Bop Bowls 3 Five

A great weekend of Bowls

Day 1: Qualifying

The first day was packed with five fast paced rounds of qualifying. It was the

Tauranga Domain team of Steve Hughes, Brendan Brill and Jocelyn Holten that

set the standard in section one with five wins. The other three spots went to

Raewyn Willis, Mount Maunganui and Andre Hudson of Tauranga Domain,

both with twelve game points from four wins, while the last spot went to Nick

Tomsett who pipped out last year’s champion Cliff Webber (Omokoroa) with a

superior net set points score.

In section two there were two outstanding combinations. A Tauranga Domain

team comprising Dan Dickison, Debbie White and Mary Campbell and

Omokoroa’s Robbie Geerlings, Lynda Boschat and Caitlin Thomson, who both

won all five rounds. That just left two qualifying spots and with three teams

equal on twelve game points to fit into the two, it was always going to end in

tears. Eventually it came down to net set points. Dave Jones (Taupo) on plus

four took the third spot and Paul Anderson (Mount Maunganui) the last

position on plus three. It was heartbreak for Frank Aldridge from Tauranga

South, only missing out by one set point.

Day 2: Post Section and Year 1-5 Junior Round Robin

In the Junior round robin event, there were five teams competing with a bye

round for each team. The first three rounds were close with four teams still in

the running. It came down to a last round match between an Opotiki team led

by Debra. Millen against Tracey Ashley’s from Whakatane. It was the Ashley

team that put the afterburners on winning the first set 9-2 and closing out the

second set 5-1. Congratulations to the Whakatane team of Ashley, Kate Robbie

and Michael Ashley, becoming the 2023 Junior 3 Five Champions.

In the Open post section quarter-final play, there were three teams from

Mount Maunganui, three from Tauranga Domain and one each from

Omokoroa and Taupo. It then came down to a Mount Maunganui vs Tauranga

Domain semi-final between Hudson vs Tomsett and Dickison vs Anderson in

the other match.

It was a thriller in the first semi with Mount Maunganui coming back to draw

the first set after being down by two points going into the last end. In the

second set it came down to the last bowl where Tomsett just missed resting

the bowl for shot and Tauranga Domain advanced to the final.

In the second semi it was Mount Maunganui that got off to a flyer with Steve

Beel playing some telling bowls. In the second set it was the Tauranga Domain

team applying some pressure but Mount Maunganui absorbed it all and on his

last bowl Beel peeled off the shot bowl to win, with Mount Maunganui

advancing to the final.

The final was a hum dinger. The Tauranga Domain team of Hudson, Wayne

Smith and Marilyn Constantine came out strong securing the first set 5-1. In

the second it was the skill of Anderson who secured the majority of the heads

for the Mount Maunganui team, winning 6-3. It went to a tie breaker where

once again it was Anderson who held the closest bowl. On his last bowl Hudson

touched the jack on the draw but couldn’t hold onto it. Mount Maunganui

becoming the eventual winners. Congratulations to Beel, Anderson and

Lorraine Rowling, the 2023 Open 3 Five Champions.

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Andre Hudson

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