Opononi teenager glides to centre title
The Far North bowling fraternity has been put on notice by an unheralded Opononi teenager after she claimed a major Centre title last weekend.
Fifteen-year-old Hoki Cassidy emerged victorious from a field of 15 in the Bowls Far North Centre’s open women’s singles championship at Kaikohe on Sunday afternoon.
Among those blown away by the teenager’s performance in the event was centre match convenor Bunty Barron. She noted Cassidy showed grace under pressure and a maturity beyond her years to claim a number of scalps belonging to vastly more experienced players on her path to the title.
Cassidy progressed to the second day’s play alongside Opononi stablemate Linda Fowlie (another ‘junior’ player, albeit of the adult variety) to join Dianne Davey and Pania Sigley, both hailing from the Russell club.
“The two juniors from Opononi had to battle it out and what a game this was,” Barron said of the semifinal where the scores were tied 24-24 forcing an extra end to be played which Cassidy won by one shot to progress to the finals to meet Davey who had eliminated Sigley 25-15.
It was the manner in which Cassidy came from behind in this final and how she handled the extreme pressure she was put under by Davey which made the title win so remarkable, Barron said.
The junior was trailing 10-3 on the 11th end but had the score all tied up 16-16 on the 23rd end before going to claim a 25-21 win over her senior opponent.
“The final was a true game of sheer determination and the will to win from our junior star. What a remarkable junior we have in our centre, she is only 15 and has a great future ahead. Everything she does, bowling, schooling is A-class!”
The women’s singles were played at Kaikohe over both Saturday and Sunday (November 3-4) in a format of 25 shots up.
■ The BFN Centre men’s triples title was also completed in a format of 18 ends over the weekend with the RSA trio of Kevin Briscoe, Peter Dorreen and Paul Huxtable emerging victorious.
Alongside Huxtable’s team, others to qualify from section play on day one at Opononi included (skip’s names only given) their RSA stablemate Mike Reddy along with Jon Young (Kerikeri) and Cedric Campbell (Opononi).
Day two at Kaikohe saw the two RSA trios playoff in a very close game with Huxtable’s crew narrowly winning 14-12, while Campbell’s team cut down Young’s side in another thriller by 17-16. Huxtable’s team eventually proved too consistent in the final against their Opononi counterparts, winning by a comfortable 22- 16 margin.
The men played their finals at
Kaikohe alongside the open women’s singles finale.
The tournament organisers congratulated the winners, thanked the host clubs for the two events, Opononi and Kaikohe, and acknowledged the green keepers, bar staff, ladies in the kitchen, markers for the singles, match controllers and umpire.
■ UPCOMING. The next Centre event will see the Junior 1-8 Pairs — both men’s and women’s sections — contested at the Far North RSA on Saturday and Sunday, November 17-18. The format will be a round robin system of 18 ends or a time limit of 21⁄4 hours, with no time limit for the finals.
Convenor Bunty Barron asked that anyone in the draw — to be announced — who is unable to be there to please try and get someone from their own club as a replacement, and to notify her accordingly by phone (09) 406-1693 or email h.barron@xtra.co.nz.