Women bowl over selector

Wairarapa might have finished fifth of the six teams contesting the women's inter-provincial Masters outdoor bowls tournament at the Masterton club's Dixon St headquarters this week, but selector Flo Watkins was still pleased with their performance.
In an event open to players 60 years and over who have not played for their centre's senior representative teams in the current season, Wairarapa won eight matches in all with their 16pts being one of the highest tallies they have managed in this particular competition for many years.
''Honestly, they played out of their skins,'' Watkins said. ''It's often been a struggle in the past, but this time we were very competitive, and that was what we wanted.''
It was the triples combination of Avis Cooper (Eketahuna), Wyn Dellabarca (Masterton) and Jean Hannam (Masterton) that led the way for Wairarapa.
They scored three wins while both the pair of Pam Hoblyn (Lansdowne) and Maria Steffert (Masterton) and the four of Sue Sherwood (Lansdowne), Mavis Jones (Greytown), Jo Kerins (Masterton) and Margaret Marshall (Greytown) had two wins apiece.
Singles player Carol Voller (Carterton) came in as a late replacement for Wairarapa and while she had only the one win she twice lost by very narrow margins, including a 21-18 defeat by Wellington's former New Zealand rep Judy Howat. Voller actually led Howat 18-15 at one stage and it was only Howat's tactical expertise that got her home in the finish.
Wellington topped the standings list with 26 points, followed by Wanganui on 25, Manawatu 24, Hutt Valley 23, Wairarapa 16 and Kapiti Coast on 6 points.