BNH Champion of Champion Triples – Report by Lyndsay Knight

  • May 15, 2023

Browns Bay’s Colin Rogan and Takapuna’s Jan Calcott were at opposite extremes when the centre champion of champions tournaments were decided at the weekend.

Colin picked up a phenomenal 38th North Harbour titles with his regular partners Neil Fisher and John Walker in winning the men’s title over Helensville’s Kylie Clark, Ricky Howe and Kylie’s son, Callum.

And Jan, just one year out of juniors, collected her first open centre title, leading for Wendy Jensen and Trish Hardy to win the women’s title with a 15-13 win in the final over Birkenhead’s Trist Croot, Ling Qu and a relative newcomer to the centre and the game, Hemoata Browns.

There was cause for added elation, too, for Trish Hardy. This win gave her a gold star which she has achieved in a short span of just four seasons and all of which have been with Wendy as her skip.  Together they won the championship fours in 2019 and 2020, the champion of champion fours in 2021 and the BNH Centre triples last year. As well as the many she has won in Auckland and Counties former Black Jack Wendy now has 13 Harbour titles.

Fisher, another gold star holder in Auckland, now has nine Harbour titles putting him in sight of a bar which he could gain when he plays in the champion of champion fours next weekend. Walker, with 29 titles, will be in sight of a fifth bar to his gold star.

Though beaten 16-10, it was an excellent effort by Helensville to make the final as it was without its star player, Bart Robertson, out with a broken and having to be replaced by the promising young Callum.

In the semi-final Helensville beat Takapuna’s Simon Poppleton, Jason Parker and Shaun Goldsbury 15-13, the latter team having produced an amazing comeback in its very first game coming from an 18-8 deficit with three ends to go to beat Charlie McDonald’s Milford.

Browns Bay won its semi-final 22-9 over Beach Haven’s Roy Parker, Rick Markinova and Ian Little. Despite the margin Beach Haven could be proud of its effort, particularly when the near 80 titles between the Browns Bay trio contrasted with the mere two mustered by Beach Haven. Both belonged to Parker won with his original Birkenhead club.

In the women’s semi-finals Takapuna beat Sunnybrae’s Vickey O’Connor, Jan Macgowan and Keryl Blackburn 19-7 and Birkenhead beat Browns Bay’s Val Ellis, Lin East and Trorika Bennett 16-7.