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The Southland indoor bowls team is “over the moon” about being promoted to the top division, one of its members says.
Southland won the National Interprovincial Indoor Bowls Championship division two tournament in Christchurch at the weekend.
The win promotes the team to division one for next year’s tournament.
There are four divisions in the interprovincial competition and each division has six teams in it.
Each team of eight comprised an A and B team.
B team skip Graham Low said it was the goal of the team to make it into the premier league.
“We’re over the moon, thrilled to bits.
“It’s the pinnacle of the game as far as team districts are concerned.”
Southland had been in the top league once before about three years ago, he said.
It was a full-on weekend, Low said.
Players competed in fours, pairs and singles and played 15 games for the tournament.
Play started on Friday and then three games were played on Saturday and one on Sunday.
“Mentally, it’s exhausting.”
The games were close all weekend and Southland edged out Upper Hutt for first place by 2.5 points.
Southland’s Shawn Perry won 13 games and was player of the tournament.
The success of the team was due to the calibre of its players and camaraderie, he said.
“We’ve got a good mix of players, and all the players know each other’s play and know how to get the best out of those players, and [are] extremely compatible.”