It was a memorable weekend for Foxton and Beach skip Ross Ellery and his team of Rohan Teaz and Doug Pitcher, as they won through to claim the silverware in the National Champion of Champion Triples – with the win marking Ellery’s fifth national title to gain his first Silver Star.
Meanwhile, the star-studded Carlton Cornwall combination of Karen Hema, Linda Ralph and Lisa Prideaux proved too strong for their opposition, rounding out another national title for their already impressive resumes.
Hosted at the Naenae Bowling Club in Lower Hutt, more than 40 provincial champions (22 men, 20 women) took to the indoor rinks in a bid to vie for national honours. After two full days of qualifying, five women’s teams were left in the mix, while six qualifiers made it through in the men’s field.
The men’s final saw Ellery, Teaz and Pitcher continue their winning ways, with Ellery putting on a special display of skipping to pull his team across the line in a hard-fought post-section run, with notable scalps including Elmwood Park favourites Nathan Glasson, Kelvin Scott and Ricky Cook and eventual runners-up Dean Drummond, Patrick Golder and Neil Barron of Bowls Hastings.
Though it was far from plain sailing for Ellery and his crew, forced to bounce back from an opening round loss to posting wins in every fixture since. In similar fashion, Drummond and Co also lost their first round game to the Kerikeri trio of Ray Glogoski, Jon Young and Max Hamilton though responded in a spirited fashion to push through to the grand finale, with Drummond demonstrating his prowess on carpet on multiple occasions. with Drummond executing his carpet prowess on multiple occasions.
The semi-finals action saw Ellery defeat Glasson in a last end thriller, while Drummond held his nerve against the rampant Gore hopefuls Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Thomas Cockerill and Elliot Mason – posting their only loss of the campaign after a solid four wins in qualifying and a Quarter-Final win against Waihi Beach representatives Devon Brooks, Wayne Head and Terry Scelly.
In other results, Nelson’s Jo Edwards, Colleen Earl and Faye Wilkinson came unstuck against a determined Waihopai side, with Jean Stratford, Evelyn Ussher and Robyn Hall combining well, previously putting a stop to the run of local side Nina De Munnik, Sarah Taukamo and Mary-Ann Wilson of Victoria, 17-12.
Their final fixture against the vastly experienced Hema side proved too tough of an assignment however, with Auckland stars Hema, Ralph and Prideaux living up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites, closing out the game in comfortable fashion, 20-5.
This win gained Linda Ralph a coveted Silver Star, a mighty achievement.
Other qualifiers in post-section play included Temuka’s Sam Morton, Marshall Stoddart and Greg Valentine, and beaten semi-finalists Debbie Sansom, Debbie Salt and Jackie Sutton of the Woolston Park club in Christchurch.
Commenting after the win, Hema congratulated all players for their efforts throughout the event and thanked their supporters, both at the venue and watching from afar.
“We are all pretty proud to be representing Carlton Cornwall and to be standing here with two of my friends, I’m thrilled to be part of their team. We’ve had an amazing season,” Hema beamed.
For Ellery and his team, it was a positive start to their next chapter following a devastating fire that saw their clubrooms burn to the ground earlier this year.
“A huge effort from these guys, we lost our first game, which was a bad start, but we hung in there and hung in there the best we could. Bit fortunate in the semi-final, but that’s the way it goes. Thanks to everyone that has supported us, it means everything to our little club . . . we’re getting there and we aren’t too far from getting back on our feet (hopefully in time for the new season),” Ellery remarked.
“Thanks to everyone and everything, those behind the scenes – without all of that, these things can’t happen.”
The win marked Ellery’s fifth pathway title, with a Silver Star awarded to reflect his previous success in 2008 (National Interclub 7s – Palmerston North), 2009 and 2010 (National Intercentre – Manawatu) and the National Champion of Champion Singles in 2015.
All attention now turns to the fourth and final Champion of Champions event this weekend, with action in the men’s and women’s fours to be hosted by Bowls Hastings.
-Sam Morton
Results at a Glance
National Champion of Champion Triples, Naenae B.C
Men
Ross Ellery, Rohan Teaz, Doug Pitcher (Foxton & Beach) def Dean Drummond, Patrick Golder, Neil Barron (Bowls Hastings); 16-7
Women
Karen Hema, Linda Ralph, Lisa Prideaux (Carlton Cornwall) def Jean Stratford, Evelyn Ussher, Robyn Hall; 20-5
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT PHOTOS OF THE EVENT
