Bowl'n With the Homies

Written by Francesca Emms | Photography by Ant Green

On a balmy evening, 60 bowlers are on the greens at the Wilton Bowling Club. They’re halfway through the annual Mates in Bowls competition, a seven-week season of coaching, raffles, sausage sizzles, round robin tournament, trophies and $15 jugs of Panhead. Club Members Brian and Peter run the event, which is part of a nationwide initiative offering an introduction to lawn bowls in a fun and friendly setting. Brian says, ‘If you stay for one evening, what you’ll feel is a sense of real camaraderie and enjoyment.’

Two teams that keep coming back are Suite As and Men Behaving Badly. Over the years both teams have had their names engraved on the coveted Mates in Bowls trophy (Suite As three times) and both teams have been left holding the jandal. ‘It’s a blue jandal, painted gold, on a stand,’ says Ian from Men Behaving Badly, ‘It’s a hideous thing. It wouldn’t be allowed in your house.’ The jandal is awarded to the best team who don’t make it to the finals, or ‘the best of the losers.’

(Back row) Suite As: Andrew, Scott and Stu (Front row) Men Behaving Badly: Giorgio, Ian and Phil

‘At the start, people are just learning’, says Brian. ‘But as the season progresses, over the seven weeks, they get more and more competitive. When they get to the finals they play some tremendous bowls.’ Stu, a member of Suite As for six years, describes it as really social, ‘but with a competitive edge and lots of banter.’ First-time bowler Amber says she started out ok, ‘but then people got serious.’ Her team, The Simple Jacks, are defeated by Suite As in their first game of the night but she’s unfazed. The more experienced players are happy to give newbies tips to improve their game.

Stu says it’s the ‘team-mates, the people and the atmosphere’ that keep him coming back. ‘And you can’t beat the surroundings.’ He indicates Otari-Wilton’s Bush. ‘It’s a good spot.’