Playing as team key to Parajacks’ tournament win
BOWLS
THE Parajacks team took centre stage in the heart of Central Otago at the Omakau 3Fives tournament over Labour Weekend.
The composite team of Carolyn Crawford, of St Clair, Graham Skellern, of Tauranga, and hometown player Pam Walker headed off a competitive field with a strong finish on the second day in the highpressure, quick format to win the top prize.
In a field packed with Otago and Dunedin representatives, the Parajacks won their final two qualifying matches to win five matches from eight to qualify for the top four.
In postsection play, the side lost a oneend tiebreak to defending champions, Dion and Pip Liddy and Kyle McGowan (Lake Hawea) after the sets were squared.
But given another life, the Parajacks then set the pace.
The side beat Trevor Drake, Lindsey O’Callaghan and Trevor Ludlow 64, 52, and then Gerald Geoffrey, Jamie Koppert and Pauline Seaton 62, 43.
The Parajacks finished with six points and five sets to Lake Hawea’s six and three.
“It’s just nice to keep the Parajack movement up there in bright lights,” skip Skellern, a member at both Takapuna and Tauranga, said.
“We played as a team and backed each other up.
‘‘There weren’t too many times when we were in a desperate situation. Pam and Carolyn were strong on the draw.”
Crawford has won 28 centre titles and a national pairs title with Anne Muir, as well as the world B8 disabled singles in Wellington in 2015.
Skellern, a North Harbour representative, has won 15 centre titles and has been a semifinalist in the national open championships four times.
It was a big occasion for Walker. The hardworking secretary of the New Zealand Disabled Bowls Association, is an organiser and sponsor of the
Omakau event.
When a team dropped out this year, she asked if she could organise a parajack team and the club was right behind her. She not only became the first member of the Omakau club to play in the summer of bowls event, she also became the club’s first winner.
The team won $1200 for its efforts.