The 1-5 Year Men’s and Women’s Pairs showed a promising future of bowls in our region, with high-quality matches and new talents emerging over the weekend.

In the Men’s competition, standout performances captivated the spectators. The Fuller/Cowie duo from Rocky Nook are regular competitors and delivered a personal best making it to the semi-finals. Joining them is the Brack/Rogers team from East Tāmaki, both of whom have hit their stride this year. Brack recently debuted for the Auckland rep side, while Rogers has joined Northland’s team to play alongside family.

The second semi-final features two pairings from Royal Oak: Steve Fisher and Peter McConnell, who are coming off a win at the Royal Oak 1-5 Pairs the previous week. They’ll face off against Ran Randeniya and Mike Faircloth, who enter as underdogs with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

On the Women’s side, 11 out of 20 teams advanced to the post-section. Howick had an impressive showing, with all four of their teams making it through. However, they were all eliminated in the first round of post-section play. Notable absentees from post-section include Julie Keven and Jo Crooks (St Heliers) and the mother-daughter duo of Marisa Posa and Eva Bell (Mt Albert), who, despite their strong form, struggled to secure wins in a highly competitive field.

The finals will see a rematch between last season’s 1-5 Singles finalists. Rebecca Brosnan, teaming up with Loretta Ross, will face off against Nicole Singer, who’s paired with her mother, Lee. Interestingly, this match will also be a repeat of the Royal Oak 1-5 Women’s Pairs final.

Looking ahead to the 1-5 Year Finals, Carlton Cornwall will host this Sunday, 20 October. The Men’s Pairs semi-finalists will be joined by the 1-5 Fours semi-finalists, with matches kicking off at 9:00 am, and finals starting around midday.

Due to scheduling conflicts, the Women’s final will be held during the Open Finals weekend in December.

For full details on the 1-5 Finals, visit our Events page