Gore bowler named New Zealand Player of the Year
Sheldon Bagrie-Howley has become a talisman for Gore. And for Southland. And now New Zealand.
Sheldon Bragrie-Howley has added yet another honour to his already impressive year.
The Gore bowler has been named Bowls New Zealand’s men’s Player of the Year.
In Auckland in January this year, Bagrie-Howley won the National Singles Championships … the first person from the Gore Bowling Club and indeed, the first person from Southland ever to win the 108 year-old tournament.
None of his opponents even reached double figures in the first-to-21 games, and he went through six post-section games to finally win the final 21-15 against former World Champion Shannon McIlroy.
In Central Otago a couple of months later, the Southlander and his teammate, Selina Goddard, still finished second in the National Open Mixed Pairs after going down to Dean Gilshnan and Lisa White in the final. And with his Fours team of Caleb Hope, Keanu Darby and Oliver Mason, Bagrie-Howley still finished in the top eight going down in the quarter-finals at the National Open Fours played at the same tournament.
At the National Intercentre Sevens Championships in March, the Southland Men’s Seven, which included Bagrie-Howley, came second in the 26 Centre tournament, going down to the New Zealand’s largest Centre: Auckland.
But in the National Interclub Sevens it was a different story. Bagrie-Howley and his team from the Gore Bowling Club went all the way and came away with the title … the first time a Southland team had ever won the comp.
No one had a better start to the year in National competition than Bagrie-Howley. His results were remarkable.
Those results made it very difficult for the national selectors to say ‘no’ to Bagrie-Howley for the Multi-Nations Series on the Gold Coast later that month where he won four of his seven games in the Singles to finish fifth. He was again selected for the Blackjacks to represent New Zealand in the World Championships at the Gold Coast at the end of August.
That’s just at national and international level.
Bagrie-Howley has still managed to win the Southland Centre Triples, the Southland Interclub Sevens, the Southland Centre Singles, and the Southland Champion of Champion Pairs …adding up to a tally of 21 Centre titles.
And in between all the bowls, this year Sheldon was a finalist for Sportsperson of the Year in the ILT Southland Sports Awards. At the same awards, Sheldon won Southland’s ‘Sporting Moment of the Year’ for his win in the National Open Singles.
It’s been a great year for the Southlander on the green, but even much less noticeably off the green where he supports, inspires, motivates and coaxes the bowls community around him.
He has become a talisman for Gore. And for Southland. And now New Zealand.