Last weekend, Newcastle Bowling Club hosted the Veterans (over-60) Northern Zone Singles Championships, with 27 men and 16 women competing for the titles.

Players each contested two section matches to determine who would progress to the knockout rounds.

Pretorius triumphs in thrilling women’s final

In the women’s competition, Joan Schoon (Newcastle) defeated Nancy Steyn (Newcastle) before overcoming Jackie Reynecke (Newcastle) in the semi-finals.

In the bottom half of the draw, Alice Howe (Newcastle) beat Sue Hutchinson (Newcastle) but then lost to Edith Pretorius (Newcastle) in the semi-finals.

This set up a final between two in-form Newcastle bowlers. After 27 ends, neither player had held a lead of more than three shots, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats throughout.

With the score at 19-18 after the 27th end, Pretorius scored the two shots she needed to secure victory and claim the title, edging out a determined Schoon.

In the play-off for third place, Howe defeated Reynecke.

Brockman secures dramatic men’s victory

The men’s competition was equally exciting, with the knockout rounds producing bowls of the highest standard.

Shane Noble and Fritz Botha, both from Newcastle, set the tone in a preliminary-round thriller. With the score tied at 20-20 and Botha lying game, Noble produced a superb draw shot to clinch victory.

The quarter-finals saw Ron Howe (Newcastle) defeat Noble, Peet du Bruyn (Newcastle) beat Tony de Pooter (Volksrust), Andrew Collett (Dundee) overcome Peter Osborne (Volksrust), and Egon Brockman (Dundee) defeat Priester de Bruyn (Newcastle).

In the semi-finals, Howe held off a determined comeback from Du Bruyn, while Brockman got the better of his Dundee club mate, Collett. The final between Howe and Brockman was another closely contested encounter.

Howe established an early lead before Brockman fought back to level the scores at 10-10 after the 13th end. The lead changed hands several times before Howe took a 19-17 advantage into the 24th end.

Brockman then produced a superb final bowl to peel the jack back and score the four shots he needed to claim a dramatic victory.

The play-off for third place was another thriller, with Collett edging out Du Bruyn 21-20 to round off an excellent weekend of bowls.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the competition was the strong turnout of new bowlers from Volksrust and Ncandu bowling clubs, a trend organisers hope will continue at future Northern Zone competitions.

Congratulations to all the players who participated and made the competition such a success.

“A special word of thanks to Bennie van Vuuren for running a well-organised competition, and to everyone who assisted behind the scenes to ensure that the weekend ran smoothly.”

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