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Results 2007/2008 Season
Horth Harbour Bowls Prize GivingThe North Harbour Bowls prize giving was held at the Silverdale club. Birkenhead has never been so well presented in the prize winning awards before. I am sure most of the audience were getting a bit tired of hearing Birkenhead's name so regularly announced. This was due to such a positive performance from our bowlers through-out the season. Tony Grantham, having earlier won the World singles championship in Australia, won the bowler of the year. Also the supreme award of the year, the centre pairs with R. Haresnape, the centre fours with R. Haresnape, D. Trott and S. Curran, the Champ of Champ pairs with R. Haresnape [in the final against D. Trott and S. Curran] and was a NHB. rep. Mark Emirali won the NHB centre singles. Bruce Cochrane won the centre Jnr. pairs with M. Short,was runner up in the centre Jnr. singles and a Jnr. rep. Martin Short won the Jnr Pairs with B. Cochrane, was a Jnr. rep and in the academy. Nigel Drew was runner up in the Champ of Champ Jnr. singles, a rep and in the academy. Mark Rumble was a rep player. Birkenhead won the B grade interclub. The positive results were due to the collective input from: the club's leadership from Rod Mahon and his committee which gave the Birkenhead club such a strong club spirit; the team selection format, which was so competitive, gave strength to the teams having the services of our excellent green keeper in Dennis Mathews who was helped by John Squires and Colin Bouzaid (they gave us two of the best greens in the north harbour circuit). All our players from first year juniors, through the ranks, of which there are some extremely good players, right up to and including our world singles champion, T. Grantham, have the dedicated services of our head coach Keith Burgess, who, from the results Birkenhead have produced this year, proves his expertise. All these additives are not only a benefit to Birkenhead Bowls club but also strengthens NHB. So added to our results and remembering bowls is the name of the game, the award for 'Club of the year' resulted in a complete mystery.
Junior SinglesAfter a number of delays the final was eventually played on Monday the 7th April. Leads and Two'sThis tournament was held on Sunday the 13th April. Eight teams entered and they played four games of 1 1/2 hours. The winners were:
Congratulations to Rick and Gary who have both had a very successful year of bowls - well done. Champ of Champ SinglesPlayed at Helensville on Saturday 5th April 2008 Our Senior Champion Rod MAHON unfortunatly did not last to long going out in the second game to Eric Simmonds of Browns Bay. Rod was a little disappointed in his game feeling he could have played a lot better. The final score was 21-18. Eric went on to the win the title. Our Junior Champion Nigel DREW did very well getting through to the final. He played a representative from the Northcote Club affectionally known as "Fish" This was a very close fought game with Nigel going down 21-20. This result was somewhat of a suprise as Nigel was expected to win. Darrington CupThursday 3rd April 2008 This is for the Senior fellows but not quite the Veterans, The stipulation is you must be over 60. (Some of them must be taking youth pills) The tournament was singles played over four games of 21 shots, with a blind draw. There were 18 entrants of a very good quality. The winner was:
The weather was truly great, the greens were running at about 18 to 19 seconds which is quite slick. Congratulations Keith, Ollie and Bruce. First Year SinglesThis years 'first year juniors' tournament was played on a day absolutly made for Bowls. The weather was perfect, the greens a delight to play on, the competition great and the markers on the ball. What more could a sane man ask for. Anyone watching the games would have never have believed these were first year bowlers. The players were, K Dilks, D Lacomte, G Cooley, D Batterbee, L Mourie and R Butterworth. The games were played in the best spirit and I am sure everyone enjoyed the day. A coaches speciality was the infrequent wrong biases. In the end there were three 4 winners. Richard Butterworth, Keith Dilks and Gary Cooley, so it came down to a points differential with the winner being Gary Cooley, 2nd Keith Dilks and 3rd Richard Butterworth. If this is what first year bowls is all about, I can only say that some of the more senior players could well do with looking over their shoulders, as these players are going to very readily be a contention in the future. GO BIRKENHEAD.
Annual Fish TournamentSaturday 29th and Sunday 30th March. Every year around the end of March our club holds the "Fish" Tournament. It is called that as all prizes are fish or produce from the sea. Morning tea and lunch are also fish meals. Once again Sandy Cleghorn put his heart and sole into organising it, which resulted in 32 teams of fours taking part which totalled 128 players. We had teams from the South Island as well as the Waikato. To achieve 32 teams these days shows the amount of work that Sandy put into it. The tournament is over two days with four games on the first day of ten ends or 1 hour 40 minutes whichever came first. The second day is three games of the same timings. The winning team was a team skipped by Ross Haresnape. ( Ross actually took ill during the first game on the second day. He had chest pains and numbness in his fingers so an ambulance was called and Ross was carted of to hospital. He is apparently doing well and will be back home shortly.) In Ross's absence Tony Grantham took over at skip and of course they kept winning to complete the tournament with seven wins and unbeaten. The team was Ross Haresnape, Tony Grantham, Brian Chapman (an outsider) and Don Trott (Ross's place was taken by Colin Austin for the final day). In second place was our President Rod Mahon who had 6 and half wins. (I think he must have had a very easy draw). Rod's team was Shane Gibson ( very pleasing to see Shane back and playing good bowls after extensive surgery) Ron Murdoch and Colin Rogan (Ron and Colin are outsiders). Third place was a team skipped by David Eades from Orewa with six wins. Prizes went right down to eighth place. The weather was great, the food was great, the bowls were not always great, Sandy ran the show well and a great day was had by all. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY IN THIS TOURNMANENT NEXT YEAR IT WOULD BE GOOD ADVISE TO GET IN EARLY. CONTACT SANDY OR THE CLUB. Centre FoursAs our fours won the Centre title they like the pairs went to the pathways playoff against Far North, Northland, and Auckland on Sunday the 16 March. Returned Services Association National TriplesHeld at Rotorua 17/18/19 March 2008. Birkenhead RSA which is affiliated to the Birkenhead Bowling Club sent four teams of triples of paid up members of the RSA to the Nationals. The teams were:
There were 68 teams from all over NZ from Kaitai to Temuka. The first two days were three games of 12 ends or 1 hour 45 minutes whichever came first. The top sixteen teams went through to the champion round and the non qualifiers were drawn to play in lesser sections. Roys team had five wins and were fifth qualifier. In the champion first round Roys team lost to a Whakatane team 11-7 and therefore went into the Consolation which is the second tier. Roy, Sandy and Mac have won the major title in the past as well as runner up so are gathering a large amount of RSA titles. On this occassion they won the Phelan Shield. A great trip was had by all. Photos of the teams are in the club gossip. Rep SquadWe have two players Ross and Tony in the Senior Rep Squad. In the Development Squad we have two Nigel DREW and Martin SHORT. Last weekend the two squads with the Ladies played the interzone finals with Far North, Northland and Auckland. The Seniors just missed out coming second to Northland. The Development Squad had a good win, so go through the National Finals. Good luck to Nigel and Martin who will excell in that company. Centre SinglesMark could not match the effort of Ross and Tony in the pathway pairs. He did not win a game in the pathway singles, but from what I hear played very well without a lot of luck. Veteran SinglesWeather wise, the summer of 2008 must go down as similar to the ones we can remember when we were kids. It has certainly been a blessing for bowlers. The veteran singles were played this week in these ideal conditions and although age may wary the body, in no way does it diminish the enthusiasm for the game. The true Birkenhead spirit of competing to the bitter end was prominent in the games that were played, with no quarter given. On the day everyone was a winner. The single difference being some players accumulated more points than others. The only downside being that none of the younger members were there to see what heights can be attained through great competition and practice. The veterans may be older, but they are still good. PS: I almost forgot (I think it's called having a senior moment) The overall winner was Bruce Cochrane. The runner up was Bert Dingle. Third place was shared by: Ross Murray, Jack Renwick, Dave Harper, Harold Wright, Gary Edwards, Peter De Roo, Willie Kerrigan and Jack Thurlow. Go Birkenhead North Shore Junior InterclubI have been reliably informed that this is a round robin competition held over five weeks. There are four sections of 6 teams. The top qualifier in each section along with the next best four qualifiers go into post section play. To date three rounds have been held. We have two teams in the competition, an (a) and (b) team selected by our senior selector Lionel DREW. The (a) team is: Bruce COCHRANE, Nigel DREW, Martin SHORT, Mark RUMBLE, John HINDMARCH and Ra TE AMO. The (b) team is: Rick BANNISTER, Keith DILKS, Kevin GEORGE, Butts BUTTERWORTH, Pierre GIELEN, Greg UTTING. A notable achievement in this section was Ricks defeat of the North Shore Junior Singles champion Peter Nathan of Glenfield. They play to 21 shots, Peter was leading 19-17, when Rick with great bowls got a four and won 21-19. Unfortunately that was the only game they won on that particular night. From comments heard it appears that they are not getting the club spectator support which they would like. We need our juniors to do well so the more support we can give them the better they will play. There are two further weeks to go and hopefully we will have both teams in post section. Round 4 was held on Monday night the 3 March. Our very strong A team had three good wins so extend there lead in their division and are looking very good for post section. The B team are having a more difficult time but are hanging in. They had 1 win and two losses but still remain second. Next week is the crunch for them. Rick Bannister again was the shining light with the only win. Three wins are required next Monday with a huge differential to have a chance at post section. The 10th March was the final round of junior post section. The (a) team had two and half wins leaving them in first place with eleven and a half wins. Mairangi Bay was second with ten wins. As I said last week the (b) team needed three wins with a huge differential to make the final eight. Well they did, with three wins and qualified in second place with ten wins. A huge effort. Glenfield won the section with eleven wins. Rick Bannister was once again the star winning the singles and going through unbeaten. Very well done Rick and well done to both teams in qualifying, we have two teams in the final eight. Next Monday the 17th is the first round of knockout which is being held at Silverdale. I was away in Rotorua when this was played on Monday the 17th. We could not believe the report we received in Rotorua. The (b) team had a great win against Glenfield who in there ranks have the North Harbour Junior Singles Champion. We Are Gone It happened on Monday the 24th March. Our sole remaining team was beaten 2-1 by Mairangi Bay in the semi finals. Northcote Three Day Extended FoursTuesday to Thursday 19-21 February 2007. Two Birkenhead teams entered this prestiges tournament. Last years winners: Rod MAHON, Keith BURGESS, Garry STEVENS and Bruce COCHRANE. The first two days were three games per day of 15 ends to qualify for the top eight. Sandy managed to qualify second. Obviously had an easy draw. Rod did not qualify with only three wins. Sandy was beaten in first game on Wednesday so dropped out of contention eventually finishing in eighth position. Rod went into the plate and won all four gamesto win the plate. The winner was a composite team skipped by John TOBIN of Glenfield who had the centre president Ian POLAND with him in the team. Centre Senior and Junior Pairs; Birkenhead on 16/01/08In the Junior Section two Birkenhead teams made the semi finals, unfortunately they played each other. Martin SHORT and Bruce COCHRANE beat Nigel DREW and Mark RUMBLE 16/11 in a somewhat tense game as neither wanted to lose. In the final Martin and Bruce beat a Browns Bay team 18/11. A good result for Bruce as he was beaten in the final of the junior singles in a close game. In the Senior Section four Birkenhead teams qualified for the top 16. Mark EMIRALI and Ra TE AMO and Lionel DREW and Roy PARKER went out in the first round. Ross HARESNAPE and Tony GRANTHAM and Don TROTT and Scott CURRAN played well reaching the final. At this point there was no doubt that Birkenhead would win the title. The final was postponed until the 17/2/08 as the green became quite stressed due to the extreme heat. On the 17/2/08 the final was played at Birkenhead in front of a very good crowd. A great game of bowls developed between two very capable and competent bowlers. The score was close all the way. At the end of the 14th end the score stood at 16 all. On the 15th and final end, after the leads had delivered there two bowls, Scott had his two pink bowls nicely nestled about 8 inches behind the jack and looking very settled. Ross with his last bowl drew on the backhand and sat the two pink bowls about 6 inches behind the jack. Don try as he did could not out draw Ross's bowl. The bowl Ross delivered was an absolute beauty considering the very gusty wind conditions. A win to Ross and Tony 17/16. As a result of the win Tony the former NZ singles titleholder and present World Singles titleholder wins his Centre Gold Star. This is achieved after five Senior Centre Titles. He is the first member of the club to become a gold star holder. The late Bill THOMAS was a gold star holder but that was in the days that the North Shore was a sub centre of Auckland. Congratulations and well done Tony. Congratulations to Ross and Tony in winning the Pathways inter zone finals. As winner of the North Harbour pairs Tony and Ross went into the Zone final between Far North, Northland and Auckland. They went through the round robin unbeaten with three wins. As a result they go into the NZ finals which is held next month. They have a really good chance of winning the National Final. Champ Events to Date 2007-2008Handicap PairsWinners: N Drew, L Drew Champ TriplesWinners: Donn Trott, Tony Grantham, Ross Haresnape Junior Champ FoursWinners: Bruce Cochrane, Mark Rumble, Martin Short, Nigel Drew Champ FoursWinners: Martin Short, Mark Rumble,Nigel Drew, Lionel Drew Champ SinglesWinner: Rod Mahon Allan Meekings Memorial Annual Founders TournamentHeld at the Mairangi Bay Bowling Club on Mon-Wed 11-13 February 2008. The Birkenhead team of Rod MAHON, Roy PARKER, Don TROTT and Keith BURGESS went through the section rounds unbeaten and were the top qualifier of eight. ln post section they beat a Mairangi team skipped by Rex REDFERN. In the semi final they came up against Ross HARESNAPE who is a Birkenhead Bowler but who had a composite team. After seven ends Birkenhead were out to a 13-1 lead and looking very good. They then all went to sleep and Haresnape scored 4, 4, 3, 2 and the next thing Birkenhead were down 14/13. A real arm wrestle developed from then on with the game going to the wire at 18/17 to Haresnape. A very good game of bowls which should have been won by the Birkenhead team. It shows that concentration is required for the full game and not half of it. Haresnape went on to win the final over an Orewa team. I.H.C TournamentWAITANGI DAY 06/02/08 Once again the Birkenhead Bowling Club working with the Birkenhead Lions Club staged the annual fours tournament to raise funds for the Intellectually Handicapped Association. Due to the good work of Sandy Cleghorn the tournament organiser, a total of 32 teams played, which is two full greens, not a common sight these days. The weather was great and all games were played in good spirit. The overall winner with four wins and 29 ends was Shaun BAYNE, Ollie BOUZAID, Ray URWIN and Keith BURGESS from the Birkenhead Club. With the raffles and auctions a total of $5,700.00 was raised for I.H.C.
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