7 – 1 – 26
Well done to those who made it through to post section.
Women’s singles: Sumner: J. Wyatt Morrison Ave: M. Boyd
Men’s pairs: Bowls Hornby; L. Pascoe & J. Hill A. Diamond & K. Scott Bowls Papanui: D. Vujcich & N. Johnstone P. McKinnel & G. Hassell B. McNish & T. Pascoe EP: B. Burke & S. Bowden Belfast: T. Grantham & G. Lawson K. Darby & A. Kelly Papanui Club: G. Porter & S. Jury Jane
6 – 1 – 26
Good luck to all those members participating in the Nationals today.
Women’s Singles: J. Wyatt W L W W W J. Main L L L K. Rowlands W W L L W W M. Boyd W W W W N. Fukuhara L L L N. Tamati L L W L T. Woodham L L W W
Men’s Pairs: EP Teams: B. Burke & S. Bowden W L W W L W C. Wood & C. Waldron W L W L L D. Vujcich & N. Johnstone L W W L W W G. Porter & S. Jury Jane L W L W W W G. McClurg & M. Lewis L W W L L
Composite Teams: T. Pascoe W W L W W G. Lawson has W W W W W L. Pascoe W W W W W P. McKinnel W W L W W S. Brown W W L L L A. Kelly W W W W W K. Scott W W W W W
5 – 1 – 26
Wow!!! Both Tania and Mandy have made it through to the women’s pairs final. Two EP players from four is a pretty good ratio. At the end of the day EP will have one national champion and one runner up! Awesome.
Final: S. Keith & T. Woodham 13 v M. Boyd & K. Edwards 18
Two EP members shared the limelight as they fought for the National pairs title.
It was a closely fought match and after 14 ends it was 12 – 12 and it could have gone either way but a three to Mandy on the 13th end gave them a break that kept them ahead.
Congratulations Kirsten and Mandy, a good win.
5 – 1 – 26
Good luck on finals day to Tania and Mandy as both have reached the semi finals in the women’s pairs.
Kim and Nylla at EP. Post section pairs.
4 – 1 – 26
Congratulations to the players who have got through to post section.
EP can feel proud that fifteen club members made it through to post section. Great effort!
Women’s pairs:
Burnside: L. O’Callaghan & C. Buchanan L S. Keith & T. Woodham W W W
Bowls Papanui: M. Boyd & K. Edwards W W W P. Phair & F. Frew L
Elmwood Park: K. Rowlands & N. Tamati L B. Stevens & J. Shirley W L
Men’s singles:
Woodend: S. Bowden L Bowls Hornby: S. Brown W L Woolston Park: L. Pascoe L
Belfast: K. Scott W W L Burnside: G. Lawson W W L G. Porter L
Around the greens.
1 – 1 – 26
As with any time the nationals are played in Christchurch many of EP members took the opportunity to partake.
Good luck everyone.
Well done to those who qualified for post section.
Men’s Singles: C. Waldron l w l l l G. Lawson l w w w w l G. Porter w l l w w w K. Scott w w w w L. Pascoe w w w w w w S. Brown w l l w w w S. Bowden w w l w w S. Jury Jane w l w l l C. Wood w l w l l l
Women’s Pairs: EP Teams: B. Morel & A. Scully l l w l l K. Rowlands & N. Tamati w w w w P. Phair & F. Frew l w w w w
Composite Teams: J. Wyatt w l l w l l C. Buchanan w w w w w M. Boyd w w w w w T. Woodham w w w l w J. Main w l w l w l J. Shirley w w w w
2 – 1 – 25 From “The Press”
Top New Zealand lawn bowlers Aiden Takarua and Tayla Bruce will chase their second national singles titles as the country’s best descend on Christchurch.
Takarua and Bruce head the contenders for the respective men’s and women’s singles titles among 864 entries for the 2026 national bowls championships which open on Friday.
Held across 21 clubs in Canterbury, the men’s singles, women’s pairs and disability pairs run from Friday until Monday, before the women’s singles, disability singles and men’s pairs are contested from January 6-9.
Southlander Takarua, the 2024 national men’s singles champion, will chase a repeat as one of New Zealand’s form players. He won the Hong Kong Open last month to boost his world ranking to No 6.
“It’s been a pretty good few months and I’m really looking forward to nationals, it’s something we build towards all year,” said Takarua. “Nationals is the pinnacle of bowls in New Zealand and I’m pretty pleased to be heading back to Christchurch. That’s where I won my title in 2024 so I’ve got good memories there. They’ve got some of the nicest greens in the country, they’re really fast and true so I’m looking forward to it.”
Others to watch in the men’s division include two-time national champion Shannon McIlroy (2016 and 2018), and Matt Berry from Auckland’s Pringle Park club who produced a huge upset to beat Black Jacks international Keanu Darby 21-17 in the men’s singles final a year ago.
In the women’s singles, Bruce (Burnside) will chase a repeat of her 2022 title in front of friends and family.
“It’s always great to play at home,” said Bruce. “There’s a really strong field this year. I’m expecting some great competition and I’m excited to get involved.”
Bowls great Val Smith – recognised in the New Year honours with an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) – will also line up despite announcing her retirement from international bowls last year.
Smith has never won a national singles title but has four pairs titles to her credit.
Defending singles champion Deb White (Hinuera) returns to chase a third title after beating Takapuna’s Wendy Jensen 21-17 in last year’s decider.
Mandy Boyd – who won back to back pairs titles with sister Angela in 2015 and 2016 – is also a leading contender chasing a maiden singles title.
Play will begin at 8.30am on Saturday and will be broadcast on Sky TV and the Bowls NZ YouTube channel.
MuzzaWeb found it somewhat disappointing that three of EP’s elite bowlers and holders of NZ titles were not mentioned, Gary Lawson, Kelvin Scott and Lance Pascoe.
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