SATURDAY was the first day of the finals of the Outdoor Bowls Competitions at Wellington Bowling Club. There were five matches played - three in the morning and two in the afternoon.

The two finalists in the Ladies' Championship Singles were Wendy Scott and Lisa Dart. Wendy only took up bowls last year so she has done well to get to the final but she came up against a strong opponent in Lisa Dart. 

Left to right: Nick Channon, Phil Ellis, Ian Stewart, Tony Gibson
Left to right: Nick Channon, Phil Ellis, Ian Stewart, Tony Gibson (Tindle)

However Wendy started well and led by 4 shots to 1 after five ends but Lisa soon picked up the pace to overtake and win it 21 – 12. 

In the Men's Championship Singles final, two experienced very capable bowlers came up against one another - Nick Channon and Tony Gibson.

Tony got off to a very good start and led 8 – 0 after just four ends but Nick fought his way back and by the twentieth end they were level on 18 shots each.

A very tight and exciting match ended with Tony picking up the all important last shots to win it 22 – 18.

In the Ladies' Two Wood Singles final, Monica Carter played Christine Willcocks. Christine set off at a good pace, leading 10 – 4 after ten ends but Monica fought back well and by the 18th end she was only three shots behind on 15 – 12. Christine was not going to give it away and picked up the pace to take a well deserved 17 – 12 victory.

The Men's Handicap Singles final brought together two very good bowlers in Phil Ellis and Ian Stewart. Ian had a four shot advantage at the start but Phil soon got down to some serious bowling and overtook to take a nine shot lead. He held 17 shots to Ian's 8 after eleven ends and it all looked to be over for Ian. But he fought back hard in the end game, overtook Phil and won it in style 22 shots to 18. 

The last match of the day was the Amy Stanton Mixed Pairs final between Allan and Shirley Samuel against Pete and Marguerite Nichols. Allan and Shirley struggled in the early part of the game and found themselves 18 – 5 down after nine ends, but they fought back hard and were only eight shots behind when the last end was played. They had done their best but the deserving champions were Pete and Marguerite Nichols who won it 22 – 14.

At the end of the first day of competitions the Ladies' Championship champion is Lisa Dart. In the Men's Championship, this year's champion is Tony Gibson and the Ladies' Two Wood Champion is Christine Willcocks.

Ian Stewart is the Men's Handicap Singles Champion and Pete and Marguerite Nichols are the Amy Stanton Mixed Pairs Champions.