Weather wreaks havoc with Rosebowl tourney
The frustrating patten of wet weather this summer continued to create problems for the organisers of the Pam and Dave Roughton Wrathall Rosebowl at Cooper’s Beach earlier this month.
For the second time, rain cut short proceedings in the open mixed triples tournament short on Sunday, March 4 (the event had already been rained out on February 10), which drew a field of 16 teams from Kerikeri, Oruru, Far North RSA and host clubs.
Conditions of play were four games of 1 hour 15 minutes with two back-to-back games played before and after lunch.
The first game was underway when rain descended and while it was eventually completed, everyone was left somewhat bedraggled. All went in to the clubrooms to dry out and enjoy a welcome cuppa only to find the skies refused to clear. This forced the match committee to draw the remaining games on cards, which led to a lot of good humoured banter between teams, followed by an early lunch.
Results were: Robin Sheffield, Christine Hodren, Graeme Hodren (Keri) 4 wins, 61 points, 1; Dennis Breckon, Trish Breckon, Patsy Thornton (Cooper’s ) 3, 58, 2; Jim Naylor, Pam Naylor, Dennis Lattimer (Cooper’s) 21⁄2, 66, 3; and, lucky draw: Dave Riddle, Pam Rayner, Len Cooke (RSA/ Cooper’s).
In other news from Cooper’s Beach, the club ran its mixed pairs championship the following Tuesday (March 6) in very contrasting conditions where everyone was sweltering.
The top four qualifiers from the 14 combinations were, Dave and Pam Roughton 4 wins, 27 ends, 56 points, 1; Margaret Wildbore, Trevor Smith 4, 25, 53, 2; Alan Bright, Shirley Marr 3, 23, 40, 3; and, Dennis Lattimer, Patsy Thornton 3, 18, 29, 4. The Roughtons went on to dispose of Alan and Shirley 8-6, while the Wildbore/ Smith combination eliminated Lattimer and Thornton 8-4.
Into the final and Pam, as she had done all day, played superb lead bowls allowing the Roughtons to claim the title.
■ sand.
“It was a good experience,” she said, saying the last 6km were the hardest as her shoes became waterlogged. Local athletes to feature in the top placings in the half marathon were, Marcus Barker first man home (in his first Te Houtaewa) in 1:42:36, only seconds behind Steiner. Other locals to make the top five were Ahipara’s Jon Earnshaw, fourth in 1:55:41, and Kaitaia’s Riki Green fifth in 1:56:51. It was Green’s first half marathon and he managed a smile at the finish line.
“Been training for a good month,” he said, adding conditions couldn’t have been better: “That rain was awesome, Just kept us cool. If it was sunny, I don’t know . . . [how well I would have gone].”
There were eight runners in the ultra (with a couple having to pull out before completing due to injury), three in the marathon, an estimated 20 in the half marathon, and four teams doing the ultra marathon relay, won by Team Kaitaia College in 4:38:39. Organisers were also pleased to see dozens participating in the 6km Walk for Life — many of those getting into the spirit of the occasion by dressing up — which once again raised money for the local hospice.
Peter Kitchen said everyone was pleased to return the challenge to the Kaitaia activities calendar following an absence over the past couple years,
“This race is all all about bringing people into our area to see the beauty and unique nature of our environment of the Te Oneroa a Tohe. Without our sponsors, we don’t achieve this so we want to give a big shout out to Kaitaia,” he said. There were prizes galore thanks to the local the business community, which meant nearly everyone walked away with something.