Bowls: Sarah Scott adds to legacy

Sarah Scott
Sarah Scott
The Scott legacy continues. Sarah Scott (North East Valley) was named Dunedin woman bowler of the year at the annual awards night at Mosgiel at the weekend.

The men's bowler of the year trophy was shared by Bobby Johnson (Wakari) and Peter Wilson (Forbury Park).

The award to Sarah (32) was watched proudly by her father, Terry Scott, who has won the top men's award on five occasions. Two uncles, Jim Scott and Shaun Scott, are also past winners of the award.

Sarah, the only family member of her generation to play bowls seriously, made her international debut last season for the New Zealand development team in the Trans Tasman series against Australia.

"The Australians play a more aggressive game than us and are always attacking the jack,'' Sarah said.

"You have to do it to them before they do it to you.''

Her father, uncles Jim and Shaun, and great-uncles Kevin and Bill all played for New Zealand.

Sarah won her first Bowls Dunedin title in the champion of champions triples last season and later added the champion of champions pairs.

She reached the quarterfinals of the women's singles at the national championships in Christchurch.

"I'm stoked to win the award. It has been a very good season for me.''

It was a courageous effort by Johnson (54) that enabled him to share the men's' trophy as he was diagnosed with bone cancer last year and has had regular stem-cell treatment.

"Bowls has kept me going and helped take my mind off my problems,'' he said.

Johnson, who was runner-up to clubmate Nigel Birkbeck two years ago, won his seventh centre title in the open fours and was runner-up in the open triples.

"I set a goal to reach seven centre titles and I did that. To share the trophy is a bonus for me,'' Johnson said.

Wilson won the open triples and champion of champions fours.

Caversham won the Bridgman Plate in the second section of the Four Fours competition to gain promotion to the top-ranked Holmes Feathers for the first time in 16 years.

Life member and patron Alec Sinclair received the trophy on behalf of the club he joined in 1955.

Sinclair (74) has been an active member of the Caversham club for 61 years and is the longest-serving member of any bowling club in the Bowls Dunedin Centre.

He won his only Dunedin centre title in the leads and seconds in 1961 in a fours team with Jack McGregor, Alex Barr and Bert Stokes.

"When I joined the club in 1955 we had 120 men and 60 active women members,'' Sinclair recalled.

Forbury Park won the George Payton Memorial, the trophy awarded for the best average ranking in men's events played during the summer.

Green Island won the Jean Shelton trophy for the best average ranking in women's events.

It was helped by the junior women's four of Sarah Ibbotson, Lee Grigg, Pam Sizemore and Lynn Baird which won its fifth consecutive event.

Ibbotson, the skip for the past four years, and Grigg were members of the team on each of their five junior years.

Jonty Horwell (Kaikorai) was runner-up in the national Kitty Hawk (under-21) singles.

Barbara Archer was named the most improved senior woman and played a key role in Taieri winning all but one women's team event on the Bowls Dunedin programme.

Stuart Aiken (Fairfield) was named the best greenkeeper and Jean Shelton (Westpac Stadium) the volunteer of the year.

 

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