Gisborne East Coast champ of champ glory to Te Karaka and Wairoa pairs

Gisborne East Coast centre has been busy with champ of champs tournaments, including the pairs at Te Karaka recently. Winners of the various centre titles qualify for national champ of champs tournaments.

Te Karaka’s David File and Paddy Stewart and Wairoa’s Glenda Kapene and Jo Wroe are the Gisborne East Coast centre champion of champion pairs winners for 2025.

File (skip) and Stewart, playing on their home greens, beat Tolaga Bay’s George Tamihana and Mark Walker 20-11 in the men’s final.

Kapene (s) and Wrote defeated host club Te Karaka’s Diane Murray and Marie Wright 16-15 in the women’s final.

File and Stewart’s win qualified them for the national men’s champion of champion pairs being held at Frankton Junction club in Hamilton from August 8-10.

Kapene and Wroe are eligible for the national women’s equivalent at New Lynn in Auckland from August 15-17.

With a new one-life system in place, all teams strived hard for victory, knowing lapses could be fatal.

The men’s tournament featured 14-year-old twin brothers Liam and Kyle Pinn (s) of Kahutia, the youngest players competing in the centre event.

In the first round, the Pinn twins made a comeback against George Tamihana (skip) and Mark Walker before going down 21-11 to their more experienced opponents.

Gisborne’s Andrew Ball (2) and Mal Trowell saw off Poverty Bay’s Marc Alexander (s) and Geoff Pinn.

File and Stewart and Wairoa’s Murray Glassey (s) and Vern Withey met in the semifinals after first-round byes.

Glassey and Withey trailed 13-11 with two ends to go but were unable to make up the deficit, and File and Stewart won 15-12 to book a place in the final.

Tamihana and Walker had a comfortable win over Ball and Trowell in the other semi.

Round 1 of the women’s tournament featured a fine comeback from Murray and Wright, who won after trailing Poverty Bay’s Ngawai Turipa (s) and Debs Hancock by seven points.

Kahutia’s Glenys Whiteman (s) and Ngamiro Allen proved too good for Tolaga Bay’s Krystel Williams (s) and Olivia Scott.

In the semifinals, Murray and Wright won a humdinger battle with Whiteman and Allen by one shot to advance to the final.

Having had a bye in round 1, Kapene (s) and Wroe eliminated Gisborne’s Carol Hawes (s) and Dianne Phillips 23-14.

The final was a nail-biter, going down to Kapene’s last bowl.