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3/7/2018

Seamus Curtin on a roll after semi-finals finish at Australian Open

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Seamus Curtin has earned a well-earned winter break.
 
Back at school at Aotea College, Seamus has been reflecting on an outstanding lawn bowls season that culminated in him finishing third equal at the Australian Open earlier this month.
 
Competing against many of the world’s best lawn bowlers, Seamus won his section of four and then went on a giant-killing run in knockout post-section play to go within a whisker of making the final.
 
“I lost to the tournament winner Ryan Bester in the semi-final, who is also one of the world’s leading bowlers,” said Seamus.
 
Seamus pushed Bester all the way, with the semi-final locked up at 14-14 at one stage in a race to 21 shots, before Bester pulled ahead and won 21-15.
 
“He was also playing at his home club. He is from Canada but based on the Gold Coast and he won the silver medal at the recent Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”
 
Seamus had won his previous quarter-final match 21-20 against former World Champion of Champion singles winner Scott Thulborn and beaten some other accomplished bowlers prior to that.
 
There were 2,000 competitors at the Australian Open and over 800 in the men’s open singles. The tournament lasted over a week. Seamus was representing the Stokes Valley Bowling Club.
 
If that wasn’t enough, Seamus was also part of a successful fours team at the tournament. “We made the semi-final of that too, so I was stoked with my trip. Overall, there was a bunch of us that went over for the tournament, so it was great to have that support while we were there.”
 
“This was definitely that up there with my best achievements.”
 
Seamus earned praise for having nerves of steel and for appearing unflustered in rattling off a string of victories in reaching the final four of the singles tournament.
 
He provided an insight into his mindset.
 
“My first goal was to go over and qualify and then to just focus on each game and do the best I could do each time.”
 
 “It is quite funny going over to an Australian event because you don’t know many of the people and who you are matched up against. So you could be playing someone who is a state champion or well known locally that you don’t know.”
As for his opposition, if they didn’t know how him beforehand they will. He will definately be flying above the radar when he heads back over for this tournament next year.
 
His exploits in the Australian Open are the combination of a fairytale season on the greens for Seamus, who first represented New Zealand in year 10 in 2015 at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2015 and won a silver medal.
 
As well as reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open, he finished third in the singles at the National Championships in Dunedin at the start of the year.
 
“This was a massive achievement for me too, it was a big tournament and I had to qualify and win several post-section games. That was an open tournament as well, so I was playing against New Zealand players.”
 
He beat Scottish international Ryan Burnett 21-17 in the quarter-final, bowing out to beaten finalist Andrew Kelly of Canterbury in the semi-final 17-21 after leading 12-4 after 12 ends of the semi-final.
 
At Nationals, he also finished runner-up in the fours and reached the quarter-finals of the pairs.
 
“Another recent highlight would have been playing for Wellington at the inter-centre championships in March and April. I played singles for Wellington and we won.”
 
Over four consecutive weekends, New Zealand Development squad member Seamus played 33 Singles games, winning 31 of them.
 
In May he won the Emerging Sportsman of the Year at the Hutt Valley Sports Awards.
 
There used to be a New Zealand Secondary Schools Lawn Bowls Championships, but this recently changed to a national U18 event. “I have been playing in the U18s and U21s for the past couple of years and will so again this year.”
 
“It’s been a big season for me, so now it is time for a break,” concluded the Aotea College Head Boy. “I have a bit of school work to catch up on, but I will get back into in September.”

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20/2/2016 Comments

Bright future on the greens for Seamus Curtin

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Seamus Curtin has just started year 11 at Aotea College. Last year he won a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa. Last week he competed against a legend of his sport and three-time world champion, Peter Belliss. At the end of this month he travels to Christchurch to represent New Zealand in a Development series against Australia. Then it’s the National U18 tournament, which has recently replaced the NZSSC nationals.

The sport is lawn bowls, and Seamus is fast making a name for himself as a future star on the greens. New Zealand Bowls national coach and selector Dave Edwards said: “We are super impressed with Seamus, he’s is only aged 15 but he is more like a 30-year old as far as maturity is goes and a dedicated young player so he’s getting the rewards.”

“He made his debut for New Zealand at the Youth Commonwealth games last year, as a result of some good performances domestically. It’s a real feather in Seamus’s cap to now earn selection in this squad to play Australia.”

Seamus is one of four U18 players selected in the New Zealand Development teams ( two in each of the men’s and women’s teams) to play Australia. The others are Bradley Down (Onslow College), Ashleigh Jeffcoat (Hamilton Girls’ High School) and Mackenzie Blucher (St Dominic’s College).
This week College Sport Media caught up with Aotea College’s Seamus about his growing career as a lawn bowler.

Congratulations on being selected to play Australia in early March, was this what you were working towards?
This was the goal that I was aiming for at the start of the season. We knew that the team was going to be selected after the Nationals tournament in the New Year. So there was a nervous wait and then I got the call from Dave Edwards saying that I was in the team which was awesome.

You made the semi-finals in the pairs at Nationals?
Yes, I made the semi-finals in the pairs with Euan Wong [aged 22], who has also been selected in the development series. I also played the singles and the fours. I won two out of three in both events but this wasn’t enough to qualify for the main rounds. 

You are playing in the pairs and fours in the series against Australia?
Yes, I’ll be playing lead in both the pairs and the fours. I’ll also be teaming up with Euan again in the pairs. We know each other’s dynamics, which will be great.

Year 13 Onslow College student Bradley Down is also in the squad – have you played much with him?
He used to go to Aotea College, before leaving for Onslow College. We’ve had some great battles and we’re pretty even together – it’s good to have that competition.

You’ll be gearing up for the National U18s at the end of March?
Yes, definitely. The tournament has been moved, but the one time I played it last time I got third in the pairs. So I’m looking forward to playing in that.

How special was representing New Zealand at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa last year?
That was probably the biggest event I have competed in. It was awesome winning a silver medal as well, in the singles. My goal was to get a medal and whatever colour it was I’d be happy. I played an Australian in the final, and I might be playing against him in the upcoming development series.  I also played mixed pairs with Ashleigh Jeffcoat and we just missed out on a medal, coming fourth. Another highlight was being around other athletes and sports and watching them competing.

Is your success inspiring others at your school to take up your sport?
Yes definitely, we are getting lot of new bowlers at Aotea College, which is healthy. We have also got Finbar McGuligan who I’ve been mates with for a while. We got him involved just after I started.

How long have you been playing for and how did you take it up?
This is my sixth season. I was introduced to it through my parents and I was down on the green when I was about six. When I turned 10 I decided I would take it competitively and it went from there.

How often do you practice?
Not every day, because it is really hard to manage time with school work and down time. I have games most weekends and practice about three-four times during the week.

Bowls is not a physical sport like rugby, so how much of it is mental?
It can get physically taxing, being outside on your feet for long periods in hot conditions. I remember in Samoa I was walking up and down from 9am to 5pm in the heat. You have to stay focused. Mental is massive though. Bowls New Zealand say it’s 95 percent mental and 5 percent technical.

Do you play other sports, or do you just concentrate on Bowls?
I also play basketball for Aotea College, and enjoy that as well.

Do you have role models in your sport that you’d like to emulate?
Peter Belliss is a legend in the game. I’d love to achieve what he has done. I actually played him last week! I was playing for Wellington against Wanganui, where he is from. He was just really composed and gave nothing away as to what he was thinking or doing. He’s actually a New Zealander selector right now, so that was good timing!
​
What are your long-term goals?
I want to represent a top New Zealand team before I turn 25. So that means I have got ten years to do it. 

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