On the weekend of the 3rd & 4th of February the Bowls North Harbour Women’s Championship Fours was held at Manly.
Mairangi Bay had three teams entered out of a total of twelve, which was impressive, but the total of teams entered was disappointing.
Qualifying was on Saturday with horrible gusty winds and heavy squalls.
Gaye Horne, Hanaan Shahwan, Joy Watkinson and Julie Chhour had a very good qualifying round with three wins, the only team to do so. They beat a strong Lisa Dickson/Takapuna team 18-7. Lisa’s team ended being the next best qualifier in fourth place to make the finals.
Elaine McClintock, Kerin Roberts, Irene Donaldson and Glenda Rountree, were in a very strong pool and ended up with two wins. They lost to a strong Manly team but beat Wendy Jensen’s team from Takapuna and also Millie Nathan’s team from Birkenhead. Both very strong teams. Elaine’s team finished second in the pool. The Manly team also with two wins but finished top of the pool on score difference.
Elaine just missed out for that fourth qualifying position.
Sheryl Wellington, Jan Gledhill, Colleen Rice and Theresa Rogers, won their first two games against Takapuna and Milford but lost their third game to a good Manly team. They finished on top of the pool on score difference.
Sunday was finals day and much nicer weather.
The draw was done before the finals and yes you guessed it, Mairangi Bay was playing Mairangi Bay in the semi. Not sure what you want in that situation, playing each other guarantees Mairangi Bay will be in the final but does eliminate the possibility of an all-Mairangi Bay final.
In the Semi finals, Lisa Dickson, Robyne Walker, Jacqui Belcher and Robyn Pittams from Takapuna beat Robyn Henderson, Kathy Stevens, Helen Briant and Elaine Fergusson from Manly 16-13.
Sheryl’s team were too strong for Gaye’s team winning 16-7, always hard to back up the next day. However Gaye played extremely well keeping her team in the contest.
They should all be very proud of their achievement.
Sheryl skipped Jan Gledhill, Colleen Rice and Theresa Rogers to a 20-15 win in the final over Takapuna’s Lisa Dickson, Robyne Walker, Jacqui Belcher and Robyn Pittams.
This gave Sheryl her fifth centre title for her gold star, while Theresa landed her 10th to add a bar to her gold star. For Jan it was her eighth title and for Colleen her second.
It was the third centre title in women’s championships for Mairangi this season, with Elaine McClintock winning in the singles late last year and the pairs just before Christmas with Kerin Roberts.
Well done Mairangi Bay.
Report by Alan Daniels
