Levin Bowling Club members Alice Spicer and Shoota Ballinger won the Bowls Kapiti Coast Centre Mixed 2x4x2 Pairs today. Three days ago the tournament started for them at Levin Ladies Bowling Club. Levin Ladies green were running very true and you could play the delicate shots with confidence. Spicer won their first two games so qualified for the next day. The following day the post section was held at Central Levin Bowling Club and their green conditions were challenging. Spicers’ first post section game was against last years champions and Shoota said he really struggles however Alice out draw Lisa White from Wellington and Shoota slightly out played Lisa’s partner Rhys Hakkens. On the last end Spicer was leading by one shot on the score board but down on the head by two shots. The opposition had two bowls within a foot either side of the kitty. Playing a running shot Shoota moved the kitty near the ditch then with his next bowl drove it into the ditch with it ending up alongside his previous toucher and game over, winning (16-13). Alice draw really well said Shoota and she pulled us through that game, keeping us alive in the competition. The next game of pairs saw all four players struggling and eventually Spicer got on top of the Kwoks, a husband and wife team from Kapiti (19-12). The quarter final was against a local team from Central Levin, Ray Hudson and Bea Gray. This match was much better and it was a hard fought battle until Spicer pulled away winning by a bigger margin than the evenness of these two teams (16-8). The semi-final and final was played the following day, again at Central Levin. First up Spicer played the Minnochs, another husband and wife team from Paraparaumu Beach. Spicer skipped out to a big lead and just held on for a (17-14) win. The final was against the highly fancied local team from Central Levin, Ra and Dave Walker. However the Walkers didn’t play as well as they had in their semi-final and were beaten (18-10). There were heads when Walker were holding several shots only to lose them through good drawing or driving. Alice was excited with her win and her first Centre title. I thought I’d never get one so this is really special she said. By winning this event Spicer and Ballinger will now represent Bowls Kapiti Coast in the National Finals in Hamilton 13th and 14th March.
Shoota Ballinger and Alice Spicer, both played with Aero bowls. Shoota using Dynamics and Alice with Profiles.