The finalists for the ‘Super Finals Weekend’ to be held in Wellington from the 16th to the 18th August have been found after an intense three days of indoor bowling competition between District winners from all corners of the Country.
The Super Finals Weekend will see New Zealand titles decided for the New Zealand Mixed Pairs, Mixed Fours, 1-5 Year Singles, 1-5 Pairs, Masters Fours and the Henselite Champion of Champions Singles.
National Champions are found through full seven game round-robins, and it is common for the results to come down to ‘last bowl’ wins.
šššš ššššš šššššššš ššššš ššš šššššš šš ššš šššššš ššš ššš šŗšššš šššššš š¾šššššš ššššš šš š šššššš.
šš”š ššš§š¬šš„š¢šš šš”šš¦š©š¢šØš§ šØš šš”šš¦š©š¢šØš§š¬ šš¢š§š š„šš¬ has been supported by Henselite since 1986, and dates back to 1975 when the winning prize was an overseas trip!
Always a hotly contested event, the 2024 edition is no exception.
Heading the field is arguably the most in form player in New Zealand- ššØš¬šš©š” šš¢š§šØ (šš®šš ššš„š„šš²).
Having added the 2024 Open Triples and Fours to his already glittering indoor bowls resume, Joseph is also the only one in the field who has tasted success in this event previously.
He will be looking to add the 2024 title to his 2009 one.
He will face stiff opposition from the rest of the field though; the evergreen former Mat Black šš«š®šš ššš²šš« (ššš§šš°ššš®) stands out as another likely contender for the title.
ššššš”šš° š šØš¬ššš« (šššš šØ) and šššš”šš§ šš«šØš°šš„š„ (šš®šš¤š„šš§š) , the cousins from the thriving metropolis of Gisborne and whom are now domiciled in Dunedin and Auckland respectively will also pose a big threat.
Foster recently finished second in the National Open Singles, and Trowell who represented New Zealand this year is carving a magnificent record for himself in indoor bowls and featured in the Henselite singles last year.
ššØš¬š¬ šš«š¢š š”š (ššØš«šš” ššš«šš§šš¤š¢) and ššš¢š„ šš¢š„ššš«š (ššØš«šš” šššš šØ) have both forced selection into their respective Island Teams for the 2024 Test Match with their domestic results and will back themselves to come home with the title.
šš«š¢šš§ š š„ššš (šš”šš¦šš¬ ššš„š„šš²) and šššÆš¢š§ šš«š¢ššš¢šš”š¬ (šš®š„š„šš«) are the dark horses of the field, having had significant success within their Districts but not yet having featured prominently on the national stage- perhaps the Super Finals Weekend will prove to be their time.
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šš”š ššš° šššš„šš§š šš¢š±šš ššš¢š«š¬ was inaugurated in 2016 as a companion to the New Zealand Mixed Fours, and the finals field is a strong one.
Last year's Champions Daniel French and Keri Te Tamaki are not in the field on this occasion but will be contesting the Mixed Fours.
No one team clearly heads the field, with seven of the eight teams boasting a current or former Island Representative.
ššš«šš¤ šš°šš§ šš§š ššØš«š«šš¢š§š šš”š¢š©š©š¬ (ššš®š«šš§š š) have both tasted success in the Mixed Fours event in the past and know what it takes to win a seven-game round robin. They will be a pair to watch.
šš¢šš¤ šš¢š§šš„šš¢š« šš§š šš¢š¬š ššØš®š„š (šš©š©šš« šš®šš) also boast a metaphorical ton of experience, with both players named to contest the upcoming Inter-Island Test Match in August.
A feature of this year's national final is the three married couples who’ve made their way through, ššØš¬š¬ & ššš«š²š§ šš«š¢š š”š (ššØš«šš” ššš«šš§šš¤š¢), šš«šš & š š¢šØš§š ššš°šš«šš¬ (ššØš„ššš§ ššš²/ššØšš®šš¤š) and šš”š«š¢š¬ & ššØš§š§š ššššš”šš°š¬ (ššš§ššš«šš®š«š²)
Team Wright and Team Edwards have both won the Bob Malcolm Memorial Tray for married couple going the furthest in the Open National Pairs, and will be looking to add the Mixed Pairs to their Trophy Cabinet.
Team Matthews have a good record together too- with Donna and Chris holding the New Zealand Mixed Fours title from 2018.
šš²šš§ šš¢š¬š”šØš© & šš§š šš„š ššš¬š„š¢š (ššØš®š§šš¢šš¬), ššš«š¤ šš©š©š„ššš² & šš®š š š„šš¦š¢š§š (ššš°š¤šš¬ ššš²) and ššš ššš š & ššš«š šš«šš šš«š¢š š”š (ššš§šš«šš„ šššš šØ) all have more than enough experience to be strong contenders for the 2024 Mixed Pairs title.
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šš”š ššš° šššš„šš§š šš¢š±šš š šØš®š«š¬ dates back to 1965 when it was knowns as ‘The Rothmans’ Fours.
Each team is required to have two men and two women.
Leading this years field on paper are two of the South Island teams:
šš¢š¦šØš§ šš”šØš¦šš¬, šš¢šš”ššš„ ššš°š¬šØš§, šš”š«š¢š¬ ššš„ššØš, šš®š„š¢š šš”šØš¦šš¬ (šš¬š”šš®š«ššØš§) and ššš§š¢šš„ š š«šš§šš”, šššÆš¢š šššš, ššš«š¢ šš ššš¦šš¤š¢, šš²š§ ššš§šš (šššš šØ).
Both teams are no strangers to success on the national stage, and all eight have represented their Island or their Country.
šš„š¢ šš¢š„š¬šØš§, ššÆšš§ šš”š¢š©š©š¬, šš«šØš§š§š¢š šššš, ššØš„š„ššš§ šš¢šššØšš¤ (ššØš«šš” ššš«šš§šš¤š¢) will also be confident going into the national final, having won this title in 2015 with Clinton Hook in the three berth.
šš«š¢šš§ ššššØš§šš„š, ššš¬šØš§ ššš«š¤šš«, ššš«šš§ šššš¬šØš§, šš¢š§šš² šš”š¢šš (ššØš®š§šš¢šš¬) fought their way through a tough battle in their zone and aren’t to be taken lightly.
Largely unknown outside of their district, the team of šš§šš«šš° šš¢šš¤šš«š, šššš¦ šš¢šš¤šš«š, šššš”ššš„ šš¢šš¤šš«š, ššØš«šš„š¢š ššš¦š©ššš„š„-šš”š¢ššš”ššš (ššØšÆšš«šš² ššš²-ššš¬š ššØšš¬š) will be endeavouring to become the first team from their district since 1977 to be crowned the New Zealand Mixed Fours Champions.
A comparatively small district, Poverty Bay East Coast has risen in prominence over the last few years and continues to punch above its weight at national events- This team will be no exception.
ššØš§š² šš«š¢ššš¢š§, ššš§š§š² ššØšØš«š, ššš«š«š²š„ ššš¦šš¬, šš²š§šš ššš«š¬š”šš„š„, (ššš§šš°ššš®), šš«š®šš šššš„šš², ššššš« šš«šššš„š, ššš§ šš¢š«š, šš¢š³ ššš«šš¢š§šš«, (ššØš«šØš°š”šš§š®š) and šššš§ ššš¤šš§š³š¢š, ššš«š² ššØš«ššš§, šššÆš¢š§ ššššš§š³š¢š, šš”š¢š„ ššØš«ššš§, (ššš„š¬šØš§) are the other teams contesting the 2024 national final, and a cursory glance through their records would show that Former Island Representatives and District Champions abound amongst them.
They’re all teams who’d back themselves to finish in the top half of the heap when the dust settles.
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šš”š ššš° šššš„šš§š š-š šš¢š§š š„šš¬ was introduced as a new competition in 2021 to complement the NZ 1-5 Year Pairs event.
The numbers attending the Zone finals for this event have continued to grow over the years which is a pleasing trend, and a testament to the concept.
By definition, the players in this field have had short careers (so far!), but some names to watch include ššššš”šš° šš©šš«š šØ (ššš®š«šš§š š) and š š«šššš¢š ššš«š¬š¢ššØ (ššš„š¬šØš§) who are both top Juniors in their district.
The other finalists are ššš¤ ššš¦š£š¢ (šš®šš ššš„š„šš²), šš§šš«šš° šš¦š¢šš” (ššØš«šš” ššš«šš§šš¤š¢), šš”šš§š šš®š«š§ššš„š„ (ššš°š¤šš¬ ššš²), ššš¦š¦š šš§šš«šš° (šš¬š”šš®š«ššØš§), ššš„š„š² ššØš°š„šš² (ššØš®šš”š„šš§š) and ššš¬š¬š š šš«š„šš² (šš®šš¤š„šš§š).
All have already tasted success in their respective Districts and will be going into the National Final with no fear.
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šš”š ššš° šššš„šš§š š-š šššš« ššš¢š«š¬ has now been going for five years and it provides an opportunity for less experienced indoor bowlers to experience the atmosphere of playing in a Super Finals Weekend- and the chance to win a New Zealand title!
As has been the case with the 1-5 Singles, the numbers attending the Zone finals for this event have continued to grow over the years which is a pleasing trend, and a testament to the concept.
Heading this field are the four pairings that include players who’ve also made the 1-5 National Singles Final.
They are šššš§-šš„šš®šš š š®š„š„šš«, ššš¬š¬š š šš«š„šš², (šš®šš¤š„šš§š), šš”šš§š šš®š«š§ššš„š„, šš¢š«šš¦š® šššš«š¬šØš§, (ššš°š¤šš¬ ššš²), ššš¤ ššš¦š£š¢, ššššØš ššš«š«š¢š§š ššØš§, (šš®šš ššš„š„šš²) and šš¢š šš§šš«šš°, ššš¦š¦š šš§šš«šš° (šš¬š”šš®š«ššØš§).
Jacob Warrington is a defending Champion for this event, having won the title last year with Presley Williams.
The other teams of šš«š®šš ššš©š¬šØš§, ššš°š§ šš®š„š„šš² (ššš² šØš šš„šš§šš²), ššš®š„ ššØš°šš„š„, šš¢šš§ ššš«š¬šš§ (ššØš«šš” ššš«šš§šš¤š¢/ššš«šš§šš¤š¢), šš”š¢š«šš„š² šš¦ššš«š¬, šššš¢š šš”šš©š©šš„š„ (ššš„ššØš«šØš®š š”) and šš¦š¦š ššš„š„-šš¦š¢šš”, ššØš²š ššš§š¬šØš§ (ššØš®šš”š„šš§š) will also fancy their chances over the seven-game round robin format.
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šš”š ššš° šššš„šš§š ššš¬ššš«š¬ š šØš®š«š¬ has been running since 2019 and gives an opportunity for some of the more senior indoor bowlers to experience the atmosphere of playing in a Super Finals Weekend- and the chance to win a New Zealand title!
Heading the field this year are the defending Champions šš«šš”šš¦ ššØš°, šš«š¢šš§ ššØšššØš§, šš„š¢šššØš«š šš”š¢š«š«šššš¬, ššš§ ššØš°, (ššØš®šš”š„šš§š)
Graham, Brian and Jan are looking for the three-peat having won this event in 2022 with Warwick Gray in the two position.
Graham has been named in the South Island team to compete in the Inter-Island Test Match this August, is one of the most successful indoor bowlers ever produced by the Southland District and is still playing at an incredible level.
The other Masters Fours teams in the field won’t be too worried though, and other teams that look like real threats to the title include šš«š¢šš§ ššššØš§šš„š, ššš¢šš” ššØš„š„š¢š§š¬, šššÆš¢š§ šš¬ššØš®š«š§, ššš§ ššš„ššØš„š¦ (ššØš®š§šš¢šš¬), ššš®š«š¢šš šššš„šš¬, šš§š¢šš šš²ššš§, šš¢šš”ššš„š ššØš®š§š, šš®š šš”ššš«š² (šš”šš¦šš¬ ššš„š„šš²), ššØš§šš„š ššš¢š š”ššØš§, ššØššš«š š š®š š, šš¢š§š šššš«š¢šš¤, ššØš”š§ šš®š§ššš§ (ššš¢š«šš«šš©š) and ššš¬ ššš²š°šØšØš, šš¢š§šš¬šš² ššØš®š«š§š, šš”š«š¢š¬šš¢š§š šššš¦š¬, ššš«šš§ ššš°š«š¢š (ššš§š šš§š®š¢).
Almost all of them have been playing top level representative indoor bowls for decades, and there would easily be in excess of 400 District Titles amongst them.
šššÆš¢š§ šš¢š„š„š¬, šššš” šš¢š„šš”š«š¢š¬š, šš¢šš¤š² ššš«š¤š¢š§š¬šØš§, ššØš„š¢š§ šš„šš¤š (ššš„ššØš®š«šØš®š š”), ššØš”š§ šš„š¢šššØš§, šš¢š¦ ššš¢š«š, ššš„šš§ šš®š«š§š„šš², šš¢šš§š§š šš«š„š¢š§ (šš®šš ššš„š„šš²) and ššš®š„ ššš„šš², ššš©š” ššš¦š©ššš„š„, ššš«š² šššš¬šØš§, ššššš« šššš¬šØš§ (ššØš«šš” šššš šØ) are also not to be underestimated, and will be confident of adding the 2024 Masters Fours titles to their trophy cabinets.
šš¢šÆš š®š©ššššš¬ š°š¢š„š„ šš ššÆšš¢š„ššš„š šØš§ šš”š šššš šš©š«šššš¬š”ššš, šš§š š„š¢šÆš ššØšÆšš«šš š šÆš¢š šš”š šššš¬š¢šš šš«šØššššš¬šš¢š§š ššØš®šš®šš šš”šš§š§šš„.
šš®š©šš« Fš¢š§šš„š¬ šššš¤šš§š š š¢šš„š šš š šš„šš§šš:
HENSELITE SINGLES:
Nathan Trowell, (Auckland)
Brian Flett, (Thames Valley)
Ross Wright, (North Taranaki)
Bruce Meyer, (Manawatu)
Joseph Zino, (Hutt Valley)
Neil Gilbert, (North Otago)
Gavin Griffiths, (Buller)
Matthew Foster, (Otago)
MIXED PAIRS:
Ryan Bishop and Angela Leslie, (Counties)
Derek Owen and Lorraine Phipps, (Tauranga)
Ross Wright and Meryn Wright, (North Taranaki)
Mark Appleby and Sue Fleming, (Hawkes Bay)
Nic Sinclair and Lisa Gould, (Upper Hutt)
Greg Edwards and Fiona Edwards, (Golden Bay/Motueka)
Chris Matthews and Donna Matthews, (Canterbury)
Mat Begg and Margaret Wright, (Central Otago)
MIXED FOURS:
Brian McDonald, Jason Parker, Karen Watson, Cindy White, (Counties)
Andrew Rickard, Adam Rickard, Rachael Rickard, Coralie Campbell-Whitehead, (Poverty Bay-East Coast)
Ali Wilson, Ivan Phipps, Bronnie Read, Colleen Riddock, (North Taranaki)
Tony Griffin, Danny Moore, Darryl James, Lynda Marshall, (Manawatu)
Bruce Pedley, Peter Drabble, Jan Bird, Liz Gardiner, (Horowhenua)
Jean McKenzie, Mary Jordan, Kevin McKenzie, Phil Jordan, (Nelson)
Simon Thomas, Michael Lawson, Chris Talbot, Julie Thomas, (Ashburton)
Daniel French, David Webb, Keri Te Tamaki, Lyn Rance, (Otago)
NEW ZEALAND 1-5 YEAR SINGLES:
Tessa Farley, (Auckland)
Matthew Spargo, (Tauranga)
Andrew Smith, (North Taranaki)
Shane Hurndell, (Hawkes Bay)
Zak Ramji, (Hutt Valley)
Freddie Persico, (Nelson)
Gemma Andrew, (Ashburton)
Kelly Rowley, (Southland)
NEW ZEALAND 1-5 YEAR PAIRS:
Jean-Claude Fuller, Tessa Farley, (Auckland)
Bruce Mapson, Dawn Mulley, (Bay of Plenty)
Paul Howell, Kian Larsen (North Taranaki/Taranaki)
Shane Hurndell, Wiremu Pearson, (Hawkes Bay)
Zak Ramji, Jacob Warrington, (Hutt Valley)
Shirley Umbers, Eddie Chappell, (Malborough)
Nic Andrew, Gemma Andrew, (Ashburton)
Emma Bell-Smith, Boyd Manson, (Southland)
MASTERS FOURS:
Brian McDonald, Keith Collins, Kevin Osbourn, Ian Malcolm, (Counties)
Maurice Eccles, Anita Syben, Michaela Round, Sue Sheary, (Thames Valley)
Les Heywood, Lindsay Bourne, Christine Adams, Karen Lawrie, (Wanganui)
Donald Leighton, Robert Fuge, Tina Patrick, John Duncan, (Wairarapa)
John Clifton, Kim Laird, Helen Burnley, Dianne Trlin, (Hutt Valley)
Kevin Wills, Kath Gilchrist, Ricky Parkinson, Colin Blake, (Malborough)
Paul Daley, Daph Campbell, Mary Watson, Peter Watson, (North Otago)
Graham Low, Brian Hotton, Clifford Shirreffs, Jan Low, (Southland)