Burnside Bowling Club will once again host some of New Zealand’s and Australia’s finest
lawn bowling talent in this year’s Rawleigh’s Stewart Buttar Invitation Burnside Pairs.

The prestigious $14,000 tournament, which has Rawleigh’s as its major sponsor, is one of the
premier events on New Zealand’s bowling calendar.

This year’s field of 48 pairs combinations includes many of New Zealand’s top players, as
well as four Australian pairings selected by Bowls Australia – with several previous winners
in the mix.

Of the Australian players, Nathan Black, Dawn Hayman, and Ben Twist are the best known.
Nathan Black is a star of the future; he was crowned Most Valuable Player in the recent
BPL20 tournament in Australia, and was a winner of the Burnside Pairs with Cohen Litfin
in 2023.

Dawn Hayman has been one of the top Australian women bowlers for a few years
now, and won a gold and a silver medal at the 2023 World Bowls Championships. Ben
Twist has been a regular in the top Australian teams for several years and was a silver
medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Of our New Zealand contenders, Burnside’s Tayla Bruce and her playing partner Keanu
Darby will be a team to watch, along with the well-known playing combination of Jo Edwards and Val Smith.

Kerry Becks and Paddy Stewart, last year’s winners, and Shaun Scott and Sean O’Neill, both previous winners, are also expected to compete well.

However, it is a great field with a multitude of strong players and there are plenty of others who will be hoping to claim the trophy.

Play begins at 8.30am on Friday 17 January, with four games of two hours to be played - so it will be a long day for all involved.

Play continues through Saturday and Sunday, with finals on Sunday afternoon.

Burnside Bowling Club invites any interested spectators to come along throughout the event to witness, what is sure to be, an outstanding and exciting three days of lawn bowls.

The club is situated at 330 Avonhead Road, admittance is free, and parking is plentiful.