The fight for the Kevin Eddy Memorial Trophy has once again pushed the North and South Island teams to put their best foot forward.
At the conclusion of Round One, the score was even at four games apiece. Annelies Baker and Marcus Trlin made a great start for the North with two singles wins, and the men’s and women’s pairs followed suit. However, it was the South who came out firing for the men’s and women’s triples, winning their games 24-8 and 22-12 respectively. The fours were hotly contested, and the South clinched both; a superb last bowl from Katrina Wealleans made sure of it.
The second round produced similar results and four medals were decided. The North Island claimed the men’s singles and men’s pairs, and the South Island claimed the men’s triples and women’s fours. There was a momentum change in the other matches with Kylie Gould bouncing back to a 27-15 victory in the women’s singles; Christine Langley and Kelsey De Koning sneaking a 19-17 win in the women’s pairs; and Ali Wilson’s men’s fours team pulling ahead 19-11. A crucial bowl from Linda McCurdy saw the Northern women’s triple score a four on the 20th end, and ultimately they won the game.
At this point, spectators were on the edge of their seats. With the scores locked at 16-16 and four medals still up for grabs, there was plenty to be played for. Mirroring recent years, the North appeared to step it up a notch for the third round, and at the halfway mark, the majority of scoreboards were favouring ‘blue’. The Northern men’s triples and women’s fours showed incredible resilience to push back and win their final game, as did Grant Wilson in the Southern men’s singles.
In the medal matches, Annelies kept in control to win 20-11; Jess Moffat and Maria Tough drove it home 22-8; and the women’s triple of Linda McCurdy, Lesley Monk and Candace Andrew held onto their early lead to win 20-15. Ali Wilson also managed to steer his men's fours team toward a 16-9 victory for the North.
This meant that the North Island secured a further four medals, and above all, it guaranteed a hold on the Kevin Eddy Memorial Trophy for another year.
Congratulations to all involved in another great battle!