is not possible as one club has three players away at pre-arranged events over that weekend. The regional competition for this event has been set down for May 6, and we need to find our winner prior to that date.

The event has therefore been rescheduled for Sunday, April 23. Clubs affected are Onerahi, Maungakaramea, One Tree Pt, Kamo, Kensington, Hikurangi, Mangawhai, and Ngunguru. Please note the changed date.

The Bowls3Five semifinals between Kensington 2 and Maungakaramea and Hikurangi and Whangārei have been rescheduled to next Wednesday at Kensington, with a start time of 6pm.

The Centre Open singles are also yet to be rescheduled. With weekends being taken up by club fixtures and national events, we are finding that difficult. The same event was disrupted last year. We will notify clubs and players as soon as this has been finalised.

The next event at the centre level is scheduled for February 11 and 12.

This is the Centre Junior 1-5 Year singles. Entries closed yesterday. Entries are a wee bit disappointing, and anyone who wants to see if they can play should contact gwen.northbowls@slingshot.co.nz to see if we have a vacancy. Play is scheduled to be played in the Whangārei area.

Entries for the 1st Year singles are also coming in slowly. This is a one-day event on Sunday, February 19. Clubs, please help your new bowlers to register and enter into this event now. Entries close next Thursday.

Remember Gordon Bond, the current holder of the most Centre Northland titles, 45 in all? Two seasons ago, he moved to Tokoroa in the Waikato, and it’s no surprise he has just won his fifth Waikato title and reached his first Waikato Gold star - a haul of 50 titles in all and the equivalent of 10 gold stars and bars. Congratulations Bondy, you are a star of our game.

Tournaments next week are:

Tuesday - Waipū MX Triples

Wednesday - Maungatapere AC Triples

Thursday - Kensington AC Triples; Ruawai MX Triples

Friday - One Tree Pt AC Triple

Sat-Sun - Juniors Singles, Whangārei 2x4x2 Men’s Pairs

Saturday - Dargaville AC Triples

Sunday - Arapohue Men’s Triples