Champion of Champions Series a Success

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our host clubs and their members, as well as the Umpires, Markers and other helpers for assisting in the delivery of a successful series.  

We also extend a huge thankyou and congratulations to the hundreds of competitors who travelled the length and breadth of the Country to participate in the series.  

It was a joy to see our sport played the way it is supposed to be- with good humour, sportsmanship and no small amount of skill.  

Out of curiosity, we did some calculations and can report that over the duration of the series more than 75,000 bowls were delivered, with the event competitors as a whole walking a total of over 1,100 Kilometres!

We saw plenty of exceptional performances over the nine-week series.  

Pete Hodson added a NZ Ch Ch Triples title with Shannon McIlroy and Nick Tomsett to his already glittering trophy cabinet and with it achieved the distinction of earning a Bowls New Zealand Silver Star.  

This achievement was part of a particularly strong series Stoke Bowls, who also took Gold in the Women's Triples when Amy McIlroy, Kirsten Edwards and Gemma Watts claimed their title just a week later.  

Bowls Southland had a strong series too.  

Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and Craig Tinker featured in two finals, winning the Men’s Fours with Waihopai and later finishing runner-up in the Men’s Triples.  

Both Fours titles headed down to the deep South.  

One to Waihopai taking the Men’s Fours and the other to Te Rangi with the Women’s Fours.

All finals days were broadcast on Sky Sport New Zealand and the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel.  

You can relive them all, here.

Our 2026 National Champion of Champions Winners:

Men’s Singles

John Carruthers, One Tree Point

Women’s Singles

Kirsty Hill, Takaro

Men’s Fours

Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Craig Merrilees, Thomas Cockerill, Craig Tinker, Waihopai

Women’s Fours

Lynda Milne, Kerry Heffer, Karen Thomas, Emma Hanley, Te Rangi

Men’s Pairs

Stacey Jon Thomas, Scott Sinclair-Paton, Paekākāriki

Women’s Pairs

Alisa Waters, Eden Murrell-Manu, Picton

Men’s Triples

Shannon McIlroy, Nicholas Tomsett, Peter Hodson, Stoke

Women’s Triples

Amy McIlroy, Kirsten Edwards, Gemma Watts, Stoke

Mixed Pairs

Olivia Mancer, Richard Hocking, Burnside

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