Southland indoor bowls season under way
The Southland indoor bowls season is now in full swing after centre president Peter Carnie opened the 2015 season back in March.
It will be another busy schedule of events locally and will be highlighted nationally when many Southland bowlers are expected to participate in the New Zealand championship at Timaru in June.
The first open events of the season again attracted entries from as far afield as South Canterbury and provided the chance for local bowlers to fine-tune their games before the upcoming competition.
The ILT Foundation-sponsored Bill Kane Memorial Fours was a triumph for the local team of Suzanne Mackie, Brian Hotton, Belinda Peard and Ann Mackie, who defeated defending champions Peter Carnie, Elaine Carnie, Aaron Harrison and Grant Kean, with Graeme Russell, Sam Morton, Joanne Wilson and Maree Swain and Adam Williams, Brandon Williams, John Williams and Jacquie Williams filling the minor placings.
In the Mark Keen Memorial Pairs, Southlanders Grant Fortune and Trevor Burgess took the honours from Otago’s Brandon and Adam Williams.
Belinda Peard and Warren Burgess, Peter and Elaine Carnie were the beaten semifinalists.
Our Otago visitors dominated the Mackie Family Singles with Brandon Williams again to the fore, defeating Hugh Brosman in the final.
Nicholas Sinclair and Suzanne Mackie finished third equal.
Brandon Williams took out the Low Family Trophy for Player of the Tournament.
North Invercargill club mem- bers were to the fore in the Invercargill sub-centre events last weekend where the team of Greg Heads, Andrea Heads and Vanessa Dawson captured the Invercargill Triples title on Saturday, defeating Matthew Heads, Warwick Gray and Sharon Gray 8-6 in the final.
On Sunday, Greg Heads completed a double when he scored an 11-8 victory over Graham Low in the men’s open singles.
Third equal in the men’s event were Caleb Hope and Brian Turner.
In the ladies open singles Suzanne Mackie continued her dominance of this event winning 14-3 over Clare Stronach.
This weekend the first Southland championship will be decided when the ILT Foundationsponsored Southland Fours are contested on Saturday.
Next week Gary Low will represent New Zealand in the transTasman test match in Tauranga, seeking a repeat of the 2013 effort when New Zealand crushed Australia in Brisbane.
The Ladies Eights team of Ann Mackie, Suzanne Mackie, Caroline Braithwaite, Belinda Peard, Maree Swain, Jennifer Beattie, Pam Durry and Jean Stratford will play in Alexandra next weekend in pursuit of another successful title defence.