75th Indoor Bowling Nationals A Success With Champions Ranging From 24 Years Old To 91

Eight days of intense indoor bowling competition have come to a conclusion at the 75th Indoor Bowling Nationals which were recently held at the EA Networks Stadium in Ashburton.

Open and Masters (60+) Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours events were competed for with a mix of repeat champions and new champions coming to the fore.

The youngest Champion crowned was Matthew Farquhar who won the open singles aged 24 .

The oldest Champion was Bernard Bennett who attended his first nationals in 1955 and was a member of this years winning Masters Triples team aged 91.

Marcus Trlin and Denise Clarkson were awarded the Open Players of the Tournament.

Allan Gibson and Christine Shand were awarded the Rayner Trophy for Masters Players of the Tournament.

Auckland and South Canterbury shared the Patrons Cup for most successful district – incredibly 31 Districts accrued points towards this cup.

Matthew Farquhar (24) and Dylan Foster (19) contested the 75th New Zealand Indoor Bowls Singles final held in Ashburton last week.

With an average age of 21.5, it made for one of the youngest ever average ages in a singles final.

Two teenagers (Lloyd Bellis and Joseph Taare) have won the New Zealand singles and many singles winners have been in their 20s.

Matthew (Auckland) and Dylan (Poverty Bay) are both products of the NZIB youth development programme, and have come through the ranks through participating in AIMs games and Secondary Schools competition.

To have them contest a New Zealand singles final is testament to the fact that at the top level, indoor bowls is a sport where youth are dominant.

In the Over 60s Masters Section it was Waihi Beach’s David Archer who eventually triumphed over Murray Bassett of Ashburton.

This marked a first Masters title for David, who has added this to the two Open titles that he already holds.

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Marcus Trlin and Denise Clarkson won the Open New Zealand Pairs held in Ashburton.

In a scintillating game that went to an extra end they defeated Matthew Farquhar and Nash Smith.

It is of interest that Matthew Farquhar is believed to be the first player ever to make the pairs final in the same year as winning the singles.

Third equals were Simon Poppleton/Georgia Fisher and Matthew Foster/Dylan Foster.

Marcus and Denise are both current New Zealand players and have had a lot of successes on the indoor bowling mat over the last decade.

The Bob Malcolm Memorial Tray for married couple going the farthest went to Emma and James Sullivan.

Mike King and Ann Graham won the Masters Pairs, defeating Alan Gibson and Christine Shand in the final.

Third equals were Bruce Dalton/Raewyn Fryer and Colin Cooper/Margaret Bunt.

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Marcus Trlin and Denise Clarkson teamed up with Carl Te Wharau to win the New Zealand Open Triples just days after winning the New Zealand Open Pairs.

They defeated the well performed family team of Gary, Graham and Jan Low in a well contested final.

Third Equal teams were:

Grant Rayner, Paul Psaila, Jeff Stuart

David Archer, Candace Andrew, Joy Archer

The Masters Triples was won by the very experienced team of Henry Pratt, Bernard Bennett and Carolyn Pratt.

Bernard is 91 years old and attended his first nationals in 1955 - in his winners speech Henry spoke about what a thrill it was to win this event with him.

They defeated Allan Gibson, Christine Shand and David Shand in the final.

Third equal teams were:

Clarrie Head, Kevin Piper, Janet Piper

Bruce Dalton, Nigel Parker, Raewyn Fryer

Matthew Ellis guided his team of Ryan Bishop, Angela Leslie and Delwyn Ellis to a win in the 75th National Indoor Bowling Championships Open Fours event.

It marked a second national title for Matthew and Delwyn, whilst for Ryan and Angela it was their first.

They defeated Brandon Fuge, Presley Williams, Sheree Holmes and Hanna Silvester in a well contested final.

Third Equal teams were:

Marcus Trlin, Denise Clarkson, Kevin Crighton, Maree Crighton

Alex Reed, Matthew Farquhar, Nash Smith, Colin Williams

In the Masters fours Allan Gibson and Christine Shand teamed up with Carol Dawson and David Shand to round off an exceptional Masters Championship for South Canterbury by winning the fours.

In a very close final, they defeated Bruce Dalton, Nigel Parker, Raewyn Fryer and Glenis Cohen

Third Equal teams were:

Warren Gibb, Bryan Pulley, Louise Mason, Lois Lamont

Frank McKenna, Bruce Pedley, Sharon McKenna, Liz Gardiner

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