5 February 2009

The Gonville husband and wife lawn bowls pair of Joe and Hillary Huwyler had every reason to celebrate after each winning gold medals in different teams at the 20th ACC New Zealand Masters Games in Wanganui.

Joe, 62, a former Wanganui cricket representative, skipped Gonville to a second successive men’s fours title with his team including club-mates John Cvitanovich (75) and Bryan Ingram (78), who were in the winning team at the last games in the city in 2007, and Waikanae’s Graeme O’Neill (78).

Hillary Huwyler, 59, and Aramoho’s Loralie Hawkes (60) teamed up with the Marton pair of Maxine Rowatt (64) and skip Frances Whale (60) to win the women’s fours.

For Rowatt it was a second title, having been in the winning mixed four earlier in the games.

Christchurch players were to the fore in the badminton team events with Pam Geard (47), Lyndsay Dick (50), Nicola Timms (52), Garry Digley (55), Ronise Stubberfield (58) and Don Le Page (60) all winning gold medals with the southern city providing members to all three grade champion teams.

Locals Dwayne Bishop (34) and Raymond Tuaine (38) carried off the two Texas hold’em poker titles with the only visitor in the medal stakes being Lyall Lister (Auckland – 48) with a silver.

Most successful pool (8 and 9 ball) players were Australian Ted Mallowes (ACT – 61) and the Wanganui pair of Noel Mouldey (61) and Diane Alabaster (58) with two titles each.

Wanganui teams Steelers Hono, City Masters (men), City Inframax (women) and Stokes Vegas (women) took the soccer six-a-side competitions.

Kevin Nicol (Wanganui – 49), the youngest competitor, repeated his 2007 success with five wood chopping and sawing titles.

Matching that effort were Hoot Knowles (Napier – 54) and Eddie Fawcett (Masterton – 71) with Roly Kent (Gisborne – 63) and Julie Rowan (Wanganui -41) each collecting a hat trick of wins.

In klaverjas Jo Skipper (Wanganui – 76) improved on his bronze medal from 2007 to de-throne Henk Hagenaars (Wanganui – 77) of the men’s Amsterdam rules title with Stratford’s Nick Schrader, 61, third.

Youngest competitor, Marton’s Robyn Roesenberg, 45, took the women’s title with Johanna van der Lay (Wanganui – 74) runner-up and Tresa Hagenaars (Wanganui – 78) taking the bronze medal for a second successive games.

Veteran Wanganui pilot Peter Fairclough, 79, was again amongst the medals in flying, sharing the novelty aerial golf title with David Pearce (Waitotara – 56) and winning the older age group in spot landing and also microlight spot landing.

Pearce also won in the navigation competition.

Darren Luff (Wanganui – 44) won the 30-49 year spot landing and search and rescue gold medal.

Youngest flier, Howard Smith (Wellington – 34), retained his streamer cutting title.

Max Sedcole (Carterton- 69), winner of the open golf croquet doubles two years ago, carried off the open handicap association singles title from his younger club-mate Terry Price (50).

The Tauranga combination of Robyn Black (56) and John Broughton (57) won the handicap doubles from Marton’s Stanley Wilson (78) and Tom Martyn (77).