Waihi Bowling Club Inc

𝗪𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗜𝗧… 𝗪𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗡
The 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 was held over the weekend at Tairua, with teams from right across the region all arriving confident, focused, and probably thinking they were taking the trophy home.
Awkward.
The 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗯 flew the Waihi flag proudly, producing some classy bowls, and plenty of determination. While they didn’t quite make the finals, they certainly made life difficult for the opposition and represented the Waihi Bowling Club with style.
But then came our Womens Team of 𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹
And honestly, once those two got rolling, the rest of the field may as well have started organising the runners-up speeches.
They held their nerve, played some outstanding bowls, and survived enough tight finishes to age the Waihi supporters by at least five years.
Then came The Final.
More great bowls. More pressure. More nail-biting.
And then 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗪𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗧
That’s right; 𝗪͟𝗮͟𝗶͟𝗵͟𝗶͟ 𝗕͟𝗼͟𝘄͟𝗹͟𝗶͟𝗻͟𝗴͟ 𝗖͟𝗹͟𝘂͟𝗯͟ 𝗮͟𝗿͟𝗲͟ 𝘁͟𝗵͟𝗲͟ 𝗪͟𝗼͟𝗺͟𝗲͟𝗻͟’͟𝘀͟ 𝗝͟𝘂͟𝗻͟𝗶͟𝗼͟𝗿͟ 𝗣͟𝗮͟𝗶͟𝗿͟𝘀͟ 𝗖͟𝗵͟𝗮͟𝗺͟𝗽͟ 𝗼͟𝗳͟ 𝗖͟𝗵͟𝗮͟𝗺͟𝗽͟𝘀͟ 𝘄͟𝗶͟𝗻͟𝗻͟𝗲͟𝗿͟𝘀͟.͟
A magnificent effort from Val and Jude, who now head off to the National Finals carrying the hopes of the club, and a healthy slice of Waihi’s good luck messages.
Huge congratulations ladies, what a fantastic achievement.

The final tournament of the season was held today (15/5/26) at the Waihi Bowling Club with the 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, generously sponsored by our 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲, and what a cracker of a day it turned out to be. Perfect autumn conditions greeted the bowlers, with hardly a breath of wind and sunshine that reminded everyone why winter can wait just a little bit longer.
Adding plenty of colour and entertainment to the day were our very own members of “The Hive” (see photo), who arrived dressed for the occasion and certainly made sure nobody missed them.
With the Drawn Pairs completed and another round of the usual nail-bitingly close games finished, the results were:
𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 — 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗮𝗹
𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘆
𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 — 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗻
𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 — 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲
As always, there were plenty of tight heads, lucky wicks, near measures, and enough “unbelievable bowls” to keep the post-match discussions rolling well into the afternoon. A brilliant way to finish off the tournament season.
A huge thank you to our sponsor George Love for his support, and also to everyone working quietly behind the scenes who helped make the day such a memorable one.
Following the tournament, the club held its Prizegiving for our 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to all of our winners and championship players throughout the season. A fantastic effort from everyone involved and another great year for the club.

We gave you a bit of an insight into the Womens Club Junior Pairs Champs last week and promised a photo of the winners, and here it is.
𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗲 played against 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻. And what a battle that turned into. Plenty of quality bowls, pressure heads and close measures. After 18 hard-fought ends, 𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗲 managed to get the job done and take out the 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲. CONGRATULATIONS

The very last 𝗢͟𝗖͟𝗘͟𝗔͟𝗡͟𝗔͟ 𝗚͟𝗢͟𝗟͟𝗗͟ 𝟮͟𝘅͟𝟰͟𝘅͟𝟮͟ 𝗧͟𝗢͟𝗨͟𝗥͟𝗡͟𝗔͟𝗠͟𝗘͟𝗡͟𝗧͟ of the season was held today at the Waihi Bowling Club (11/5/26) and judging by the chilly overcast skies all day, winter was sitting just over the hill doing stretches and waiting for its call-up.
Despite the cooler weather, the atmosphere inside the club was as lively as ever. Great music flowed all day, with several “new singers” bravely auditioning for the club choir. Some showed promise, while others may have been politely encouraged to stick to bowling.
As tradition demands, the day kicked off with freshly made pikelets and finished in proper Waihi Bowling Club style with Pizza, Chicken Nibbles and Garlic Bread disappearing faster than a toucher on a windy green.
𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 - 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 - 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯.
Close behind in 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯.
And 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯.
As this wrapped up the final Oceana Gold Tournament for the season, 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮, who somehow managed to keep everyone fuelled, watered and generally held together with tea, coffee and those legendary freshly made pikelets.
A 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 for organising every single 2x4x2 tournament throughout the season. No easy task when half the field is wandering around looking confused, scorecards in hand, wondering where they were supposed to be playing.
And finally, 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 who quietly kept things running behind the scenes all year by setting up, packing down, helping in the kitchen, cleaning up and doing all the little jobs that keep the club ticking over. Thank you very much. The club runs because of people like you.
And for the last time this season, 𝗧͟𝗛͟𝗔͟𝗡͟𝗞͟ 𝗬͟𝗢͟𝗨͟ 𝗢͟𝗖͟𝗘͟𝗔͟𝗡͟𝗔͟ 𝗚͟𝗢͟𝗟͟𝗗͟ for your generous support throughout the year.

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 held the 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 over the weekend (9/10 May 2026) with a good bunch of teams all chasing the bragging rights of being crowned Club Champions, along with the 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀’ 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
After some mighty tight competition on Day 1, the Women’s Final was played yesterday afternoon with 𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻. And crikey, what a battle that turned into. Plenty of quality bowls, pressure heads, close measures, and enough pacing around the green to nearly wear the carpet out. After 18 hard-fought ends, 𝗩𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗲 managed to get the job done and take out the 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲. (Photo to come)
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 was played this morning and, true to Waihi form, it went right down to the wire. 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗻, with both teams scrapping for every single end. Great bowls, pressure shots everywhere, a few muttered comments under the breath, and unbelievable tension amongst the spectators.
After 18 tough ends, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲. Proof that age is no barrier when it comes to becoming a champion.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱.
A HUGE thanks to the organisers and umpire for overseeing a wonderful couple of days.

𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 (6/5/26)
What started as one of those “hmm not so sure about this” mornings with cloud, fog and a touch of rain, quickly turned into a pretty decent day once the fog and drizzle packed their bags and moved on.
With 3-bowl Triples the order of the day, all 8 greens were humming with a full house and plenty of action. Four games of 8 ends kept things ticking along nicely, with some absolute pearlers of shots thrown in for good measure.
Results:
𝟭𝘀𝘁: 𝗚𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻, 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 & 𝗔𝗻𝗻 (Waihi Beach)
𝟮𝗻𝗱: 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹 & 𝗗𝗼𝗻 (Thames)
𝟯𝗿𝗱: 𝗕𝗲𝘃, 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 & 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 (Waihi Beach)
𝟰𝘁𝗵: 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 & 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 (Waihi)
As always, the day was topped off with an excellent afternoon tea and a HUGE thanks to everyone who brought along a plate. Safe to say no one went hungry.
Massive appreciation to the behind-the-scenes crew who sorted the draw, set the green up, and kept the kitchen running like a well-oiled machine. These days don’t happen without you.
And of course, a MASSIVE thank you to our generous sponsors 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 for making it all possible.
And thank you to everyone who came along for another great day at the club.

𝗣𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝟮𝘅𝟰𝘅𝟮 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝟰/𝟱/𝟮𝟲)
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU.
Second-to-last dance for the season and the green turned it on again. Bit fresh first thing with Autumn dew on the ground (those early arrivals earned their pikelets), but by the arvo it was cruising. Mild, calm, and not a flag in sight doing any work.
Speaking of traditions; the sacred order was upheld pikelets to kick things off and pizza to seal the deal. You come for the bowls, but let’s be honest, you stay for the menu.
On the scoreboard:
𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲: 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲 & 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 (Waihi Bowling Club); clearly had their bowls listening today.
𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲: 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 & 𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹 (Thames Bowling Club); solid as ever, kept the pressure on all day.
𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲: 𝗥𝗼𝗯 & 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 (Waihi Bowling Club); did just enough talking to the bowls to get them over the line.
Big shoutout to 𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗔 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 for sticking with us all season. We couldn’t do it without you.
It’s been a long run, one more 2x4x2 to go, and then, finally, permission granted for a Monday sleep-in. Don’t worry though, most of us will still wake up early out of habit and wonder what to do with ourselves.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆.

A big weekend (2nd & 3rd May) of 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 action saw 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 proudly represented by 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆.
Evan competed strongly in the Men’s event but unfortunately didn’t progress through to post-section play.
Kylie was right in the mix in the Women’s, powering through to the semi-finals before just falling short of the big dance.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to both Evan and Kylie for representing the club with pride. Plenty of quality bowls from both and 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴.

Respect your Losses

The Ancient Game of Precision