Rain put a dampener on progress through to the final round in each of the Bowls Dunedin open fours tournaments at the weekend.
With rain setting in and halting play at the business end of the semifinal stage, any prospect of rounding off the weekend with the playing of a final of each of the men's and women's open competition was curtailed.
While a time is still to be finalised for the men's final, the final of the women's competition will now be played at 5pm on Thursday at Taieri.
In the women's competition, hopes of host club Taieri securing the silverware hinge on its team of Judy Robertson, Jean Young, Karen Gordon and Jenny Dyhrberg, who took Saddle Hill bragging rights in ending the runs of two in-form teams from Green Island.
In quarterfinal play the Robertson-skipped Taieri combination sent the Shannon McEwan-skipped Green Island combination packing, 20-12. Then it accounted for the Lyn Rance combination 17-8 just before the heavens opened and the green was flooded.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw the North East Valley combination of Bronwyn Stevens, Ange Francis, Brooke Craig and Shona Mann progressed to the final with a 12-10 cliff-hanger victory over the Taieri combination of Jan Barclay, Beth Brown, Lorraine Turnbull and Wendy Winton, just as the rain came on the final end of their semifinal encounter.
Prior to this the Stevens-skipped North East Valley combination was in sublime form, recording some impressive victories, none more so than its quarterfinal 20-11 victory over the Fairfield four of Cathy Isaac-Croot, Tania Beattie, Gail Meddings and Julie Alexander.
The Fairfield club, will however, have representation in the final of the men's competition with its team of Regan Larkin, John Latimer, Reece Aiken and Roger Barron progressing through after its nail-biting 14-13 victory over a determined St Kilda combination of Murray Wilson, Owen Bennett, Karl Tamati and Gareth Seddon.
It was possibly a battle-weary St Kilda team that fronted in the semifinal, following an impressive 16-3 drubbing of the Keanu Darby-skipped four from the host North East Valley club in the quarterfinals.
But laying in wait from the other side of the draw is an impressive combination from Forbury Park, skipped by Oliver Mason.
The Mason four, also comprising Glenn Murtagh, Nigel Thompson and Duane White, overcame an early fright in the first round of post section when it had to pull out all stops in a 13-12 victory over a second combination from Forbury Park of Andy Calender, Steve Wilson, Steve Fleming and Pete Wilson. But that early scare spurred it into action with two runaway victories in both the quarter and semifinals to secure a place in the final.
