National Awards for Bowls North Harbour – High Achievers

  • September 22, 2025

North Harbour’s most successful bowler of recent years and two of its major contributors have received major honours in Bowls New Zealand’s annual awards.

   Black Jack Selina Goddard, of the Takapuna club, has been named female player of the year, Sue Rossiter, of Milford, national umpire of the year, and Pete Sheehan, president of Browns Bays for the past six years, has been acclaimed club person of of the year.

  Selina has been recognised for her outstanding playing deeds while involved in Australia’s highly competitive environment, notably her feat in winning three titles at the Victorian Open, the singles, the pairs and triples.  One player winning three titles in a tournament which included world class players is almost precedent. Selina also won the Australian Open pairs title as well as several other competitions with the Cabramatta club in New South Wales.

 As one of the country’s most qualified umpires, Sue officiated at all of last season’s major tournaments, including in leadership roles the world champion of champion singles at Browns Bay and the nationals at the same venue.  Sue was for some seasons the president of Bowls North Harbour’s Umpires Association and her successor in the role, Sheryl Wellington, gives Sue unqualified praise.

 “What makes Sue a real treasure is her willingness to share her umpiring expertise throughout the Upper North Island,” she says. Sue has visited many clubs and centres and has actively helped in recruiting and training new umpires.

 Few in Bowls North Harbour, from other clubs as well as Browns Bay, will be surprised with the national accolade which has been bestowed on Pete Sheehan. He has been an absolute colossus with the work he has put in, for several seasons besides his momentous 2024-25.  He was the organising maestro behind Browns Bay hosting several high profile tournaments, especially the Masters, the world champion of champion singles and the national singles and pairs.

 Browns Bay secretary Lin East describes Pete as “an amazing club leader” and his feats over the last year as “remarkable.”

Pete wears a variety of hats at Browns Bay, Green Superintendent, overseeing the bar, tournament manager, selector, coach as well as being a more than useful player himself. One special highlight for the club has been having 27 first year players in the past season. And 65 players in the one-to-five years. Says Lin: “Pete is not just a talker or a listener, he is a doer as well.”