The centre’s best bowler, Tony Grantham, dominated when Bowls North Harbour held its annual awards presentations in a carnival, Oscars-type celebration at the Birkenhead club.
Grantham, a member of both Browns Bay and Birkenhead clubs, capped a stellar 2017-18 season when he was named the male open bowler of the year, which was followed by the ultimate accolade when he also acclaimed the centre’s supreme performer.
It was an appropriate award for Grantham’s feats were truly remarkable. For winning five centre open titles bowlers are awarded what is a coveted gold star badge. Usually it takes bowlers, especially males, the best part of lifetime to achieve this milestone.
But in 2017-18 Grantham gained the equivalent of a gold star in one season. He won the centre’s champion of champion singles, the mixed pairs with Birkenhead’s Trish Croot, the champion of champions with Browns Bay’s Ross Kelly and skipped Browns Bay combinations which won the champion fours and then the champion of champion fours.
That took his overall centre tally to 16 titles, giving him two bars to his gold star.
However, it wasn’t all highs for Grantham in 2017-18. After playing regularly for the New Zealand Black Jacks in recent years, including the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Grantham was overlooked for this year’s Games on the Gold Coast and the disappointment of that almost led to his quitting the game.
So it showed how special his centre exploits were that he was able to bounce back from his knockback, qualities of a truly champion bowler.
Grantham gained the supreme Harbour award from some worthy contenders, especially among the centre’s leading women’s bowlers. In the open women’s category the winner was Browns Bay’s Anne Dorreen, who even though she has been playing only about 10 years, is already close to adding a bar to her gold star.
In the 2017-18 season she won two centre titles, the championship pairs and the champion of champions fours, as well as finishing runner-up in the championship fours and the champion of champion triples.
Glenfield prodigy Paris Baker, still only 19, was another superb performer in the 2017-18 season. As well as centre successes she won the national under 21 title and represented New Zealand’s Transtasman development team. Her Glenfield club-mate Laura Tauniva also excelled coming fourth in the national under 18 championship to earn the young bowler of the year award.
Among the other playing awards was one who had won national distinction in another sport. Bevan Smith, from the Takapuna club, who was named the male one-to- eight year bowler of the year, was a Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games representative runner in the 200m and 400m.
The off-green awards were headed by Milford stalwart Zelda Bridgens, who at 91 still contributes positively to her club, of which she was foundation member. when it started in 1984. She has served in many administrative and coaching roles, is a past president and is a life member.
Winners were: Supreme award, Grantham, male open bowler, Grantham, women open bowler, Dorreen,
One to five years male, Kevin Ransford (Manly), one to five years female, Baker and Theresa Rogers (Mairangi Bay), one to eight years male, Smith, women, Christeen Dalzell (Browns Bay), young bowler, Tauniva, club of the year, Mairangi Bay, umpire, Brian Eden (Manly), coach, Denise Samuels (Glenfield), volunteers, Ted Jackett (Orewa), David Pearse (Mairangi Bay), Harbour sports excellence, Sheryl Johnson, official, Maureen Taylor (Orewa), administrator, Irene Donaldson (Orewa), President’s Cup, Lindsay Knight.
