Bush Ruahine Indoor Bowls office bearers unchanged

January Summer Pairs: Anthony Mason and Elaine Dougherty were second; Elva and Kelly Simonsen were first.

The 2023 season is well under way, and at the AGM, our office bearers remained unchanged, with Marie Schroder as president, Derek Cuming as vice-president, Mike Fouhy as secretary and Karen Cuming as treasurer. Our Patrons are again Howard and Jean Harris, while Karl Schroder remains Selector.

Club nights started with Dannevirke Sports Centre playing in the Sports Centre’s hall on Monday nights. Next away was the Mangatainoka Club, playing on Wednesday nights in the Mangatainoka Hall, followed by St Joseph’s on Monday nights at the Centre Hall, Pahiatua.

Rua Roa has also started, and they play on Tuesday nights in the Rua Roa Hall.

Summer Pairs played this year saw Elva and Kelly Simonson beat Anthony Mason and Elaine Dougherty in the January event, while Raymond Martin and Trudy Watson won out over Jude Martin and Grant Mainwaring. Both nights were well-attended.

Our opening night was on Friday, March 10, when we played a 2x2 competition. As usual, this creates some confusion and humour in changing skips each game, but is always good fun.

February Summer Pairs: Jude Martin and Grant Mainwaring were second; Trudy Watson and Raymond Martin were first.

Then on Saturday, March 18, we held a Mystery Pairs competition. Another fun night was won by John Duncan from Masterton and local Chris Archer, with Karen Cuming and Carol Coler the runners-up.

This was followed by the Toki Pairs on Wednesday night, the last of our current Summer Pairs, a deja vu event that saw Raymond Martin and Trudy Watson again beating Jude Martin and Grant Mainwaring in the playoff.

On the weekend of April 1 and 2, we held our marquee event, the Open Championship Pairs and Open Championship Singles. Both days saw the hall full of locals and visitors from as far as Wellington and through to Hawke’s Bay.

On Saturday, the pairs were won by Steve Morton and Graham Zachan from Feilding, beating Micheal Brunton and Bruce Pedley from Horowhenua.

Third-equal were locals Anthony Mason and Lance Stuart, with Ros Alexander and Steve Gracie from Wellington.

Sundays Singles were won by Frank McKenna over Herlen Burnley both from Wellington, while Manawatū’s Tim Veal and Hutt Valley’s Marcus Trillon were third-equal.

A great weekend’s bowls was enjoyed by all and rated highly, as evidenced by the attendance of those travelling some distance to come. We acknowledge the work put in by Karen Cuming and hall controller Mike Fouhy in making the weekend a success.

Now - at the season’s beginning, with nothing decent on TV - is a good time to come along, join a club, and enjoy the social aspect and competitive side of a sport suitable for all. We look forward to you joining us on the mat!