Bowls NZ board president Ann Wright, left, alongside the 2023 Summerset Open Disability Pairs Champions Bruce Wakefield and Tauranga's Graham Skellern. Photo / Barry Jordan
Bowls NZ board president Ann Wright, left, alongside the 2023 Summerset Open Disability Pairs Champions Bruce Wakefield and Tauranga's Graham Skellern. Photo / Barry Jordan
After back-to-back wins, Tauranga lawn bowler Graham Skellern is now just one triumph away from being the first person to win a new award created by the sport’s national body.
The Matapihi man and his playing partner Bruce Wakefield, from Timaru, won the 2023 Summerset Open Disability Pairs Champions at Browns Bay Bowling Club on January 9, beating Steve Delaney and Jonathan Radka in the final.
Skellern, who writes for NZME, has now racked up four para-athlete national titles in the last four years - one more would see him win a Gold Star award from Bowls New Zealand.
“I am actually proud of myself to have defended the Summerset Open pairs title with Bruce, as the standard at the competition has definitely improved and this is my fourth national title in four years, with two pairs wins with Bruce and two singles titles.”
“I definitely had to pull off some great shots, as this year’s competition was pretty tough. Unfortunately, I lost in the singles quarter-final to Carolyn Crawford, from Dunedin. Darren Wolland, also from Dunedin, who has just arrived on the bowls scene, won the singles title.”
Skellern also competed in the Burnside Invitational Pairs competition with Wakefield in Christchurch last week, playing eight games, but did not qualify to progress to the semi-finals.
He said on Thursday: “It’s probably one of the most prestigious invitationals, with 48 teams competing, including four teams from Australia, and all the Australian players are all Commonwealth Games reps, so the competition is going to be pretty fierce.”
“Bruce and I were invited as we are the current national pairs champions, and our win on Monday added a bit more prestige to our involvement. However, like any sport, it really depends on what happens on the day. Winning this invitational would be just phenomenal.”
Skellern said he and Wakefield’s first games were against Australian representative duo Aaron Teys and Cody Packer.
Skellern, who contracted polio when he was six months old, has played bowls for 40 years and competed nationally at all levels, including playing in his first Para Men’s Pairs Commonwealth Games Competition with Mark Noble in Birmingham last year.
His list of other successes on the bowling green includes three Superbowl singles victories, with him being a four-time New Zealand Open Championships semi-finalist, and he also has 15 regional titles.
Tauranga lawn bowler Graham Skellern goes from strength to strength with his latest Summerset Open Disability Pairs Champions national title. Photo / NZME
“But whenever I play, my philosophy is not to get too hung up on what has gone on before each competition, and focus on ensuring I play my best shots so the opposition knows they’ll have a real fight on their hands.”
Skellern was waiting to hear whether he and Wakefield would be selected to compete in the Multi Nations Tournament held in Australia in late March, with women’s and men’s para-pairs titles up for grabs - the selection is expected to be announced sometime this week.
“And I would absolutely love to be selected to compete in the World Champions in the Gold Coast at the end of August.”
Skellern is also playing in the post-selection qualifying matches of a single competition at the Takapuna Bowling Club on January 21.
Wakefield has been the Summerset Para Athlete of the Year (B5-B8)three times, including in 2021, and also won a silver medal in the B6/7/8 Open Triples competition at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, alongside Barry Wynks and Mark Noble.
On Thursday, Wakefield said defending the Summerset Open Disability Pairs title with Skellern was a “very good” win, and they hoped to emulate that success in Christchurch.
“It’s exciting, as this is one of the most sought-after competitions to play in. But it’s very much a big step up from the national champs, and if Graham and I end up finishing in the top half of the field, we’ll be doing bloody well.”
Wakefield said he had just started playing bowls at West End Club in Timaru after playing for the Burnside Bowling Club for 22 years, and had won all three games on his debut as a member of the South Canterbury Men’s Team.
“And I’m really loving my bowls at moment, and I’ll keep playing as long as my body continues to hold it together.”
Bowls New Zealand CEO Mark Cameron paid tribute to Skellern and Wakefield’s latest success.
“Graham and Bruce are a formidable team, and it was no surprise to see them again feature in our Summerset Nationals. The open disability grade is a new initiative from Bowls New Zealand, and the fact that we had such a wide range of para-athletes participate this year is a testament to its success.
“Bowls New Zealand will award a Gold Star for para-athletes who win five of our national para events, and Graham now heads the field with four titles as he looks to become the first to win five when we run next year’s championships in Christchurch,” he said.
