Blenheim greens packed for fundraiser

The 15th Kevin Gallop Memorial Fundraiser tournament once again brought bowlers of all abilities together for a fun weekend - in support of a good cause.

The event, which has become a fixture on the local lawn bowls calendar since 2010, was staged at the Blenheim Bowling Club on April 20-21.

Twenty-nine teams of four took part, hailing from Marlborough, Nelson, Motueka and the Riverhead club in Auckland, a combination that included current Bowls NZ CEO Mark Cameron.

Individual players from Canterbury and Wellington also attended the two-day gathering, honouring the memory of Kevin Gallop, formerly a champion bowler from the Blenheim club who died in 1997, aged just 46, from leukaemia.

Fittingly, the Gallop name was to the forefront again this time around, the winning team consisting of Kevin’s brother Lloyd, his wife Jan, plus their sons Matt and Steven.

Last year Lloyd, Matt and Steven combined with Dennis Mills to take out the title.

After what was described as “a brilliant weekend of bowls”, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ benefitted to the tune of $8000 from entry fees, an auction and raffles.

The event was sponsored by the Pelorus Trust and the Waterfront Bar and Grill and Motels.

Results:

1st Gallop family - Matt, Steven, Jan and Lloyd Gallop - 6 wins 66 ends; 2nd Mark Grenfell, Mike McFadyen, Alisa Waters, Moira Carey - 6 wins 61 ends; 3rd Tony Fowler, Sheryl Riordan, Craig Fowler, Maurice Dodsworth - 6 wins 57 ends; 4th Robbie Reed, Scott Mansfield, Jordan Hart, Chris Young - 5 wins 1 draw 59 ends; 5th Brent Matthews, Noeline Bryant, Gary Brown, Fay Matthews - 5 wins 60 ends.