Cook Islands Bowling Association acknowledged their Men’s Fours team’s achievement at the 2023 World Bowls Tournament after missing the nomination deadline for CISNOC Sports Awards due to internal miscommunication.

The Cook Islands Bowling Association (CIBA) congratulates the recipients of the recent Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) Sports Awards held at The Edgewater Resort and Spa.

Due to internal miscommunication, the association failed to meet the CISNOC deadline for nominations.

However, CIBA would like to share the achievements of their successful team who represented the country at the 2023 World Bowls Tournament that was held in the Gold Coast, Australia. The tournament featured players from 54 countries.

The Cook Islands Bowling Men’s Fours included Aidan Zittersteijn (Lead), Adoni Wichman Rairoa (Second), Taiki Paniani (Third) and Teora Turua (Skipper).

The men’s four rated an automatic A1 after making the playoffs then carrying the fight to Scotland through all fifteen ends of a nail-biting quarter-final.

Cook Islands started their tournament in Section 1 and set the tone in their first two matches, beating fellow contenders Fiji and South Africa in the opener, before going down to New Zealand in a sternly contested match.

Already, they had faced two of their toughest opponents, and splitting these games gave them a good position moving forward.

They continued their winning streak against India, Singapore, and Switzerland and went down against Zimbabwe by a point.

This second-place finish in Section 1 qualified the Cook Islands for the quarter-finals.

It was a tough match against Scotland. The Cook Islands fought valiantly but ultimately went down, finishing in eighth place out of 54 countries. Scotland progressed to the final, where they lost to Australia.

In a statement, CIBA said the Cook Islands Men’s Fours team has set the benchmark for the next major international event that will be held next year in Hong Kong.

“With the same players on the basis of teams in the immediate future, their achievement takes on more importance than even a top-eight finish on its own implies.

“Already Taiki Paniani and Teora Turua have just recently became runner-up to the Auckland 2024 National Triples Champion.”

All in all, CIBA, its members, and families are very proud of their team who represented the Cook Islands at the international level.

“We would like to acknowledge CISNOC for their funding assistance and support in getting our team to the World Tournament in 2023 and we look forward to their support in our next regional and international participation representing our small paradise.”