A relatively unknown bowler has played the tournament of his life to win the men’s singles title at the 2025 Summerset National Lawn Bowls Championships.
Auckland’s Matt Berry (Pringle Park) claimed the national title following a dream day which saw him win four matches, including the final where he met Dunedin Blackjack Keanu Darby (Forbury Park).
38-year-old Berry remained calm throughout the finals, despite his previous highest achievements being club titles.
“It feels surreal, I only just qualified for the event and then I put this shirt on and I haven’t lost a game since,” said Berry.
“I’m happy and surprised. I knew I had it in me, so I just gave it a crack and came out on top.”
The final was a nail-biting match which lasted for more than two hours at the Browns Bay Bowling Club in Auckland.
There was little separating the pair, with the lead changing hands several times as both bowlers put their skills on display. Berry was slightly more consistent with his bowls, eventually getting the better of Darby in a 21-17 victory.
In the Women's Pairs final, the competition was equally fierce in a see-sawing match which saw Auckland’s Olivia Bloomfield and Lisa Prideaux take on the young pairing of Ashleigh Jeffcoat and Henrietta Scott.
Bloomfield and Prideaux were clinical from the outset to take an early 5-0 lead, but Jeffcoat and Scott refused to back down, with some disciplined bowling seeing them take the lead.
The match had a thrilling finale with the score tied at 13-all going into the 17th end. Ultimately, the experience of the Auckland pairing set them apart, with the duo taking a 14-13 win.
“That was a really tense match, Ashleigh and Henrietta played really well,” said Bloomfield. “Luckily Lisa led from the front and I just had to tidy up from the back!”
The Championship win means Prideaux now holds three Open Women’s Pairs titles, following her wins alongside Val Smith in 2019 and 2021.
“The young ones played really well and we just had a bit of luck and some bowls in the right positions,” said Prideaux.
“This win ranks right up there, it’s been a great few days of action.”
The day began with the Open Disability Pairs final which saw Kurt Smith and Teri Blackbourn take on Graham Skellern and Chen Naude.
Smith and Blackbourn started strong, taking a huge 5 points in the first end which they soon followed up with a 4-point end to lead 9-1.
Skellern and Naude then found their rhythm and tried to work their way back into the match but the early deficit was simply too great to overcome with Smith (Paritutu) and Blackbourn (Claudelands) winning the national title 26-15.
The days play concluded the 2025 Summerset National Lawn Bowls Championships where six titles were decided over a thrilling week of competition.
New Zealand’s elite Blackjack bowlers will next be in action in the Trans-Tasman series in Wellington from January 31st.
Men’s Singles Champion: Matt Berry
Women’s Singles Champion: Debbie White
Disability Singles Champion: Adam Baillie
Men’s Pairs Champions: Lance Pascoe, Jamie Hill
Women’s Pairs Champions: Olivia Bloomfield, Lisa Prideaux
Disability Pairs Champions: Kurt Smith, Teri Blackbourn
