Laird Park Bowling Club

What a fantastic weekend we had at Laird Park Bowling Club as we proudly hosted the inagural Bowls Wanganui Inc Academy 2‑4‑2 Tournament.

Two magnificent days of bowls showcased great sportsmanship, tight competition, and plenty of memorable moments on the greens. A huge congratulations to all players who took part — your skill, attitude, and commitment made the event a real success.

A special thank‑you to Cristian, Kim Peeti, Darryle Curry, and the entire Laird Park team and volumteers for delivering a well‑organised, smooth‑running tournament. A big mention to our umpire Lesley for the two days you gave to make sure our tournament ran smoothly, Kylie Jaggard from Aramoho Bowling Club for your assistant with the draw.

Another highlight was our shared Kai Lunch which just strengthed our new found friendship and bonding that all the players enjoyed over

Congrats to Rick Winterburn and Lee Winterburn from Durie Hill Bowling Club for taking out the overall win for the tournament. Coming in second was Grant and Gary from wanganui bowling club.

On Sunday, our club rooms were converted into a Sonic the Hedgehog themed setting for a 5th birthday celebration, which was enjoyed by the family, particularly the bouncy castle outdoors.

What an absolutely fantastic day it turned out to be at the Castlecliff Club for the Laird Park Darts Adjunct. The atmosphere was buzzing from the moment players arrived, and with two teams entered in this year’s Matoe 4s, there was plenty for our club supporters to get excited about.

Our first team — Cristian, Lee, Cathy, and Bubba — battled through some tough matchups in their section. They showed real determination and teamwork throughout the day, pushing several games right down to the wire. Although they were eventually knocked out in the consolation round, they represented the club with pride and gave the crowd plenty to cheer for.

Meanwhile, our A Team of Darryle, BJ, AJ, and Jamie delivered an outstanding performance from start to finish. They powered through all their section games undefeated, securing a well‑earned place in the top eight. From there, they kept the momentum rolling, winning all seven of their finals games to claim the Matoe Darts Shield for 2026. A remarkable achievement and a testament to their skill, focus, and composure under pressure.

A huge congratulations to all our players for representing Laird Park Bowling Club so well.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next year when the competition moves to Laird Park Bowling Club for the next round of the Matoe Shield.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

The Laird Park Bowling Club extends heartfelt gratitude to all who contributed to making the Rachel Gray Real Estate Laurie Penn Memorial Tournament 2026 a success.

Your generosity and community spirit helped create a memorable weekend of sport and camaraderie.

A special thank‑you to:

Rachel Gray Real Estate, Property Brokers Whanganui Stellar Bar And Restaurant Wanganui , Bidfood NZ, Shane Stone Builders Limited , St Johns Club, PAK'nSAVE Whanganui, Wedding & Event Services New Zealand, Marine Tackle, Mitre 10 MEGA Whanganui , Woolworths New Zealand, Sportz Bar, Shotz Bar Wanganui Kulwinder Kaur , Awhi Haenga - Green Party Candidate for Whanganui 2026 Jacobsen Trust, Garside Whanau and Peeti‑Curry Whānau.

Your support ensures our tournament continues to thrive and benefits local players and families across Whanganui.

Laird Park Bowling Club – Proudly celebrating community, sport, and sponsorship together.

The two-day Rachel Gray Real Estate Laurie Penn Memorial Tournament at Laird Park Bowling Club has come to a thrilling conclusion. The event was a resounding success, with a remarkable turnout of players and spectators even though we had to have 1 green.

The tournament showcased an impressive display of skill, sportsmanship, and camaraderie throughout the weekend. We would like to extend our gratitude to all players and sponsors for their support, without which the tournament would not have been possible.

We are also delighted to announce that we have raised $1000.00 for Ruapehu Junior Rugby through raffles, which will greatly benefit their junior division.

A big mention to all our volunters over the weekend Lyn and Danny keeping the guys hydrated both days, Tony, Cristian and Danny for preparing the green, the catering staff Kim, Cathy, Bryan, Aroha, Wairua and the whanau from Hope - Mobile Laundry & Shower. for feeding you for two days. Our umpire Cathy Brown for giving up her weekend to assistant in making the tournament run smooth.

Overall Winner - Laurie Penn Memorial Shield-
The team from Durie Hill Bowling Club
Shane Broderson, Gavin Scrivener, Ian Broderson, Graham Tauri

Laurie Penn Player of the Tournament Cup -
Blair Looker

Laurie Penn Memorial Koro - B Section Winner
Phil Huywler, Kelvin Francis, Josh Francis, Des Nicholson

A big thank you to our sponsors with out your generous donations we wouldnt be able to make this event happen

Rachel Gray Real Estate - Naming Sponsor
St Johns Club - Platinum Sponsor
Stellar Bar And Restaurant Wanganui -Platinum Sponsor
Property Brokers Whanganui - Silver Sponsor
Awhi Haenga - Green Party Candidate for Whanganui 2026 - Silver Sponsor
Shotz Bar - Gold Sponsor
Shane Stone Builders Limited- Gold Sponsor
Mitre 10 MEGA Whanganui - Gold Sponsor
Columbus Coffee Whanganui - Gold Sponsor
Marine Services Wanganui Ltd. Gold Sponsor
Whanganui Rugby
Wedding & Event Services New Zealand
Bidfood NZ Palmerston North
Sportz Bar Wanganui
Woolworths New Zealand (Victoria Ave)
PAK'nSAVE Whanganui
Jacobsen Trust- Cathy and Bryan Jacobsen
Peeti Whanau
Debroah Garside
Fifield Foundation

Thank you
Cristian Fifield Costache
Vice President
Laird Park Bowling Club

Day 1 done and dusted for the Rachel Gray Real Estate Laurie Penn Memorial. Beautiful weather good comradierer. Well done to all players now tomorrow is for the Plate and Shield.

Thanks to our dart adjunct members for their assistance in the kitchen today. Bring on tomorrow

After 5 long grulling 8 hour days we have done alot of remedial work on our A Green. A big thanks must go to the Marquee team from Wedding & Event Services New Zealand for assisting with this project.

Also a big thanks must go to Aramoho Bowling Club for their assistance by allowing us to repurpose their sods from there A Green into our A Green.

Thank you,
Cristian

Panui to Club Memebers

This coming Saturday and Sunday we are hosting the Laurie Penn Memorial Tournament and i am just asking if there are our members that can assist on the saturday and the sunday to help serve out the lunch both days and help with cuppa tea and general duties. Please let Cristian Fifield Costache know.

Nga Mihi.

We are pleased to announce, on behalf of the Laird Park Bowling Club match committee, that the 2026 Rachel Gray Real Estate Laurie Penn Memorial 4s Tournament field is complete with 16 teams.

Entries are now closed, and the draw is live, with skips receiving email notifications this weekend.

We look forward to welcoming all participants for two exciting days of bowls next weekend.

Our gratitude goes to Rachel Gray for her sponsorship; Rachel Gray Real Estate is the go-to for all your real estate requirements.

Link to live draw is below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CxW6_aIZa4TlCECP9rVA8Am0CnC2YSQX03o-P19dbSo/edit?usp=sharing