Bowls: Call for more girls to play the sport

There needs to be a push to get more girls and younger women into bowls, according to leading international Sharon Sims.

Sims' call comes after the appearance of five teenagers in yesterday's men's fours final in the national bowls championships.

A multiple world champion, Sims, 53, who won the women's pairs at this year's nationals, was a keen spectator as Dwayne Cameron's four, containing Poverty Bay's Shannon McIlroy, 19, took on Andrew Kelly's four -- all teenagers.

Cameron, the 2004-5 singles champion, won 20-5 against opponents playing their first national finals, but Sims felt the scoreline did not reflect just how well Kelly, Allan Stewart, 16, from Waihi, Stephen Wood, 19, from Eastbourne and James Pugh 17, from Nelson, had played.

"The scoreline may seem one-sided, but that often happens in a final and doesn't reflect how well the losing side plays," Sims told NZPA.

"They acquitted themselves really well to get this close," added Sims who has coached Wood under the secondary schools' programme.

"I think, probably, they got off to a nervous start and perhaps did not play their natural game as they were a little tense.

"I am very proud of them all. I thought Dwayne's four were very solid and Dwayne played some outstanding shots when the boys had opportunities and shut them down.

"It was great to see the five teenagers in a final -- and we should be trying to get more young girls into the game too -- that would be fantastic."

McIlroy made bowls history by becoming the youngest holder of a national title, while Kelly's four also went into the record book as the youngest team to make a national final.

The women's fours went to Lorraine Davis, Bev Heathcote, Karin Ware and Maureen Doherty, all of the Beckenham club who beat Meryle Mackie, Norma Stone, Betty Thomas and Linda Sollitt, all from Taita, Wellington, 24-13 in their final.

The previous youngest winner of a national title was the legendary Phil Skoglund who won the men's singles at the age of 21 in 1958.

McIlroy, from Te Karaka, 32km northwest of Gisborne, said he had been wanting to break Skoglund's record, coming closest last year when he exited in the singles quarterfinals, losing to Cameron.

"I started playing when I was seven, and have been at the nationals four times now," said McIlroy, who is a member of NZ Bowls' high performance squad and plays internationally at under-25 level.

"I have wanted this pretty bad, and because so many younger people are getting into the sport, such as Andrew Kelly and all those boys, I knew this was probably going to be my last shot at it.

"I am stoked to have a national title, and stoked to have been in such a wicked team, said McIlroy who intended to "keep playing good, keep the reputation up and maybe make top squad one day".

Kelly admitted it had been a tough game.

"Dwayne skipped like a legend and his team were better on the day.

"The boys played well, tried their hardest and we might have been short of experience but we're gonna be legends forever as the youngest team to make a final."

Sixty-two year old Davis was delighted with the win after losing the first two matches of section play.

"They just played solid bowls, they let me direct them and they didn't question anything I asked of them.

"They have told me I have been quite bossy, and I can stop giving them orders now," Davis said.

Bowls New Zealand chief executive Kerry Clark said having five bowlers in the fours final in their teens proved the sport was heading in the right direction.

"It is being seen as a competitive game which can be played by people of all ages."

The sport was no longer seen as embarrassing to play among the younger players.

"Now they are playing bowls with a sense of pride.

"This is breaking through the glass ceiling stuff -- it has now been established that it is "cool" to play bowls," Clark said.

Alan Dickson (Castlecliff) and Audrey Stevenson (Raumati South) won the singles events and Rex Holmes and Brian Howman (Paraparaumu Beach) and Sims (Northern) and Mary Campbell (Taupo) won the pairs.

- NZPA