For the first time in 35 years, a South Canterbury indoor bowler has been selected to represent New Zealand.
Jenelle Lockyer has been named in the New Zealand Indoor Bowls ‘‘Mat Blacks’’ transtasman team to play against Australia in May, chosen to lead the women’s triples and women’s fours.
She is the first local bowler to be chosen to represent New Zealand since Rana Bleeker’s 1991 selection, and only the fourth overall, following in the footsteps of Isobel Mortimer in 1975, Marion Patrick in 1989, and Bleeker in 1987, 1989 and 1991.
As well as being a first-timer, Lockyer is the only South Canterbury member of the team for the three-day event, some of whom — like captain Simon Thomas — have been representing New Zealand for years.
Lockyer received a phone call early in December saying she had made the New Zealand side, and to listen for the announcement.
‘‘So I thought, maybe I was a reserve. Listening out the next day, I actually missed the broadcast . . .and then I got all these texts saying ‘congratulations’ so I thought, ‘I better go and watch it back’, so I did that, and I wasn’t a reserve.’’
She admits her response might not have been what was expected.
‘‘For some people, there’s probably elation . . .but for me, it was, has it happened yet? Pinch me, is it real? Maybe it’s going to take until I’m in the New Zealand uniform.’’
In the meantime, Lockyer — a push bowler — has until May to get to grips with the international mat she will be playing on in Tasmania. It is different from the mats used in New Zealand, so she felt like she was learning a whole new game.
Being selected for the New Zealand team is just the latest in a long list of achievements Lockyer has notched up since she first picked up a bowl for a social game about 22 years ago.
Lockyer did not stay at social level for long, getting her first taste of competition when the church-based St Paul’s club she belonged to was invited by St Joseph’s — a club affiliated to the South Canterbury federation — to play in a club tournament.
‘‘And so, when we went along to that competition, I was like, ‘oh, there’s more!’ And of course, I wanted to play more.’’
Lockyer’s competitiveness has been a constant throughout her life, in highland dancing, gymnastics and athletics.
‘‘I think the key of it is if you are committed and really love something, you will try your best to try and perform well.
‘‘What I like about indoor bowls is that you can still have fun on the mat. And, you think it’s simple, that it should be a case of just line and length. But each of the mats vary, the bowls between the older style, and the new style, the speeds are different, some mats on some floors are totally different, each floor plays differently.’’
While her competitiveness was ingrained, it has taken time and support over the years to give her the confidence to play at national level in both club — winning three New Zealand titles — and federation competitions.
She credits fellow player John Whiting for much of it, playing federation mixed pairs with him all the way through to winning the 2022 New Zealand final.
‘‘Playing with John over that time, I have to give credit to him. He’s brought me out of my shell, made me more confident because he believed in me. It’s a really important part in any sport, having somebody believe in you. And he believed I had the ability.
‘‘He would ask me to do some horrendous shots, which in my head, I was cringing and thinking, ‘I can’t do that’. But he believed that I could do it. And I would often do it. And so, through him doing that, that’s grown me and my confidence.’’
Lockyer said South Canterbury Indoor Bowls’ achievements over the last few years had also been a factor.
South Canterbury has progressed from Division 4 at interprovincial level to Division 3 last year, and is in Division 2 this year, the top 12 in the country, opening the door to increasingly high levels of competition for local bowlers.
‘‘As a province, we’ve done exceptionally well.’’
