A team of four Thames wāhine (women) have emerged victorious from this year’s Aotearoa Māori Bowls National Tournament, winning the overall Women’s Section trophy.
The team, made up of players Chrissy Peers, Debbie Bishop, Delamere Graham, and Val Findlay, competed at the event last month.
But although they were competing as representatives of the wider Tainui region, their victory has also meant something special for the Thames Bowling Club.
“It’s the first time [the trophy]’s been won by people from Thames. Not Tainui, but Thames,” the women said.
“And the original people that started Māori Bowls were from Thames. So, it was pretty prestigious to win it.”
The annual event has been taking place for 52 years, since its inception in 1975. This year it was hosted by Bowls Waiariki in Rotorua.
The tournament event was the first time the foursome have competed together, as well as being Debbie’s first tournament. Per competition rules, three of the competitors have to be of Māori descent, with one member of the team allowed to be non-Māori.
“We asked Debbie, just coming out of her first year of bowls, to come and play with us,” the others said.
“It was a bit nerve-wracking, the greens were just covered with people, and you’ve got the TV cameras on [you].”
But despite their nerves, the team made it through their round-robin line-up with only one loss, before charging on to take out both the semi-finals and the finals.
For a couple of the players, it wasn’t the first time their name has graced the trophy. Chrissy was on the winning women’s team in 2011, while Debbie’s mother also won in 2004.
The trophy was formally presented to the Thames Bowling Club on February 27, where it will sit in pride of place until next year’s tournament, to be held in Taranaki.
