Results – Women’s Singles & Men’s Pairs – 25 & 26 Nov 2023- report by Lindsay Knight
Elaine McClintock, fresh from a stellar 2022-23 season, showed she could repeat all those heroics this season by brilliantly winning the centre’s women’s singles title at the weekend.
In doing so she foiled what loomed as a notable double for the Takapuna club by toppling that club’s Black Jack, and current national singles champion, the gifted Selina Goddard, winning Sunday’s final at her new Mairangi Bay club by a stunning 21-8 margin.
At around the same time, at the Birkenhead club, Selina’s Takapuna club-mates, Simon Poppleton and Jason Parker and Jerry Belcher and Ian Hardy were preparing for the final of the men’s championship pairs.
Given Selina’s talent, the fact she had dispatched last season’s titleholder Skye Renes 21-4 in the quarter-finals and then prevailed in a semi-final thriller against fellow Black Jack Wendy Jensen 21-19, the odds against a rare Takapuna double would have been exceedingly slim.
But that might not have recognised the sublime form of Elaine, who in making the final had played well herself in the difficult windy conditions to firstly beat her Mairangi Bay club-mates, Glenda Rountree and then Theresa Rogers.
In the final Elaine totally outplayed Selina, who had none of the control she had shown against Wendy. Exploiting the narrow hand and rarely guilty of a loose delivery, Elaine quickly romped to a 9-0 lead and apart from the 10th end, when Selina hinted at a recovery by picking up four shots, never looked like losing.
It was her 18th centre title and a reminder that in her own right she is a class player, with several national successes as well, including making the final of the national singles in 2015.
Poppleton and Parker won the all-Takapuna men’s pairs final over Belcher and Hardy 16-12 and again in the tricky conditions there was a good standard of bowls.
For each of Simon and Jason it was their first Harbour centre title, though Simon, in particular, has been there and thereabouts in recent seasons and both he and Jason have enjoyed considerable success at other clubs and centres and in the indoor game.
Like Elaine against Selina, they jumped to a big early lead at 9-3, but Jerry and Ian, with the latter leading well, battled back and with two ends left had pegged the leeway back to 14-12. But as he had for much of the game in the key moments Simon, usually with his last bowl, was able to either reduce the count or convert into his favour.
It was an exceptional tournament for Takapuna bowlers as the Skoglund brothers, Philip and Raymond, also made the made the semifinals, where they were overwhelmed by Poppleton and Parker 17-6.
But earlier they had shown the ability which won them the 1999 national pairs title by beating strong Birkenhead combinations in Jimmy Heath and Jack Huriwai and then Daymon Pierson and Evan Thomas.
Another Takapuna pair in Wynne Gray and Bevan Smith also made the quarter-finals, before being ousted by the accomplished Helensville combination of Ricky Howe and Bart Robertson.
But just when it seemed Ricky and Bart might repeat their triples win of a fortnight earlier they went down in the semi-finals 20-14 to Belcher and Hardy.
In what was a tough qualifying section the Helensville pair had won a tight contest 14-12 against Browns Bay’s John Walker and Colin Rogan to end the latter pair’s hopes of adding to their already legendary records.