Family ties, familiar faces and mixed-pairs magic at Pukekohe

But beyond the draw and the scoreboard sits the real heart of the event: the people. This year’s field carries a wonderful collection of stories — wives and husbands, partners, a father and daughter, and an aunt and nephew pairing whose family sporting connection reaches well beyond the bowling green.

Among the most compelling names are Auckland Bowling Club’s Agnes and David Motu. Agnes and David have already built a strong Auckland mixed-pairs record, with Bowls Auckland reporting that the pair claimed the 2026 Champ of Champs Mixed Pairs title for a second time. David also arrives with a growing national profile of his own. Public reporting has previously highlighted him as a talented young bowler who represented New Zealand at Under-26 level at the Oceania Challenge, winning gold in the fours and silver in the singles. His family story adds another rich layer: David is the son of world champion boxer Mea Motu, whose pride in her son’s rise in bowls has been well documented. In a field full of experience, the Motu combination carries both youthful promise and deep whānau pride.

From Martinborough comes another family story with a governance twist. Garry and Rozanna Muriwai will represent Martinborough Bowling Club, a club whose recent revival has been closely associated with the couple’s return to the region in 2021 and the leadership and renewed community energy they have brought with them. Rozanna has served as club president, and Garry brings a wider bowls perspective, having been appointed to the Bowls New Zealand Board in 2024. Together, they offer one of the weekend’s classic mixed-pairs narratives: partners on the green, contributors off it, and representatives of a small club with a big community heartbeat.

Waitarere Beach Bowling Club will be represented by husband-and-wife pair John and Gloria Michael, who earned their place after a tight Centre mixed pairs final. Reports from Bowls Kapiti Coast described John and Gloria edging Paekākāriki’s Dereck Taylor and Sammie Sweeney in a tense and thrilling finals match, to secure a place in the national finals at Pukekohe. Their story is exactly the kind that gives this event its charm: two clubmates, two partners, and one shared opportunity on the national stage.

Plimmerton Bowling Club’s Mark and Phillipa Christie add another husband-and-wife storyline. Phillipa is the club’s president and Mark the club delegate, pointing to a pair who are clearly invested in the life of their club beyond their own results. Recent club updates also show both names appearing in competitive contexts, including Phillipa among a successful women’s triples team which qualified for the national finals. For Plimmerton, the Christies’ presence at Pukekohe is not just about performance; it reflects the work, familiarity and shared commitment that keeps club bowls alive week after week.

The Bay of Plenty interest is carried by Tauranga Domain’s Gayle Melrose and Alvin Gardiner. This pairing brings plenty of bowling credibility. Bowls Bay of Plenty has described them as experienced Tauranga bowlers, while Gayle’s wider contribution to the sport has also been recognised nationally, including being named Bowls New Zealand Coach of the Year. Alvin appears regularly in Bay of Plenty representative selections and has won his fair share of national and centre titles, further underlining the depth of bowls experience in the combination. Together, they add another experienced and well-credentialled pairing to a strong national field.

Manurewa Cosmopolitan Bowling Club’s Dave Clark and Annie Sawers bring a South Auckland flavour to the weekend. The club itself is known for its all-weather artificial green and year-round play, while Dave Clark’s name is already well established in national bowls records. Bowls New Zealand has previously reported on Dave’s success, including being part of a team that won back-to-back National Fours titles, and his wider record includes achievements across club, centre and national events. Alongside Annie Sawers, he arrives at Pukekohe as part of another relationship pairing with enough experience to challenge any combination in the field.

From Tolaga Bay, father and daughter Don and Krystel Williams bring one of the strongest family threads in the field. Tolaga Bay Bowling Club is described by Bowls New Zealand as a small but very friendly club, and the club lists Krystel as its club secretary. For a small East Coast club to have a father-and-daughter combination step onto the national stage is a reminder of what Champion of Champion events do so well: they carry local club stories into a national spotlight.

That is the beauty of this weekend. Every bowl sent down the Pukekohe green will matter, but so too will the stories behind the players. The shared drives to tournaments, the practice sessions squeezed around work and family, the club volunteers who helped them qualify, the small moments of encouragement between ends — these are the things that make mixed pairs different. It is a discipline that asks two people to compete as one, and this year’s field is rich with combinations who already know what it means to lean on each other.

When the first bowls roll at Pukekohe Cosmopolitan Club, the event will be about far more than finding the best mixed-pairs combination in the country. It will be about families, partnerships, club pride and the human connections that keep bowls strong. In that sense, the Champion of Champion Mixed Pairs is not just a national final — it is a celebration of the people who make the game what it is.

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