Edmund Hillary Retirement Village held a different sort of open day on Monday 25 January. 

Local clubs: Carlton Cornwall, Kohimarama, Remuera, Glendowie and St Heliers sent two triples teams to enjoy 3 rounds of 8 ends, and delicious and refreshing morning tea, lunch and post play drinks.  Carlton Cornwall took the top prize.  A resident approached Sales Advisor Becky Gillanders a few years ago and asked her to revive the community tournament after there had been a bit of a gap. The Edmund Hillary Team was formed to join the 5 club teams after Mission Bay Men’s closed. 

Edmund Hillary and Ryman Healthcare like to be involved in the community and this is one way of community involvement. It is a fun day out. Club President Mark Compton shared that “The bowling day is special for KBC as we have several club members who are residents at Edmund Hillary…the event is certainly a great reward for the volunteers who undertake management roles using their spare time.”

If you zoom in on the photos below, you will spot some of our fabulous Kohi Members!

Saturday 19 December, Kohimarama Bowling Club hosted two memorable events. The morning was a tribute to Mary and Leon Idoine, who perished in a vehicle accident on their farm at Pokeno, where they were still working in their mid-ninties. The Idoines were Members and Supporters of KBC for nearly four decades.  Previously planned memorials had been delayed and after Covid restrictions were lifted, the family and the club set the date for the morning of the annual Founders Day Competition.  It was kismet, that 19 December would also have been Mary’s 100^th birthday. The family was well represented, recognizing and celebrating the ties that bond through bowls.  Robyn and John, Bruce and Dinah, Beryl and Grant and Malcolm and their sister-in-law Nola Idoine, niece Heather, and great-granddaughter Emily. Our Club Captain Margie Sorensen is also a niece of the couple.

Margie shared the many roles and characteristics the couple held:  Mary was a past president, coach and umpire. Leon had been strong with Mission Bay Men’s and although he joined St Heliers after MBMBC closed, he was a regular fixture at Kohi.  Players will remember they were great competitors and sticklers for the rules of the game.  Known as avid gardeners, it was natural for the memorial to have a garden theme. The family unveiled the inscribed memorial for the garden of remembrance, featuring fragrant rosemary.  A shared lunch and convivial play followed the tribute. Val Parry and Lynley Pritchard were our Founders Day winners.

As one of Kohimarama’s longstanding sponsors and a bowls advocate, Julie Kennedy recognized what the club meant to Mary and Leon, and sponsored the garden of remembrance commemoration.

Fantastic club Women’s Championship Pairs 16-17 January at KBC. In a dramatic final between Val Parry/Jeanine Browne and Liz Burton/Robyn Hames, Val and Jeanine took the 2020-21 title.

The weekend’s Women’s Pairs championship saw a large field entered, including five first year players, which was highly satisfying for the Club’s selector’s as they got to see the competitive talent that we’re unfolding.  Teams included novice duos right up to the very experienced, and with last year’s defending champion’s also in the mix, spectators were treated with a wealth of tight games, and plenty of upsets.  The second day saw  Jill Wood and Lorraine Mc Donnell; Yvonne Green and Sue Jerram; the well-experienced Liz Burton and Robyn Hames (all with one life) and the combination of the calm, collected Val Parry, with talented first year Jeanine Browne (two lives) take to the rinks.  Val and Liz led their respective teams to sound wins, though the quality of games was well worth arriving early to watch.

Then the final.  Thrilling bowls.   Anyone expecting the two Skips (Liz and Robyn), to have the upper hand were seriously misguided.  Robyn’s sure steady hand met her match with the consistent on-the-head lead bowls put up by Jeanine, who demonstrated unequivocally that her first competition was not going to phase her. 

Val and Liz, skipping the two teams, are both well-known for their consistent bowls, and the ability to change the head when required, and provided each other with ongoing challenge after challenge.  The scoreboard crept up, at times surprisingly, with each team at different stages taking a four or a five from the other, and appearing to have the game well in hand, when everything would change again….right up the very end when another tie-breaker was required.  The tension was palpable, possibly more so amongst the spectators.  Jeanine’s first bowl was a toucher, coming to rest directly under the jack; we all know as leads how intimidating that can be!  Each subsequent players’ bowl attempted to either dislodge or protect that position, until Val’s last bowl, giving her and Jeanine three; then Liz had the final shot. A difficult choice of shot to make: a tricky draw through a well-protected head? or a weighted shot to try to move the jack back toward Robin’s back bowls?  Thought. Weighing the bowl.  Bending. Arm back. A drive. A hush, a collective gasp, and…disappointment for her and Robin.  Val and Jeanine won the end, the tie-breaker, and therefore the competition.

Commentary provided by Margie Sorensen