The weather certainly put the “winter” into Winterclub last weekend, with the fourth round abandoned in three of the four sections as the forecast rain arrived and left several venues unplayable.

Pringle Park Thunder remain atop Section One after adding another three rink points to their tally. With the second round abandoned, each team received one rink point. Balmoral 1 climbed three places into third and remain firmly in contention for a playoff spot.

Section Two benefited from a fortunate draw, with both venues allocated to covered greens, allowing all scheduled matches to be completed. Leaders MABC Lions moved to 6.5 rink points after collecting another 2.5 points over the weekend. Their drawn match against Papatoetoe proved valuable, particularly after second-placed Carlton Cornwall Tui dropped both rinks to Balmoral in round four.

In Section Three, Howick Bronzies retained the lead they established in week one, while Pringle Park Lightning and Henderson Ozich both climbed three places in the standings. Pringle Park collected the full three points, while Henderson was unable to completely capitalise on home advantage, drawing one rink 28–28 and winning the other 39–22 against Onehunga Sting.

Week-one leaders St Heliers Sinners faced the equally impressive Howick Hammerheads in Section Four, but it was Carlton Cornwall Kereru who emerged on top after day two. Kereru collected two rink points against hosts Maraetai to move to the head of the section.

Maraetai’s coastal microclimate meant play could have continued, but with venues across Auckland affected by the rain, the final round was abandoned across the section. That leaves everything to play for in the remaining rounds, with several heavy hitters still in contention.

Despite the cold and rain, the true spirit of Winterclub was on full display. Reports of soup, hāngī, plenty of cups of tea and outstanding camaraderie came through from hosting venues across Auckland, and plenty of smiles have been shared.

Thank you to every club that hosted in the challenging conditions, and to all players for their cooperation as we worked to maximise playing opportunities wherever reasonably possible.

Thankfully, the extended forecast is showing sunshine for this Sunday following clearing showers on Saturday, setting the stage for an exciting conclusion to section play.