Bowls: Bowlers preparing for top-level events
Tuesday, Jul 09 2024
Grant Hassall
Winter used to mean a spell for Taranaki’s leading outdoor bowlers.
But that is no longer the case, with a number of players gearing up for high level competitions in the coming weeks.
Briar Atkinson will forgo her defence of the NZ champion-of-champions singles, after taking up an invitation to compete in a new World Bowls Series ranking tournament in Singapore from July 21.
Atkinson will compete in the women’s under-25 section with Christchurch’s Olivia Mancer.
World bowls rankings are a new novelty for the sport and initial list is based off recent events at national and international level. Atkinson has received the impressive ranking of 15th in the world, remarkable given that she is yet to achieve full international honours. Her points have come from high placings at the Dominion and the Oceania Challenge from 2022.
The only other Taranaki player to make the top 50 was Kaylin Huwyler (pictured), who is 44th on the men’s list. He is one of only three Kiwis on the men’s side.
With Atkinson in Singapore when the national champion-of-champions singles are on, Taranaki’s hopes will rest with Fitzroy’s Maurice Symes, when the event commences in Dunedin on July 19.
The subsequent four weekends will see the respective national playoffs in pairs, triples, fours and mixed pairs, with all of Taranaki’s champion-of-champions winners competing.
Recently, Atkinson was part of the Taranaki side which finished third in the national under-26 event, which was won by hosts Wellington. The other members of the team were Nathan Goodin, Camron Horo, Aidan Zittersteijn and Keyarn Rowlands.
Taranaki won the inaugural title last year.
In other bowls news, Atkinson and Huwyler were awarded the players of the year cups for last season. Atkinson, who won five Taranaki in addition to her national achievements, took the women’s title for a second year, in addition to also being named the youth player of the year.
Despite Huwyler only playing part-time in Taranaki – he was the Whanganui representative singles player – he took the men’s award after claiming three centre titles.
Paritutu was named club of the year, with the other winners being Fiona Liddall (administrator), Wayne Robinson (greenkeeper), Vickie Kelly (coach) and David Brunton (umpire).
The other notable presentation made at the end of the season was a gold star to Ian Andrews and a 15-title bar to Cathy Andrews. That followed the retrospective adjustment of their 2008 mixed pairs victory counting as a qualifying event. All other mixed pairs winners, post the men’s and women’s centres amalgamating, had counted and the Taranaki Board believed that the inconsistency needed correction.
Ian Andrews has previously won the champion-of-champions fours (2008 and 2012), the champion-of-champions pairs (2008) and the Christmas pairs (2009).
Cathy Andrews, the former NZ rep, has previously won champion-of-champions titles in the singles (three times), and pairs and triples (once each), the open singles (five times), the open triples (three times) and the open fours (once).