Women’s Bowls Tourney Starts

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30979, 8 February 1966, Page 18

Women’s Bowls Tourney Starts

(N.Z. Press Association—CopyripM) WELLINGTON. Several former national championship winners were beaten when section play in the New Zealand Women’s Bowling Association national tournament started in Wellington yesterday.

One «f the best-known players in New Zealand, Mrs S. Winstanley, who has been a member of four previous champion teams and is the defending pairs and singles champion, was one to lose twice on opening day.

F. Prince (Park avenue), 26-17.

Mrs I. Opie (Hawera), the 1964 champion, had a cakewalk in the first round. She crushed Mrs G. Frazer, Lower Hutt, 39-8. But she had to fight much harder against Mrs M. Middleton (Paekakariki), in a lowscoring match. Mrs Opie won 17-16.

Her Marewa Club four was beaten 21-20 by the Otaki Central four, skipped by Mrs E. Lowe in the first round, and 17-13 by Mrs J. Porter’s Central Club (Petone) in the second round. These losses mean that Mrs Winstanley’s four will have to win all four remaining matches to stay in the running. Other upsets included the defeats of Mrs M. Nicol (Mangakino), a three-time champion, 14-16 by Mrs E. Welch (Wilton) in the first round and 27-21 by Mrs N. Hitchings (Seatoun) in the second round. The reigning champion, Mrs G. Smith, Kaiapoi, was extended in the first round by Mrs E. King (Wellington), winning narrowly, 21-19. The Canterbury four were more comfortably placed in the second round, beating Mrs

Altogether 54 fours in the 13 sections won both their matches.