Poverty Bay-East Coast indoor bowlers found the going tough at the national interprovincial tournament in Wellington last month.
Competing in Division 2 of four divisions, PBEC were up against Counties, Tauranga, North Taranaki, Manawatū and Upper Hutt Valley.
A representative team of eight, plus a reserve and manager, travelled south for the three-day event.
PBEC finished fifth in their division but could count themselves unlucky not to have finished higher. Most games were closely contested, and only 14 points separated the second and fifth-placed teams. Tauranga won the division.
Dylan Foster finished fifth in the Division 2 individual rankings with 9.5 wins from 15 games. Adam Rickard and Malcolm Trowell each had 8.5 wins and Kayla Trowell had eight wins.
The support of trusts and sponsors was much appreciated.
Kayla Trowell continued her run of good form when she won the junior event at the Flowright Gasfitting Invitation Masters and Junior Singles in Auckland. She defeated runner-up Matthew Spargo, of Tauranga, 11-6. Trowell continues to emulate her brother Nathan, who won this event in 2019. Nathan placed third in the masters event this year.
PBEC players Dylan Foster and Keith Setter also qualified for post-section play in the masters event, and Dylan made the last 16.
This was followed on the Sunday by the Peter Bowden and Lou Baskiville Memorial Pairs. PBEC’s Setter combined with Waikato bowler Alex Reed to win this event. They beat Golden Bay Motueka couple Greg and Fiona Edwards 11-3 in the final.
Other PBEC bowlers to feature were cousins Dylan Foster and Nathan Trowell, who qualified for post-section play but went out in the first post-section round, and Mike Foster, who paired with Maria Tough from Upper Hutt and reached the last 16.
PBEC junior bowler Sophie Haskins — a student at Gisborne Intermediate — part in the indoor bowls singles at the annual Zespri Aims Games School Sporting Championships in Tauranga. Sophie put in a great effort to finish in the last eight of the 260-strong competition.
