Longtime bowling enthusiast Terry Green doesn’t know how — with his nickname “Grumpy Green” — he got to be crowned sporting personality of the year. But the Raglan man must’ve done something right to be selected from 60 nominees at the 2009 Waikato district sports awards at Hopuhopu last week.

Terry Green
Whatever it was, he and his wife Brigid were “gobsmacked”. Terry’s tickled pink all the same, having played about 50 representative games with Hamilton City Bowling Club throughout 22 years, at junior development and senior level, where he’s won every championship including the singles once. And since retiring to Raglan five years ago — where his Bow Street home overlooks just about everything from the bar to the bowling green —Terry’s coached the locals who he reckons now play a much better game, and to whom he also owes his award because they nominated him for coach of the year.