A lot has happened at the Raglan Bowling Club since we last went to press.
On December 15th Raglan won the Northern Zone interclub trophy contested annually between Ngaruawahia, Taupiri, Huntly and Raglan. Raglan prevailed by a solitary point with last year’s winner Taupiri runner up. Raglan’s team comprised Jack Peel, Alan Price and Mike Kiely triples and Bev Mcdavitt Whyte, John Robertson and Sue Kingi and Robin Pipe in the two pairs combinations.
The following day 16/12 the club staged their Chartered Club Christmas Ham Opt 4’s tournament with 26 teams filling both greens. The event was generously sponsored by Kevin and Suzanne McGarvey of Raglan Kettle Korn, Touch Tunes Ltd and Raglan Excavations. The winning combination with 4 wins from Hamilton Workingmen’s Club was skipped by Steve Liddington with Tony Gray lead, Grant Stow two and Mort Jones three. Top local team, also with 4 wins but less ends were Maws Wahanga skip, Genny McLeod lead, Juliet Roberts two and Bev McDavitt Whyte three.
Next event was the hugely successful New Years Eve Fun Day which attracted over 100 locals, campers and visitors from throughout New Zealand, England and Australia. Heaps of family groups was the key to the success of this event.
The championship fours were contested on January 11 in both ladies and men’s divisions with Sue Kingi’s team of Sonya Moa, Sharyn Parkes and Suzanne McGarvey being superior on the day. Colin Bouzaid for the third year in a row skipped the men’s winning team this year made up of Les Schalger, Ross Turner and Peter Puschmann, whose skill and greater experience saw them take the title undefeated.
One of the most popular events on the calendar is the men’s and women’s singles. Maws Wahanga for the third year in a row and sixth in total beat Bev McDavitt Whyte in this year’s pulsating final with Wahanga’s greater experience helping her prevail 21 to 19. She can now contest the Waikato champion of champions to try and win this title after being runner up the last two years.
The men’s singles was almost a fairy tale for the ultra talented John Vati after first picking up a bowl at twilight bowls in February 2024; less than a year later he is men’s single champion. Loads of natural ability and hours of practise helped him defeat Mike Kiely in their final which went to 23 ends before Vati was crowned the winner 21 to 17.
Twilight bowls started on Tuesday February 4th with a record 26 teams fronting up. This continues a surge in membership over the past season. If you want to have a go at the great game, call Alan Price on 021 456751 or simply come and join a club rollup at 1pm every Wednesday and Saturday.
