Bowling

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 66, 19 March 1931, Page 19

Bowling

By "No Two"

ONE-DAY TOURNEYS LYALL BAY AND ISLAND BAY — ■ . I A WONDERFUL.FEAT Ono-day bg.wling tournaments arc becoming incicasingly popular in Wellington. In Auckland such gatherings have'been a regular'feature for years, and havo always atti acted liboral entries, but ■Wellington bowlers have not gone in for them to any extent, except afc su.ch times as bank holidays. This season, however, there has been a now and it has been attended ■with success in each case. Upper Hutt recently conducted such a tournament, and now tho Lyall Bay Club has followed suit. Island Bay Club proposes to told a tournament next Wednesday for the Earthquake Belief Fund. It has been suggested that the Centre slould organise a similar function as well. The idea is a good one, but tho season is gotting late now, and unless i tho number of heads is restricted a difficulty arises in reaching finality, and there is such a thing as cutting down the length of a gamo too much. However, there is nothing like making hay •■whilo the sun shines, and ovcu if it docs mean having to imish a gamo by matchlighl, such as was done at Lyall Bay on Monday, what does it matter jf the object ib a good one? If other tournaments are to be hold it might be wise to make a start at 9 a.m. m view of tho fact that it gets dark so quickly in the evening now, and overyono docs not possess cat's-oyes. ~ Thero was a full entry of 16 rinks for the one-day tourney held by the Lyall Bay Bowling Clnb on Monday. Play commended at 9.30' a.m. sharp, after the president of the club, Mr. W. F.1 Sherwood, bad extended a hearty welcome to the contestants. A fresh northerly prevailed, which somewhat ( marred the pleasures of bowling, and for the first few heads the bank was well decorated with ditchers. Players, however, appreciated tho humorous side of tho situation, especially when only throe or four bowls remained on a rink when tho skips wenb down} to do their bit, and the- shot bowl was lying yards from kitty. In spite of tho weather conditions a very enjoyable _ day was spent by bowlers, and at times some Very Creditable heads werto seen. Bradley won his section B straight-out with £vo wins. "A" section, however, was ■neU contested, and it rested witn Por,J.pous (Wellington)/ A. Wells (Hataitai), and Crawford (Karori) ,tb find the •winner.in, a- play-off of five heads. Porteoua. went down to Wells, and when the latter mot Crawford a gruelling contesf ensued, mostly in- tho- dark. On the fourth head Wells was 2 up. On the fifth and last Head Crawford was 3 dowrf when the skip.'s turn camo, and his chances of success looked very remote, as ho had already killed one head, which was tho number of dead heads allowed each side without, penalty. With his first bowl Crawford trailed tho jack, 'lying 1 up. Wells then drew tho shot with his last bowL This brought Crawford to tho head to Bludy tho situation, and his only chance was to push Wolls's shot bowl into tho ditch and lie with his other : bowl,-also a counter. After getting the positTofiTof the bowl from his No. 3 with a matehlight, Crawloid accomplished the almost impossible feat in tho daik, amidst tremendous, applause from the bank. Tho gamo was now G all, with an extra hoad to be played. On this head Crawfoid lay 1 up, which Wells increased to 2 by tuiihug the jack. Thua ended a momentous sfriuggle . Crawford deserved his win for his magnificent effort, accomplished without any fluke. In all probability tho finar of 21 heads will bo played by Crawford and Bradley on the Lyall Bay green next Saturday. Mr. Sherwood, president of tho Lyall Bay Club, deserves hearty piaiso for the excellent way in which ho conducted, the tournament. Tho one-day tournament to bo held by the Island Bay Club nextAVedncs, <lay, 25 th March, m aid of tho Earth "quake Fund will bo limited to 16 rinks, and play will commence at 9.30 a.m," Five games of nine heads aro to bo played, three in the morning and two in tho afternoon. In the event of a tic a game of 21 heads is to bo arranged between the teams." Ono dead hoad will bo allowed each skip, but others will count one point against and the head will count. Trophies to the. value of £4 4s will bo presented to the winning link. The entrance fee is £1 per rink. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided and an urn of tea for players bringing their lunch. Entries closo on Monday and all the entrance fees will be given to the Earthquake Fund. The1 Island Bay rinks aro running very fast and^it is hoped that all the clubs in the Centre ■will give generous support to the tournament. The Solf-grading System. ' 1 After a four years' trial selfgrading of clubs on actual performances in pennant competitions maintains1 its popularity, says tho West Australian concspondent of Melbourne "Bowls.** , and it would require more temerity than disci ntion to advocato a roturu to any previous system, or experiment along untrodden ways. It maintains interest to tho end, "fosters keen competition, and tlio' two-up and two-down to adjacent divisions keeps both ends alive to ensure; promotion, the other to avoid relegation. This plan abo ensures four of each 8 clubs part company every year, and allows bowlers to intorminglo instead of playing year after year in social-tight compartments. With three rounds ponding it is not possible to even predict tho year's flag destination or even the doomed. Last yoar when 13 of tho 14 games had boon completod the aamo uncertainty reigned iv each section. Pow bowlers realise what ti season's boivling means m aggicgjlo terms, A few figiucs lull help Hum to giasp th) magnitude of tho physical cffoit and mental strain to sort out divisional' order. List season after 13 rounds had been played each of tho CBB pen nant players engaged had bowled 050 bowls which totalled 447,200 for 52,365' counters —hence only.one shot in evory eight gained card recognition. Ik has been calculated in a 25 end rink match e.ach team walks i\ miles and propels half a ton dead i\eight which -woiks out that pennant playoia walked 731 miles (exclusive of ''telephone calls" and rink mcaiidciings') and lma^-d 86 tons dead weight. Multiply tin so Qg mes by 4 and one can get an idia what Melbourno bowlers achieve to decide halyard decorations and what tho same amount of energy applied totwood piles would accomplish. Two-life System. A dozen years ago the two-lifo systom aa practised in New ZeaUnd was applied to association events in West Australia, but after a three years' trial was discarded because it tended to prolong these .competitions • bayoud holiday dates. This year it was resumed with, the result that tho champion pairs which started on Boxing Day was; not finalised till 20th January, when Lewis and Chambers' (Kast Fremantlc) unbeaten met Dullard and Clarko (Mt. Lawley) once out. The Mt. Lawley pair -won the first contest 24-11 and the deciding match 2(5-13. Ex-champion

Dullard's leading dominated both games for be played both' shot ana position in masterful fashion. Few bowlers seem to realiso the pairs game is a replica of rink tactics—that is the leader I must lead till bo approximates the,jack stud then position as a number-2 and iiot try to get t'onv in irrespective ot a key boivl and the skipper must play as third and skipper. Four bueecssive bowls, instead ot two alternately by loaders and skippers as adoptod by Now South Wales and South Africa, may account for this goneral oversight. This was Clarke's first classic win although ho annexed a handicap singles in 1927 By running up threo times in the cham pion pairs, Chambers equalled Virtue's record as an unsuccessful- finalist thnciin the State champion singles, and in 1924 Chambers also was beaten in the final of the blue ribbon event. Bofore passing judgment on tho two-lifo sys torn its application to pending events will be considered but on this occasion there is no doubt it found the two best pairs for the final clash. Notable Achievements. J. G. Bentley and E. Harraway share the honour of having each won the Dunedin Club's singles championship on seven occasions. Largest Amateur Association. The commanding position of the game of bowls in the world of sport is evidenced by the following figures. There ;irc oOOflbO members of associated clubs in the British Empho to-day, and tho average new membership totals 50,000 annually! In Austialia and New Zealand alono tho total number of bowlers is fast approaching 100,000. Equally interesting and surprising is the statement that the value ,of their bowls in use exceeds £500,000. Throughout the two Dominions, a sum oxceeding £600,----000 is expended annually by the clubs on greenkcopers' and stewards' wages, etc.; and the total value of the property occupied and owned by the clubs approximates £5,000,000. Figures like these surely illustrate what a valuable asset to a State clean, well-managed sport can become. > Technique of Bowls.. An bitoresting article on the techniquo of bowls appears in tho Sydney "Globe," from the pen of Mr. A. B. Stanley, singlc-hauded champion of Australia. "After giviug this matter closo attention I can state without fear of contradiction that in every club, tho percentage of good bowlers —bowlers possessing an easy or graceful delivery, and an accomplished technique—id not' more than ten," ,says Mr. Stanley. "Of tho .remaining 90 per cont. some havo a few defects, whilst others' have a conglomeration of faults that no amount of natural skill could ever overcome. Ono thinks, like Henry Fold,thaL'standardisation and mass production' would produce better bowlers than the indiscriminate coaching of old bowlers, who themselves possess a ruas3 of faults. However, one cannot help"" asking what is responsible for this evil? 1 am satis,fiedi that the causes are many and varied; but tho outstanding contributor is tho old player, mostly in need of'tuition himself, who is invariably the ono to take the "novice in handl1 w The grotesque result is .easily pictured. J havo often watched a colt, so broken in, ,walk on to the green a day or "so later, confident in the knowledge and mastery thus attained, .challerago'iSur experienced player to~a"rpll tip.' The colt prepares for action by diopping au arm full of derelict bowls on to tho green! Imagine the expression on tho greenkeepcr's facet "Now, after committing tho breach of etiquetto of claiming the right, to 'throw' kitty and setting his mat upside do-wn at an angle of 10 to 20 degrees, ho grabs-B bowl woll into the hollow of his hand, stands side on or squats down oii ttie mat, then awkwardly thumps, thiows, or pushes the bowl hard down" into tho green. Again, imagine-tho greonkecper's expression!! Our colt thinks his opponent fussy when he adjusts the mat, admitting, 'No, 1 didn't straighten it; it makes no difference to me.' By the timo his fourth lias been pelted down, see the giconkeeper has, in disgust, beaten a liasty retreat!!! The player does ovorything ho should1 not do, and yet 'thc^novido was kden and ambitious to learn..* ..In such cases, tho damage is done, and-to euro it is' not sufficient. Prevention is required.. Novices must be correctly instructed from tho very beginning, and, with that end in view, I will now proceed to deal with the first lesson. "My recommendation: Bowl —Largost size possible to handle comfortably. But not less than sin. The first essential to becoming a good bowler is to possess a good set of four bowls. The'best can be secured for about fi6, and will last a lifetime. . . Decided advantage to the 'player is possessed by the largest bowl, so, when purchasing your set, solect the largest size bowl you can comfortably handle, but not under sin. -I have never yet seen a hand that could not comfortably grip a sin. bowl. "Do 'hot on any account be enticed into using anything smaller. 'Marbles' w^ll get you nowhere. I don't know of ono class bowler to-day using them. But I know of a number who tried them, however. They droppbd them like hot potatoes. Grip: This is my , method of holding tho bowl:—Place I the- thumb midway between the. edge of tho running surface and tho "'disc, tho three middle^ fingers being underneath and pointing straight forward, with tho little finger as close as convenient to the smaller disc. The bowl must be held by the' whole five fingers, and not allowed to sit in the palm of tho hand. Howover, the exact position of the, thumb and littlo finger must vary somewhat, as all hands are not the 'same size and shape. f'Thumb on top of bowl:—Two distinct disadvantages/are associated with this handling of tho bowl: There is no thumb or littlo finger to steady tho bowl when tho pressure of the thumb is relaxed at point of grassing. As ;i natural consequence, there must be ii gioater tendency to 'wobble' tho bowl, and no two 'wobblers' run alike. "Hero let me emphatically deny the statement of a well-known interstate writer'who. has ou. sovera.l occasions recontly cited me as ono of tho Australian champions who grips his bowl on top. T never have used this grip, and never will! All I know of it is that, it went into the 'waste-paper' basket with tho other discarded grips when I was experimenting." A Place in the Olympic Games. Bowls to-day stands pre-eminent among kindred outdoor pastimes, says an Australian writer. ; It has bean acclaimed by critics tho most scientific. It boasts the greatest popularity and the largest number of devotees. And now, crowning all, it has been included in the Olympic Games for 1932. This signal, honour has indeed "placed it on tho map" for all time, and silencod its detractors. Too long has bowls been the victim of tho chimerical supposition that "it is an old man's game," and tho equally absurd delusion that "luck, not skill, dominates tho play." Such groundless aspersions should now die a natural death, for the grand old game is in future to provide the real test of the physique, endurance, virility, ami lighting qualities of the manhood of tho nations.