Te Maori: 'Accidental bowler' is still on a roll

Former New Zealand representative, Mina Paul is still winning after 26 years of playing bowls. Photo/Ben Fraser

Mina Paul is still reaping the rewards from a sport that she started "by accident" 26 years ago.

The Ngongotaha club member recently received the bowler of the year title for the second year in a row at the Bay of Plenty Honours Day. She also won the centre pairs, champion of champion pairs and triple titles and was awarded the Hubert Quadruple Trophy.

Mina (Te Arawa, Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao, Tuwharetoa) said she had never considered playing the sport until she visited her local club.

"I had no intention of playing but my hubby [Denny Paul], wanted to go along and one of his friends said, 'I have some shoes for you, come on'. We went to the Ngongotaha club and there were about 20 new players. They said, 'Who wants go first?' and I said I would because I wanted to get it over with and go but in the end I signed up.

"I was 38 when I first started, was considered a baby back then but you look at the current New Zealand side and they're under 20. I just really enjoy playing. It's a thinking game, you're outside all the time, in the fresh air. The guys kind of liken it to 8-ball, you have to think about your move and what the repercussions might be." Within six years, she was juggling her work at Waiariki Institute of Technology with representing the Bay of Plenty region, before being chosen for the New Zealand squad.

"About 1997, I was part of the New Zealand Development Squad, Millie Khan and them were still around then but it was awesome being around them. It's something you can't explain when your blazer arrives with the silver fern on it.

"I was totally useless at everything else in sport. My hubby played for Whaka [rewarewa] and all the girls were really good netballers and other sports and I was usually put on out of the way. They said to me, 'We're really glad you found bowls, we thought there was nothing you were going to be good at'." Mina said it wasn't only the competition she enjoyed but also the perks that came with it.

"I remember one of my first training camps was in Dunedin, I went there three times in one year. They put you up in a hotel, you get up and go get breakfast, I loved the hotel living. Being able to go overseas, it was the good life ... I've been right to the bottom of the South Island and right to the top of the north and travelled to Australia three times. You meet so many people and make some great friends."

She credited the support of her family and husband, who also plays representative bowls, for her success. The couple have a daughter who played rugby and is a lawyer in Christchurch.

"I last played for New Zealand in 2005 when Australia came here to Rotorua. They were ultra-competitive, I've never seen anything like it. They were really noisy, I felt like shoving that 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi' down their throats," she said.

" I really just enjoy playing the game, I'm part of a small club in Ngongotaha with the majority of Maori. But I would definitely recommend the sport if you're looking at making friends, getting good exercise outside in the fresh air all day.

"I'm very competitive and so are Ngongotaha girls, it's a club I would never leave."