In an event that attracts healthy sponsorship and provides an ideal stage to showcase the future stars of the sport, players will be ruing mother nature as they will be left wondering what might have been following the abandonment of play at the Burnside complex.
Defending champion Sheldon Bagrie-Howley looked strong throughout, topping his section and brushing aside West Coast hopeful Ethan Kelleher in his quarter-final. Other finalists to share the spoils included former event winner and pre-tournament favourite Sean Ingham, crossing the ditch from the infamous Broadbeach Bowls Club for another shot at his Trans-Tasman rivals, Browns Bay protege Rory Soden and Dunedin-based South Cantabrian Keanu Darby - all serious contenders for the silverware.
Following an intensive programme of play over seven rounds, surface water and consistent rain continued to hamper the playing conditions - though did little to dampen the player's spirits, with all rounds seen through to completion
Quarter-finalists in the Main Event were Bagrie-Howley (Gore), Darby (North East Valley), Kelleher (Cobden), Ingham (Broadbeach), Caleb Hope (Gore), Soden (Browns Bay), Jonty Horwell (Kaikorai) and local favourite and 2015 champion Tayla Bruce (Burnside).
An impressive display from Ingham accounted for Horwell, 21-12, while across rinks Darby put paid to Bruce's hopes 21-14. In other fixtures, Soden wasted no time booking his place in the semi-final, powering through Southland's Hope, 21-10 - while Bagrie-Howley comfortably defeated Kelleher on the Facebook Live Stream rink, 21-7.
Other divisions saw a plethora of talent spread throughout with former New Zealand age-group representatives and aspiring Blackjacks among the mix, battling it out for their Divisional silverware under the watchful eye of New Zealand selectors and rink side onlookers.
The sudden halt to the tournament means Jeremy Brosnan (Glen Eden), Dean Drummond (Bowls Hastings), Nicole Toomey (Victoria) and Conor Muir (Clyde) will share the prize purse in Division 2, while Division 3 semi-finalists Richard Hocking (Burnside), Finbar McGuigan (Plimmerton), Cait Bassett(Burnside) and Talor Duncan (Tauranga South) will equally enjoy the spoils in their grade. Division 4's semi-finalists were Tom Taiaroa (Kaikorai), Brady Amer (Johnsonville), Ashleigh Jeffcoat (Frankton Junction) and Clayton Hockley (Glen Eden).
Adding to the prestige of this year's event, Bowls NZ chief executive Mark Cameron was on hand to meet the players and present several NZ National Awards at a ceremony held on Friday evening in the Burnside club rooms.
These awards included Female Player of the Year (Tayla Bruce), Development Male of the Year (Richard Hocking), Under-18 Male of the Year (Seamus Curtin), Development Female of the Year (Ashleigh Jeffcoat), Greenkeeper of the Year (Glen Miller), Media Award (Tony Smith) and Volunteer of the Year (Arjan van Hasselt).
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
Main Event (Division 1)
Semi-finalists to share prize money and champion honours. No finalist found for 2017.
Quarter-finals:Sean Ingham (Broadbeach) def Jonty Horwell (Kaikorai); 21-12
Keanu Darby (North East Valley) def Tayla Bruce (Burnside); 21-14
Rory Soden (Browns Bay) def Caleb Hope (Gore); 21-10
Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (Gore) def Ethan Kelleher (Cobden); 21-7
Division 2
Semi-finalists to share prize money and champion honours. No finalist found for 2017.
Quarter-finals:Jeremy Brosnan (Glen Eden) def Seamus Curtin (Stokes Valley); 21-15
Dean Drummond (Bowls Hastings) def Logan Amer (Johnsonville); 21-14
Nicole Toomey (Victoria) def Mat Bassett (Elmwood); 21-16
Conor Muir (Clyde) def Bradley Down (Victoria); 21-13
Division 3
Semi-finalists to share prize money and champion honours. No finalist found for 2017.
Quarter-finals:Richard Hocking (Burnside) def Nicholas Tomsett (Gate Pa); 21-6
Finbar McGuigan (Plimmerton) def Stefan McCartain (Hinuera); 21-14
Cait Bassett (Burnside) def Liam Eathorne (Riccarton Racecourse); 21-18
Talor Duncan (Tauranga South) def Joshua Thompson (Stoke); 21-20
Division 4
Semi-finalists to share prize money and champion honours. No finalist found for 2017.
Quarter-finals:Clayton Hockley (Glen Eden) def Emily Miller (Burnside); 21-7
Ashleigh Jeffcoat (Frankton Junction) def Tessa Hocking (Burnside); 21-20
Brady Amer (Johnsonville) def Tim Toomey (Victoria); 21-12
Tom Taiaroa (Kaikorai) def Shaun Aynsley (Karoro); 21-20
