The Fours tournament was not short of a high calibre of competitors, despite a slightly lower number of entries than in previous years. 16 Women’s and 44 Men’s teams sought advancement in Saturday’s qualifiers. Notable teams led by Wishnoski, Reid, Haywood, and Williams in the Men’s division and Farley, Fisher, and Cheung in the Women’s division, were disappointed not to make it to Sunday’s post-section.
In the Men’s post-section, the first bye round saw Blackjack Tony Grantham’s team from Mt Albert fall 14-7 to Paul Renwick’s St Heliers team. Another notable match had David Ball from Carlton Cornwall defeating Jordan King from Mt Eden 17-8. The round of 16 and the quarter-finals were marked by intense competition, featuring closely fought matches, several requiring extra ends. Three out of the four quarter-final games were decided by just one point.
The final two rounds, originally scheduled for this weekend’s Centre Finals, meant there were scheduling conflicts with other events. The semi-finals are set to continue on Saturday, 22 June, at 11:45 am at Royal Oak.
The Women’s post-section required four rounds from nine teams qualifying. St Heliers, skipped by Field, overcame McLinden’s Bridge Park team 14-10 to advance to the quarter-finals in the sole bye-round match.
Carlton Cornwall sisters, Estelle and Linda, successfully led their respective teams to opposite semi-finals. The spotlight however was on the all 1-5 Year Mt Albert team, which featured two mother-daughter pairings. After a close win over Auckland BC 18-17, they faced a tough match against the Linda Ralph skipped team. A late-game six-pointer swung the momentum. Carlton Cornwall got the win, 19-8 win.
In the other semi-final, Estelle Hickey from Carlton Cornwall faced Catherine Bien from St Heliers. Bien narrowly won 17-16 in a match that featured many of Auckland’s top women bowlers. While a fourth round final was scheduled, delays throughout the day meant the Final, by mutual agreement, has been rescheduled for Sunday, 12 May at 11:30 am. This will coincide with the Champ of Champs Pairs tournament.
