For current Local and International News,
TENPINWELLINGTON has its own domain:
Goto www.tenpinwellington.co.nz

Feel free to browse and submit your suggestions to: editor@tenpinwellington.co.nz

This TBNZ Open is best remembered for the AGM that was held at this tournament. It was well attended and the remits were discussed with intense participation. It lasted two and a half hours. Grey Power was in full force. Were my eyes playing tricks or is it a sign of the times? Almost 50% of the bowlers in this year’s championship were Senior. TBNZ should conduct a feasibility study of this demographic changing trend. There was a poor response from the youth. Also, the Adult (under 50s) is a dying race. Zero growth.
The 2013 World Cup Qualifying was held concurrently and it was a farce.
Only 8 bowlers – 1 Auckland, 1 Tauranga, 2 Christchurch and 4 from Wellington participated. Craig Nevatt was the eventual Winner.
For the TBNZ Open, the WTBA Atlanta 38 ft oiling pattern was used. Surprisingly the backend was huge. Dry as. For those bowlers that were having difficulties with the lanes after trying out different lines, speed, release and balls, my advice to you is to learn how to enjoy your game than feeling the despair. When you learn to quiet your Mind, you will hear the Call.
Greatness comes to those who can ignore their fear.
A few Welly bowlers got the Gold medals. Kerrie Churchill won the Open Ladies Singles. Annabellle Swain, Kelly Wilson, Brooke Malone got Gold in the Open Ladies Team with a composite team. Dave Warwick also won Gold as part of a composite team in the Open Mens Team. Silver went to Brooke Malone & Ivena Heald in the Open Ladies Doubles and Kelly Wilson in the Open Ladies Masters. Tina Sicat, Janet Miklos, Ivena Heald, Vanessa Tomlinson got Bronze in the Open Ladies Team.
On a side note, if the public has used a pair of lanes eg lanes 19/20 before the next squad, should the proprietor have reoiled all the lanes instead of lane 13 to 24 when lanes 13/14 was not being used by the public? Although this is an innocent gesture, some bowlers might have misconstrued it as creating an unfair advantage or an act of malice. Penny for thought.

The next 2014 Edition will be held in Wellington.

If the bowling proprietors are to hold TBNZ ranked tournaments, they should ensure that the lane approaches are in pristine condition. Once the tournament has started, nothing can be changed. That’s fairness. A ranked tournament is an opportunity for the bowling center to showcase to visiting bowlers that they are prepared to put on a show where the stage is set and to provide undue attention to the bowlers’ needs.
Wellington weather was unkind to the bowlers this weekend. It was cold and wet. The center’s heating was on for bowlers comfort. Sticky lane approach to the foul line was the general consensus which escalated to end of Day 1 frustration. Warning. Please do not clean the approach with your towel at any stage. You will be flagged with lane violation. You may inform the tourney director. On Day 2, the center’s heating was turned off, but there was only a slight improvement. The schedule was running behind time and the death squad finished late. My advice to the bowlers is to learn how to deal with something beyond your control. Learn to contain your anxiety. When you are at a tournament, you should always bowl your best game. Who knows, by the time you think you are ready, you might be incapacitated by other external influence.
The lane pattern was tough for those bowling on the outside 5 boards. It just skidded and stayed straight. Bowlers with bowling knowledge made changes and were rewarded.
The Heald’s claimed top honours in their respective divisions, with Allan winning the Senior Masters and Ivena taking the Ladies. Chelsie Parsons won the Juniors and Anthony Carbonell took the Youth. Craig Nevatt from Auckland won the Open after qualifying through death squad.
Other Wellys in the Masters:
Junior – Dayna Haylock, 2nd, Jacob Koot 3rd, Kurt Zvagulis 4th, Sean Ternent 5th, Breellen Gedye 6th
Youth – Kaleb Alladyce 2nd, John Miklos 3rd, Sam Keller 4th, Saasha Ritchie 5th, Ash Ball 6th
Seniors – Wayne Booth 3rd, Greg Nicolas 4th, Delfin De Guzman 6th, Hamish McGrigor 8th, Roger Tucker 10th
Open – Delfin De Guzman 3rd, Greg Nicolas 9th, Dave Warwick 1th, Jordan Tuite 12th
Ladies – Annabelle Swain 2nd, Kelly Wilson 4th, Tina Sicat 5th, Kelly Churchill 7th, Ellen Slater 9th, Janet Miklos 10th

This was an eventful weekend for all the wrong reasons. Squads’ scores for Friday and early Saturday were not posted on TBNZ website or at the bowling center till 3pm Saturday. Is there a contingency plan? I grew up in the days of pen and paper. How hard can it be? A handwritten copy at the bowling center showing just the bowlers’ series will suffice. It comes down to initiative. Out of town bowlers are anxious to know what series pinfall they will encounter.
The tournament did not go smoothly due to machine breakdown. The pins don’t stand up, scoring issues and sometimes balls get stuck. The problem is not really widespread though, but one could see that there were issues because bowlers had to wait for other bowlers to finish. The lane pattern that was put down seems to be accurate on the right side although the left side seemed a little different and did not behave according to the pattern based on the “minus 31 Rule”. Local knowledge was a big advantage. The last 4 lanes are different from the rest and lanes 3/4 had pinsetting problems.
Visiting bowlers spend a fortune to attend an away tourney and they expect the center to be in competitive condition. The brave did the walkout. It might be impolite, but hey….its frustrating.
Will you be back to Panmure? Most probably the answer is 2 alphabets, but I will bring my family though. It’s a nice entertainment center. That’s about it.
Welly bowlers in the Masters were:
Seniors – Greg Nicolas 4th Billy Te Tau 10th
Ladies – Annabelle Swain 6th
Open – Christopher Ball 6th, Tim Swain 7th, Alan Wiliams 13th
Youth – Anthony Carbonell 2nd, John Miklos 4th, Sam Keller 6th

This was 2012. The enthusiasm of the Opening Day resulted in some good scores. As the NTC dragged on, the pitfalls of paralysis by analysis start to take effect. Fear and doubt, and a lot of other ancillary issues start to affect the mental stability of the bowlers as they try to find new midline and break to attain better ball carry. Frustration and lack of self confidence as bowlers forgot to exploit their own unique attributes that are manifested in themselves whilst in desperation, they try to emulate other bowlers hence creating further confusion. Self inflicting anger and negative body language transmit unwelcome vibes towards the team morale. Some coaches were questioning their bowlers instead of giving linear direction on competition day. As bowlers moved away from their comfort zone, simple spares were not converted. The bowlers low average reflect the long day and the tough gruelling condition of this format. It has taken the life out of bowling.
The results from Wellingtonians for this 2013 tournament is disheartening. Same problem, different year. Wellingtonians just do not know how to capitalize, maintained a lead and finished it off with a Win. Day 1 was impressive. Day 2 and 3 it self destructed. Why. Poor mental preparedness, inability to play the outside line on short oil, did not include a low RG ball in your arsenal, physically unfit, stubbornness to change, stage fright, whatever. I was hoping for a better result considering that there are more active bowlers from this side of the country and many are very passionate for the game. I thought we were more learned than before but the result in the NTC doesn’t reflect that. It remains a challenge and we have to agree that many Auckland bowlers are better because they are more knowledgeable of the game. It does not mean that they have better brains or physically fitter than us.
Wellingtonians will never win the NTC unless we know some basic facts and begin to forcefully adhere to them. It is all too common that we keep on bowling, practicing and training but not really improving our knowledge of the game. We may continue bowling until our pockets and fingers hurt but it will never change the fact that we are still babes of the game until we begin to seriously learn the basics. The NTC would have been a better experience if many knew how to play the lanes. TBNZ will always put sports patterns and will always require knowledgeable bowlers and coaches to play them well.
To put it simply, it is about lining up several points on the lane. This is a proven formula. It will improve accuracy which will result in more consistent strikes, I mean pockets, not brooklyn strikes and of course fewer splits. This makes it simple to just play the lane thus avoiding many distractions and over thinking. You can check up on youtube or google this EEP. Kegel has a good detail column on it.
The EEP point system came about based on a research to get the biggest margin of error. It is a technique used by better bowlers. The ball goes down the lane and run through those points.
1. Entry point – Using a point somewhere around the arrows is where your eyes is fixed as you throw the ball down the lane and lined up with the rest of the points.
2. Exit point - It is where the ball should be on a particular board number on the lane between the end of the oil and backend or simply subtract 31 from the length of the oil. The 31 rule was studied by USBC and proven to be effective. Do not mistake it to be the same as breakpoint. The breakpoint is where the biggest movement to the pocket. It is a point in the trajectory to the pocket before the exit point. Knowing the breakpoint is also essential but it is not one of the targeting points. Exit point is more important in targeting to focus on.
3. Pin point – Located at the pin area. I named it as pin point because you can use any of the front pins to focus on when aligning it with the exit point. Using a more refined adjustment on the pins is highly recommended for better precision. You can divide the pin into 5 from right to left. To explain it better is using your right hand if you are not a lefty with your 5 fingers. The pinky as the right side of the pin, the ring finger as the division before the middle of the pin, the middle finger as the center of the pin, the forefinger as the division after the center of the pin and the thumb as the left side of the pin.

Using the EEP point system will definitely make the biggest improvement in the bowlers performance. Incorporating the Quiet Eye with this technique will be a game breaker. Using the above technique will change you for good but it needs serious understanding and training. The brain is naturally stubborn to change and will always want to do what is familiar. All is not lost, if you want to improve and have the will power to do so, you can do it.

Finally, remember to watch what your ball is telling you.

While other regions in New Zealand are having difficulties in getting the youth and junior bowlers, Wellington is blooming. Kapiti and Strike have a responsive youth and junior program, which gives Wellington a good chance of having a strong presence in the New Zealand Youth/Junior scene. Kieran Davis (Kapiti) and John Miklos (Newtown) won the Junior and Youth respectively. One of the qualified finalists in the Junior Masters missed the check in time hence did not compete in the Masters playoff.
Wellington Ladies and Seniors bowlers once again dominated the podium. Julianne Mollet won the Ladies and Greg Nicolas won the Seniors with a 208.71 ave.
It is only in the Open division that it is evenly spread. Wellingtonian Tim Swain and Greg Nicolas are a force to be reckoned with. In the Open Masters, Tim Swain bowled a 298 going Brooklyn, leaving pins 6-10 averaging 210.84 for 2nd. ‘The Nearly Man’ had a 299 in 2008 and an unofficial 300 in glow lighting condition. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Greg Nicolas, the steely missile man successfully defended the Open title averaging 215.23. Back to back victory is rare and making it a double by winning the Senior is an exceptional feat.
Greg was using the same ball that he used to achieve this last year – Storm Victory Road Tour, a hard ball that could react better than the HyRoad.
Many bowlers are carried away with the oil volume and oiling pattern, forgetting the simple fact that there is no oil from where the pattern length ends to the pindeck. It is only in the head and mid lane that bowlers need to think about. Every centre has its characteristic – an area of sweet spot and the right type of arsenal(ball hardness) to carry the strike. You could be accurate all day to the pocket but if the carry is not good it is nothing. To give yourself the best strike percentage, using the correct ball and finding the best line with the right shape of your ball path to the pocket is a Must. To maintain this combination, you can fine tune the ball carry by varying your release and ball speed.
Finally do not let anything negative affect You.
Other Wellys in the Masters:
Junior - Alex Harman 2nd, Sean Ternent 3rd, Chelsie Parsons 4th, Jacob Koot 5th
Youth - Kaleb Allardyce 2nd, Anthony Carbonell 3rd, Sam Keller 4th, Justin Downie 6th
Senior - Hamish McGrigor 2nd, Delfin DeGuzman 3rd, Rob Pollock 4th
Ladies: Ivena Heald 2nd, Ellen Slater 3rd, Kelly Wilson 4th, Kerrie Churchill 5th, Brooke Malone 7th
Open - Tim Swain 2nd, Daniel Simon 8th, Alan Wiliams 9th, Delfin DeGuzman 11th, Dave Warwick 12th
The machines and lanes held up well. Another good job by the Kapiti Tenpin staff.

The Wellington Open was held at Strike Porirua. The response was overwhelming for this recently promoted Grade 2 tourney. Christchurch sent a good contingent of bowlers. The oiling pattern for this tourney has some similarity to those found on the kegel library patterns. Its challenging and frustrating to bowlers that do not have the ability to read and handle the condition. The scores reflect the toughness of this oiling pattern. The pins depend on each other to get a strike. Bowlers that take an inside line have a better ball carry.
Welly bowlers dominated the Men and Ladies Graded division and the Open Ladies. The winners in the Open Mens division had a mixture of bowlers from, Rotorua, Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch.
Once again, bowlers in the reserves for the Masters, got the call and won. This seemed to be the norm. Hence if your are in the reserve, it pays to turn up. Kurt Sturgess was 1st reserve and took out the Masters by a big margin. Lucky you. Adrian Judd of Rotorua took the Open Mens All Event after an early display of two 700 series in the Mixed doubles with Tracey Conner and Claire Gow of Christchurch.
This tourney definitely deserved the Grade Two status billing. Well done.
Goto Results for Winners List.

A handful of bowlers from Wellington trekked north to compete in the 1st NBT of the year. The entries were just lukewarm. The Junior division had no entries. If it weren't for the Welly youth participation, the Youth division would have faced the same demise.
In the Youth Masters, Sam Keller and Kieran Davis came 2nd and 3rd respectively. Stephanie George came 2nd in the Ladies.
The others that made the Masters Finals were:
Seniors - Delfin De Guzman 5th, Roger Tucker 6th, Greg Nicolas 9th
Ladies - Janet Miklos 5th, Julie Barns 7th
Youth - Saasha Richie 5th, Monica Sopi 6th
Janet Miklos who was accompanying his youthful son to this tour, had a bowl in the Ladies ending up as 4th Reserve. To her surprised on the Masters Day, 4 ladies did not turned up and she made the cut. She finished with a commendable 5th position out of 10 finalists. She cashed in as well. Lucky you.

Superb weather and glorious sunshine welcomed this Grade 1 TBNZ National Senior Championship to a fullhouse status for KapitiTenpin under the new management of Daniel and Julz. Bowlers throughout NZ and two from Aussie attended.
The WTBA Seoul 39 feet pattern was selected. Some find it extremely challenging while others had a dream run. It has a similiarity to the PBA ‘Chameleon’ with the difference being a flatter pattern with more oil in the midlane and less in the heads. The heads will breakdown faster than midlane hence bowlers should bowl straighter through the head at a lower ball speed. A matt medium oil absorption ball is to be used in the earlier games, then moving on to the pearlised ball with a stronger layout. A safe way to handle the midlane breakdown is to follow the track that is bowled by others on the lane. This ‘dummies approach’ will help to maintain a line to the carry. This "multiple angles" pattern also reveals the depth of knowledge and the experience of a bowler in his/her ability to understanding change.
Medals were evenly shared by all bowlers. There were many happy faces. Welly bowlers Ramon Tiu and Coco Tuason had a good run in the Graded division gaining medals in the Singles, Allevents, Masters and National champ. In the Ladies, Ivena Heald , Annabelle Swain and Josie Adams followed a similar path. In the Mens Roger Tucker and Allan Heald shined. There were a lot of other Welly bowlers in the medals. Congrats.
The Luckiest bowler of this champ goes to Terry Mustchin who was 2nd reserve for the Mens Open Masters, made the cut due to two late withdrawals - a bowler getting held up at traffic and another bowler not packing his wrist guard and bowling shoes. Terry won the Masters. A good omen to the start of a new year for Terry, me ole chum.
A dinner party to be held on the night before the Masters or a victory banquet would have wrapped this championship up nicely.

The WTBA 2012 Los Angeles 36ft was used on Day1 and the Mexico 45ft was used on Day2. All bowlers bowled 6 games on both days. The Top 4 bowled in a best of 3 game match with both patterns used on a pair of lanes for the SemiFinal and Final.
SAM KELLER of Newtown defeated Josh Stretton in straight games at the Semi. He repeated the performance against William Wells in the Final. Sam was crowned the NBT Youth Champion. Annabelle Swain(Newtown) was 2nd in the Ladies. Roger Tucker(Kapiti) was 2nd in the Senior. Kieran Davis(Kapiti) was 2nd in the Junior division.
Other Welly bowlers in the Grand Final were:
Junior - Jess Swain 3rd, Justin Downie 3rd, Ash Ball 6th
Youth - Jordan Tuite 3rd, Saasha Ritchie 6th
Senior - 7th Delfin de Guzman, Bill Te Tau 10th, Yoyo Muljono 11th
Open - Greg Nicolas 3rd,Tim Swain 9th, Dave Warwick 13th, Danual Paton 14th
Ladies - Ivena Heald 3rd,Brooke Malone 5th, Kelly Wilson 7th, Vanessa Tomlinson 8th, Ellen Slater 9th

The glamour tourney of the South, Canterbury Open 2012 was well attended by bowlers from Christchurch to Dunedin and Invercargill. A couple came from Nelson and Motueka. The earthquake that led to the cancellation of this tourney in 2011 did not deter the North Island bowlers from Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga and Wellington for a mighty Southern weekend.
A 42ft ‘Shaker’ oiling pattern was laid. Bowlers that have a better knowledge of ‘ball carry in relation to Strike rate’ enjoyed the high scoring game. Learning the importance of the basics of bowling is paramount, but it is also about keeping the brain afresh for every shot. One can get out of focus after a series of continuous bowling when action becomes robotic. Its hypnotic and dulls the brain. The lane is 60 ft long. It is agonising to some. Bowlers must learn to execute their knowledge of ball speed, rev rate, launch angle, accuracy to rangefinder and entry angle to the pocket to generate strikes. The ‘release point’ of the thumb in relation to the ankle and the area where the ball first lands on the lane relates highly to good consistent ball carry into the pocket for continuous strikes. At this level of competition, it is no longer good enough to make good shots to hit your target if you are not striking. This particular tourney is about striking rather than sparing.
The Hi Game was achieved by Greg Nicolas with a 279 in the Open Team event and 267 in the Masters. Notable achievement by Welly bowlers were Greg coming 3rd in the Open Mens Masters, 1st in the Open Mens All Event and Mens Doubles with Terry Mustchin (HBR) and teaming up with Dave Warwick, Tim and Annabelle Swain for 2nd in the Open Team. It’s nice to see a full Wellington team in the medal. Roger Tucker was 3rd in the Singles and was a member of the composite team of David Davies, Graham Parkins and Terry Mustchin that took out the Open Team. Alan Williams was 3rd in the Mens Doubles with Kurt Sturgess (ChCh). Alan then teamed up with Kurt, Grant Miller (Dunedin) and Ellen for 3rd in the Open Team. Ellen Slater took out the Open Ladies All Event, the Ladies Singles and Ladies Doubles with Tinelle Sullings (ChCh). 2nd in the Open Ladies Masters.
In the Graded division, Sam Keller won the Graded Men Masters, 3rd in All Events and Singles and team. Vanessa Tomlinson was 2nd in Graded Team with a composite team from Christchurch.
Well done AMF Garden City Bowl, Christchurch for putting on the show.

This is the last of the NBT Stop held at Pins Lincoln, Waitakere. Like most other times in this centre, the tournament was running smoothly. Unfortunately things started to unravel during the Senior Masters. Lane assignments were incorrect in almost every game with waiting time to correct the error unsettling a few bowlers. Those that took it positively, stayed relaxed, rest and refocus. Welly bowler, Greg Nicolas won the Senior Masters convincingly averaging 211.44.
Nothing much can be said about the Youth division. Only 7 youth entered, hence all of them made the Youth Masters. The Juniors Masters was cancelled with only 3 participants. Not a beautiful sight for the future of tenpin bowling in this region.
Other Welly bowlers that made the Masters were:
Seniors – Albert Saw 7th, Roger Tucker 9th
Open – Greg Nicolas 5th, Tim Swain 11th
Ladies – Ellen Slater 5th, Julie Barns 8th
Youth – Anthony Carbonell 2nd, Saasha Ritchie 4th, Justin Downie 5th, Ash Ball 7th
This centre is on wooden lanes which generally had more backend than the pro anvilane due to the friction on wood. The 2012 EYC 41ft flat lane pattern is hard. Unpredictable with many bowlers missing single pin and spares. Lane condition changed quickly. Refocus and quick adjustment were needed. Bowlers that played with accuracy without missing their line were rewarded. Not a lot of ‘freebies’ if you go Brooklyn. Every bowling centre has its own characteristic. This centre favours those that played outside to the track area. It pays to watch the earlier squads to see where the people who were having most success were playing, and then finding the best ball to play there during warmup. The objective is to find the most predictable ball in your arsenal that produce the result as it carries into the pocket. Ball reputation is of no use if you cannot feel the shot. To be prepared for a tourney you need to tell yourself how great you want to be and bowls with your heart. Your ball and you are As One. You are not there to be nice and to make up the numbers.
For those that made the cut to the NBT Finals, you have my congratulations. You deserved to be there. Go out and give your best. Be mentally prepared and stay physically afresh. And don’t forget to get your nutrition fix.
Knowledge is power. It’s about knowing how to win through your experience that gives you the cutting edge. See, Do and Learn.

Fine glorious weather greeted bowlers to Strike Hutt in its 2nd year involvement with NBT. It was a good turnout. Overall the tournament went smoothly. The bowling machines as you would expect performed very well compared to other centres. There were only a few instances that bowlers had to look for the bowling staff.
Its unfortunate that the lanes layout of the center limits the number of qualifiers for the Masters especially the well attended Mens Seniors to 6. There were 12 NZ Seniors reps competing.
The highlight was the Open Masters. Craig Nevatt was the last to qualify. In the Open, he led and collected 10 consecutive head to head games bonus points. In the last game, he needed to strike the last ball to win by 1 on Grand Total. He did. Phil Wright maintain his supremacy in the Mens Seniors. Ivena Heald made a return to the winning circle in the Ladies. Blake Brooks and Rachel Boswell won the Youth and Juniors respectively.
Others Welly bowlers in the Masters were:
Junior - Kieran Davis 2nd, Justin Downie 3rd, Jess Swain 4th, Alex Harman 5th, Ash Ball 6th
Youth - Anthony Carbonell 3rd, Ford Ross 5th, Kaleb Allardyce 6th
Ladies - Ellen Slater 4th, Kelly Wilson 5th, Patricia Smith 7th, Aleisha Cunningham 8th, Andrea Bailey 9th, Josie Adams 10th, Brooke Malone 11th
Seniors - Roger Tucker 2nd, Allan Heald 3rd, Rey Non 4th, Greg Nicolas 5th
Open - Greg Nicolas 3rd, Roger Tucker 4th, Dion Leslie 5th, Tim Swain 8th, Dave Warick 10th, Chris Ball 11th, Mike Gibbs 12th
By mere coincidence, the oiling pattern for this Stop ‘WTBA Montreal 41ft 2012’ is the same as applied to the 1st World Singles Champ happening on the this weekend at Limassol, Cyprus. The bowlers that took the opportunity to watch the LIVE Streaming via my other website had first hand knowledge on how to play the lanes. More motion or hook?
The trick is to be comfortable with your cadence and approach, with minor adjustment to hand and speed. This pattern requires what bowling is all about which is accuracy. To increase your accuracy, you need to bowl in the right area. Bowlers that are more experienced and relaxed prevailed. This pattern definitely do not allow too much angle and can be disastrous resulting in splits, missing the headpin before and after. Bowlers that bowls straight down and move inwards as the game proceeds maintained a consistent scores.

Delfin de Guzman continues with his good form from the National Seniors Team Champ a fortnight ago by taking out the Seniors Masters and also the High Game. Yoyo Muljono who qualified last for the Senior Masters, did a complete U-Turn to lead the way with 8 wins out of 9, but succumbed to the final surge by Delfin 258 and 219. putting Yoyo into 2nd place by 18 pins. For someone over 60’s Yoyo is a joy to watch. Annabelle Swain led and took out the Ladies Masters comfortably. Kieran Davis won the Juniors. Chris Haynes was 2nd in the Open. James Kelly won the Open and Blake Brooks the Youth. The Youth division had a poor turnout. After a long absence due to injury, it was nice to see the return of Bianca Tofilau who qualifies 1st in the Ladies and finished off 3rd in the Ladies Masters.
Others Welly bowlers in the Masters were:
Seniors – Greg Nicolas 5th
Open – Dave Warwick 4th, Tim Swain 12th
Ladies – Vanessa Tomlinson 7th
Youth – Jordan Tuite 5th, Kieran Davis 7th
Junior – Jess Swain 4th
Bowling is in the ‘people industry’ Replying emails, updating and providing the necessary information promptly are parts and parcels of being in the good book of the bowlers. ‘The bowlers pay your bills’
Although a 42ft oiling pattern with oil volume at 26ml was used, many of the bowlers felt differently. There was a strong backend. After a few games, bowlers with strong reactive balls were having difficulties in finding the pocket. It benefitted the full-roller and bowlers that bowled a tight line. One can only guess that the head was not that oily than the mid lane leading to patchy streaky carrydown hence some boards have oil and some don’t. Other bowlers have great influence over the lane condition as the game progresses. Changes made to line and length were necessary. You can never assume how you will play the lane without trying it first and with the right arsenal.
The center lanes were operating much more smoothly this time, other than the occasional dirty black deposits on the ball and balls not returning. Stop 6 was held at Tenpin Manukau owing to the late withdrawal of Takapuna. A big thank you.
Once again no prior oiling pattern was posted. For out of towner catching the flight to away tourney the following day, I would suggest that you look at the scores bowled by bowlers in the earlier squads. From experience you should know what balls to bring to handle the erratic scores or diminishing games score.

The inaugural centre-based TBNZ National Senior Teams Championship was held at AMF Panmure, Auckland. Each centre is made up of 4 Males and 4 Females bowling Singles, Doubles, Team and All Event. 6 games per event. Ranking points system used. Change lane after every game.
The WTBA Atlanta 38ft pattern was used. This pattern was recently used at the World Youth Champ 2012 Bangkok. Heavy oiling at the head, not much hold. Tough and unforgiving. In the Singles event. the Ladies bowled only three 200 game out of 192 games. The Men did 10. In the Teams the Ladies did 4 and the Men did 15.
Wellington Team – Annabelle Swain, Janet Miklos, Joanne Uy and Lynnaire Churchill came 2nd. The Mens Wellington Team consisting of Delfin de Guzman, Yoyo Muljono, Bill Te Tau and Albert Saw also came 2nd. Joanne Uy was 2nd in the Singles. Ivena Heald and Rob Pollock of Kapiti took out the Ladies and Mens Singles. Colin McLean(Woofie) of Porirua deadheated for 3rd.
The last day was the Doubles. Rob Pollock teamed up with Allan Heald to secure 1st for Kapiti. Janet Miklos came out to party and bowled splendidly partnering Joanne Uy to win the Doubles. Lynnaire and Annabelle made it a 1-2 finish for Wellington.
The Wellington ladies won all their Teams and Doubles one-on-one (18 games) matching up with different teams and pairings without dropping a game on each pair of lanes. Absolute stunner.
The All Event went to Lynnaire of Wellington followed by Ivena of Kapiti. Lynnaire is the only lady to bowled over 1000 pins per event. For the Mens, Rob Pollock of Kapiti came 2nd and Delfin de Guzman was 3rd. Only 6 male bowlers bowled over 1000 pins per event. Delfin and Yoyo Muljono of Wellington and Ian Jenkins of Kapiti.The other 3 were Phil Wright and Stu Turnbull of Tauranga and Wayne Milicich of Auckland.
Delfin and Joanne was awarded the NST Championship Outstanding Achievement Award for Male and Female respectively. The Wellington Team came 1st in the Ladies Points and 2nd for Mens and Overall Points. Kapiti Mens Team (Ian Jenkins, Jim Roberts, Rob Pollock and Allan Heald) was 3rd in the Mens Points.
The NST All Star Team were Lynnaire, Ivena and Cathy Smith (Tauranga). The Mens were Phil Wright, Rob Pollock and Delfin deGuzman. They will be invited to join the NZ Senior Squad.
Well done Wellington and Kapiti for getting onto the podium.

Kapiti put on the fine sunny weather to start off this very well attended NBT. The highlights were Daniel Simon bowling the perfect game during qualifying on Lane 11/12. Jason Waters nearly equalling it with a 279. Craig Nevatt being the only bowler that shot over 200 in every game during qualifying. Joshua Stretton performance in the Junior Masters 267, 202, 183, 243 and 201 averaging 219.2 was just awesome.
The irony of the tourney was Greg Nicolas who qualifies 1st in the Seniors and just managed to secure the last spot for the Open Masters by a pin. The Seniors Masters was first up. Surprisingly, Greg did not cash in. The odd was not in his favour for the head to head Open Masters in the afternoon. 13 games against a high calibre field. After a slow first game Greg led all the way to the finish unscathed. And that’s the X Factor in a bowler. The ability to make changes and refocus quickly to deliver a positive result. Greg is still the best Leftie in the country.
Hometown bowlers seized the advantage to capture the Seniors by Roger Tucker and Kelly Wilson in the Ladies. The Youth went to Kaleb Allardyce.
Other Welly bowlers that made the Masters were:
Junior – Justin Downie 2nd, Jess Swain 3rd, Kieran Davis 4th, Sean Ternent 6th
Youth – Jordan Tuite 4th, Ford Ross 6th
Ladies – Ellen Slater 3rd, Ivena Heald 4th, Lynnaire Churchill 5th, Kerrie Churchill 6th, Brooke Malone 8th
Seniors – Rob Pollock 4th, Greg Nicolas 6th, Stuart Cunningham 7th
Open - Tim Swain 8th, Danual Paton 9th, Alan Williams 11th, Dave Warwick 12th

Bowling in a major tournament is not just about a winner and losers. It’s also about character. This weekend, we witnessed a different side of Adrian Judd @ AJ. He is humbled to share this memorable moment with young Felipe raising the Cup – "that’s my Hero" This win is more meaningful than others. AJ’s usual smirk is now one of contentment. AJ is Happy.
Day1 on short oil was dominated by Dave Warwick with a 1719 series over 8 games. Day2 on a long oil pattern, Carl Mollet annihilates the field with 1932, thus leading the pack into the Top 15 with a combined average of 223.63 over 16 games. A further 7 games were bowled on Day3 on medium oiling with Carl maintaining pole position followed by Jason Waters and AJ. Carl nominated the long oil pattern for the stepladder Match play.
AJ defeated Jason in the 1st stepladder playoff stringing 10 baggers after a 9 spare in the 1st frame with 287. In the 2nd stepladder, Carl started strongly with a strike, spare and a turkey and missing the single pin in frame 6, giving AJ the chance to fight back from a 16pins deficit. AJ took the lead in the 9th frame by 2 pins finishing off the 10th with a 208. Carl needed to double strike the 10th and mark to secure the win. He managed a strike and 6 spare with a 207. As the top qualifier, Carl executed the right to a rechallenge. In the final match AJ turkey the first 3 frames, 8 spare the 4th and continued on with 5 baggers sealing off the challenge from Carl. AJ took the crown with a 257 over Carl’s 214.
The following Welly bowlers - Rey Non, Tim Swain, Dave Warwick, Chris Haynes and Greg Nicolas made the top 15. For the bowlers that did not make the top 15, 1st time entrant Stephen Bates (Porirua) bowled consistently averaging 195. Debutante Suzanne Howell (Auckland) was in the loop till a hiccup in the last game.
This tourney is well attended by the best in NZ, almost synonymous to the qualifying tourney for the AMF World Cup. Battles are fought with courage. The qualifiers are highly respected. It gives bowlers with skill, attitude, ethics and capability with the best possible chance to gauge themselves amongst the elites on an equal platform and giving TBNZ selectors the opportunity to observe the bowlers that could build on the legacy of our past successes. The format of this tourney exposes a bowler consistency of performance and result, ability and versatility in the range of shots, ability to adapt to different playing conditions, technical and tactical ability and mental aptitude; and demonstrates values and behaviours via preparation and readiness, body language and personal responsibility – “No blame. No excuses”

It’s a shame that a lot of the other Wellington bowlers did not seize this opportunity to prove themselves amongst their peers. Your Loss.

BIG OCCASION, BIG RESPONSES. There was an air of confidence that this new Mens squad will be devastating. And so they did. The Mens retained their Rachuig title superbly with a round to spare. They went through the last Block defeating all their opponents. The Men won 15 of their 18 rounds. Daniel Simon had the most wins with 13 and Jason Waters had the best average of 204. The rest of the team average ranging between 193 to 199. When it was time to rotate, the other bowler delivered. Craig was the only returning bowler from last year. NZ is fortunate to have such a strong pool of evenly skilled Mens bowlers that could follow up on the success of last year's team.
2011 Mens team L to R: Jason Waters, Adrian Judd, Chris Haynes, Carl Mollet, Craig Nevatt, Daniel Simon

Unfancied and with no great expectations, the Ladies team deserved my accolade. They earned the respect of the bowling fraternity by their tenacity in winning the closely fought games. A win is a Win. They went through the first 14 rounds with just 1 loss. That sets the impetus for the male counterpart to follow suit, The dream of capturing the Combined Team overall Supremacy was within reach. Julz bowled all the 18 rounds with 15 wins and the ladies Hi Game of 277 twice over. It went unchallenged since Day 1. She also topped the Ladies AllStar. Stellar performance. Ash had 12 wins. Belle strung 8 wins in a row. Dairne and Lynne bowled consistently well to add the points to the tally. Sarah met strong oppositions. It was a closely fought contest for the top 3 placings. The Ladies got their medals. The 50 - 50 combination of ladies from Wellington and Auckland looks like a good mix.
Just awesome.
2011 Ladies team L to R: Dairne Kaimoana, Ashley Lorigan, Sarah young, Annabelle Swain, Lynne Churchill, Julieanne Mollet (Squat)

The creme de la creme came when Team NEW ZEALAND took the covetted overall Combined Interstate Team title. For the first time, Team NZ got the medals for every division. The dream has become a Reality. What a splendid achievement. A Great Day indeed.

The Walter Rachuig Trophy started in 1963, Team NZ joined 8 years ago in this Australian Inter State tournament. This week Oct 26 - 28 history was made. For the first time a NZ team has uplifted the Walter Rachuig Trophy off the Aussies. Well done.
Mens Team New Zealand
Front L to R - Jason Waters (Coach), Gregorio Nicolas, Tony Lum
Back L to R - Terry Mustchin, Brodie Hunt, Russell Young, Geoff Wakelin (Manager), Craig Nevatt.

Russell Young received the High Achievement Award
Nhung Mai took out the Sportswoman Award.
Craig Nevatt and Brodie Hunt were 3rd and 4th in the Top Five AllStars.
Gregorio Nicolas gained a Priority Flag.

Dion Leslie bowled a perfect game in Game 4 at Strike Porirua during the All Stars Singles League on March 06, 2012

Jordan Tuite bowled the 1st Perfect Game of Kapiti Tenpin on February 20th 2012 during the Kapiti Scratch Doubles League. He finished the 4 game series with a 936.

Nathan Berry shot another 300 Game in the Foundation trios League on Wednesday, November 09th 2011 at Bowlarama Newtown on a medium 39ft oiling pattern using the Brunswick C System 3.5. 11 solid pocket shot and once again the 12th strike came off brooklyn. On lane 5-6.

Nathan Berry shot the inaugural 300 Game at Bowlarama Newtown on Oct. 28th 2011 during the Friday Premier Singles League on Lane 5-6 with a 1449 series using a Storm Domination Nano ball on a long oil 44feet oiling pattern. 11 pocket strikes with the last that went brooklyn, but it all fell.

Gregorio Nicolas shot a 299 Game at Bowlarama Newtown during the Premier Singles League on Friday July 22nd. Every shot carried perfectly in the pocket. The last shot left a Pin 6. He finished off with a 6 Game Series of 1440.

WAYNE BOOTH bowled another Perfect Game at Strike Porirua on April 05 during the All Stars League on lane 5-6. It came on the last game. The preceeding game was 269. Wayne did 21 strikes in a row. Thats a hell lot of strikes mate. Wayne is currently a member of the NZ Senior Training Squad. He will be representing Wellington South in the coming 2011 Adult National Team Champs at Tauranga. Good Luck.

BILLY TE TAU struck the Perfect 300 Game on game 1 during the AllStar League at Strike Porirua Sunday evening Nov 14th on Lane 1 n 2. Surprisingly, the previous two 300 games here were also struck on these pair of lanes by Carlos Tuason and Wayne Booth.
An awesome achievement Billy.

NATHAN BERRY shot the Perfect 300 Game in the Final of the Coca Cola High Roller Tournament at Strike Hutt on Sunday Oct 31 collecting $4000, $725 for the jackpotted game, $250 for the High Game of the Tournament and winning the Bo Smaha Memorial Trophy as well. It was struck on Lane 3 and 4. Gregorio Nicolas was the 1st bowler to struck the perfect game here on the same pair of lanes on Nov 11th 2008. Nice one Nathan.

CARLOS TUASON got his elusive Perfect Game on June 19, 2010 at Strike Porirua. He has bowled 3 298 Game before; two at Ball Crushers League, Bowland Petone in 2006 and the other at Bowland Porirua in 2008. This time with the aid of a Taylormade golf glove to bypass his sweaty palm, the strikes just keep coming. All 12 strikes were solid pocket ball. Good on yer mate. Next hurdle...for the perfect score...finding a soulmate.

MARION GUNN started tenpin bowling when she was a sweet-young-thing in Mother England. In 1965 at a tender age of twenty something, she migrated to NZ. Bowled at Upper Hutt, then moved on to the newly opened bowling alley in Bond Building, Pirie Street, Mt. Victoria, after an invite by Ailsa Gill. Back then, bowling alleys were not automated and the pins are attached to strings. She joined (Kerridge Odeon) Petone automated bowling centre when it opened in 1986. She is still a founding member of the Ballcrushers League which is in its 26th Year. Nowadays she bowls three leagues a week at Hutt and two in Newtown, participates in the quarterly Travel League and dedicates her administrative talent as the Lower North Island Director on the TBNZ Board.
TwentyEleven is a very special year for Marion. She has reached a milestone in Tenpin.
Over 50 Years of Tenpin Bowling. Insane! We wish you well.