Bowls: Freeman farewells Dunedin in style

Josh Freeman at the North East Valley Bowling Club. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Josh Freeman at the North East Valley Bowling Club. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Josh Freeman has ended his time as chairman in style by winning the male Bowls Dunedin bowler of the year title.

It was the first time the chairman or president of the centre had been able to combine the administration role with deeds on the green.

Freeman (25), the youngest chairman or president of Bowls Dunedin, leaves Dunedin next week for a new job as pharmacist for the Rural Flying Doctor Service in Central Queensland.

Freeman won the male bowler of the year competition with 14 points, followed by fellow North East Valley bowlers Terry Scott and Mark Watt who shared second place with 12 points.

Carolyn Crawford (St Clair) won the women's title with 22 points from Sue Hodges (Outram) on 20.

Both trophies were presented at the awards night at the Taieri Bowling Club last night.

Freeman won the open triples and champion of champion triples and was third in the champion of champions pair.

Watt, who won the New Zealand secondary schools pairs title with Freeman in 2003, was in Freeman's team for the two triples wins.

They first played together at East Otago High School in Palmerston.

"We have a rapport with each other and can communicate on the green with non-verbal signs," Freeman said.

Freeman leaves Dunedin with three centre titles. He also has a New Zealand title as well as a member of the North East Valley Sevens team that won the national interclub competition.

"That was a special moment for me and topped off a fantastic season," he said.

Freeman had to juggle his time carefully to combine bowls administration with success on the green.

"But it has made me a tougher player and has given me more grit and determination," he said.

Freeman had joint membership with North East Valley and Kaikorai last season and won titles at both clubs.

He won the champion of champions triples at North East Valley and the champion of champions pairs at Kaikorai.

He has won a club title in his first year at the five clubs he has played for - Palmerston, Fairfield, Fendalton (Christchurch), Kaikorai and North East Valley.

He has a combined total of 20 club titles.

The highlights of his time as chairman of the board of Bowls Dunedin was to host the New Zealand secondary schools championships in December and the national bowl championships after Christmas.

His biggest disappointment was to see a drop of 5% in the registered membership of the centre that now has 1786 bowlers on its books.

"There has been a significant drop in membership since the amalgamation of the old men's and women's centres into Bowls Dunedin in 2000," Freeman said.

"One-third of the membership has been wiped off since amalgamation."

 

Add a Comment