Competition News from Mary Day
The 2020-21 season has been very successful with all scheduled competitions completed. We were lucky to have very few postponements due to weather events and no lockdowns interrupting play. Our emphasis has been on enabling and encouraging members to play in competitions and events that best suit their interests in a supportive and friendly atmosphere. To this end sometimes we have been a little more flexible than we would have been in the past.
Our club championships have attracted the same and in some cases more entries than previous years. We have had much higher participation in our Tuesday Mixed Triples and have good participation in special events like the Hutt Classic, St Patrick’s Day Gala and the Melbourne Cup Day Mini Gala. The Friday Night Singles were also very successful.
This season we have reintroduced some competitions to give members who do not play in Centre events more opportunities for play in the club. These included the Progressive Triples and the Graded Fours and Pairs competitions. We received feedback from members that they would like these events extended particularly after Christmas when the weather is better and there has not been much to play in at the club. So while some members wish to play in Centre or National events those of us staying home still have opportunities to enjoy our sport and the fellowship that comes with it.
Our events that include members of other clubs have continued to run successfully such as the New Year Pairs, the over 80s and 90s, the 1-10 year pairs and our Thursday Galas. Thanks to all those involved in the organizing and running of these events. We travelled to Wanganui to play and managed to regain the Duthie Cup.
Our participation in Interclub competitions has continued with teams in Interclub, Pennants and Bowls 3 5. While none of our teams won their divisions, neither were they relegated. The Premier Women’s team has again held on to their position in the Premier Grade. Our Diamond Buckles Team (men) are the 2020-21 Champions having won all their games this season. The Diamond Buttons Team (women) were eliminated after a very narrow loss to Silverstream.
In addition to a number of Centre events we hosted a section of the Women’s National Intercentre competition. This was a great opportunity for our members to watch and learn from players like Jo Edwards who has both national and international experience.