SUMMER BOWLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 240, 10 October 1934, Page 16

SUMMER BOWLING.

AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING.

A MONTH OF CLUB OPENINGS

PREPARATIONS FOR JANUARY.

(By TRUNDLER.)

Auckland often enjoys some delightful weather during the spring, in spite ot the prevalent fashion of poking fun at the "Winterless North," but nobody could have wished for better conditions to open the summer season than those that prevailed last Saturday. Accordingly, the numerous official openings were well attended, and everything went off in the usual happy style. Next Saturday there will be a still larger number of clubs opening, the following being already announced: Balmoral, Buckland, Carlton, Hallyburton Johnstone, Manurewa, Mount Eden, Onehunga, Papakura, and Takapuna, while the summer season will start unofficially at Clevedon, Grey Lynn, and St. Holier's. All the clubs seem to be starting under improved conditions this year,, for their greens are in better order than usual, and a pleasing feature at recent club gatherings has been the large number of new members elected. Naturally, a good many of these are due to house-moving, such as Mr. E. B. Bennet, a former president and champion of Takapuna, who has crossed the harbour and joined the parent club, and Messrs. J. , Mcßeath and L. G. P. Spencer, who have joined Mount Eden, but the lists include several beginners, and there are also recent arrivals from other districts. Probably, the best known of the latter are Mr. E. H. Taniblyn (Dunedin), a member of the New Zealand Bowling Council last year, who sprang into national prominence four years earlier, when lie played No. 3 in G. G. Adess' St. Kilda rink, who were runnersup in the Dominion championship to D. M. Stuart's rink from the same club, and Mr. H. F. Gibson (Christehurch), who played No. 3 in H. Wilson's Linwood rink, when they won the Dominion event last January. Both have come to Auckland to live, and will be useful additions to whatever clubs they decide to join, but Mr. Tambl.vn is proposing to tour the north for a few weeks before settling down. With all the increased membership there

arc not many clubs in the happy position of Waitcmata, who have had to close their list. The last of the inter-club challenge matches tor the season were played last Saturday, one side or the other in each of the four series being now engaged in their own club for the summer. In the Denison Pins match it was very appropriate that the trophies should be won by the donor, for it is a little over eleven years since he instituted this contcst, and this is the first time lie has held them during the recess. It was a very close game, for they tied on the nineteenth head, and the visitors then won the remaining two heads: <T. Speir, A. C. Bush, \V. Gladstone, W. Denison (Balmoral), challengers. 30, v. E. B. Burton, F. W. Wilson, If. A. Earland, T. It. George (Kpsom), holders 16. The Jordan Pins also gave a close game until it was nearly over, there being only ono the difference at the seventeenth head. The holders put on seven in the next three heads, making it impossible for the visitors to win: D. J. Williams, H. Sykes, W. Morton, S. E. Harper (Otahuhn), holders 22, v. A. 1). Sims, J. Gregory, S. W. Thompson, 11. Bucklc (Hillsboro'), challengers, 18. All these matches will be resumed about May next, as soon us the players in eacli are free from their club engagements. The last large gathering of the winter season took place at the Mount Eden green, where; former Otago and Southland players met local and other visiting rinks. > Bagpipes appropriately led the procession round the green to revive the memorable call, "The Campbells arc coming," and the piper was preceded by a well-known Auckland representative of the famous clan, vividly recalling a similar procession on the Reimiera green about nine years ago, led by the late Major Murray. These national gatherings would do no harm if held every year, so it was no surprise to find a ready response to Mr. D, C. Eraser's suggestion at the tea adjournment to form an association of former Otago and Southland bowlers, and a resolution to that effect was carried, oil the motion of Mr. W. Crawford Young (Kemuera). In welcoming the visitors the club president, Mr. Arthur Dignan, commended Mr. Eraser for bringing together the bowlers from the most distant part of the Dominion, and was glad that hie club had had the pleasure of entertaining them.

Posters for the Dominion tournament to commence in Auckland on Monday, January 7, have been sent to every club in New Zealand, besides numerous copies to Australia, accompanied, by the tariff for a selected list of hotels and boarding houses. Each section shows a drastic change from tho conditions ruling when the tournament was last held in Auckland, four years ago, and it will be most interesting to see the reaction to these changes, first in regard to the number of entries, and afterwards in the criticism of the new methods. The singles will be played in exactly the same way as the open singles conducted'by the Auckland Centre in the four years since this competition was revived, after being dropped since 1914. That is to say, instead of the two-life system being employed • throughout, thereby giving every player two games guaranteed, with his subsequent participation in the contest depending on his success therein, the competition will bo played in sections of six, giving every man five games on the first day, even if he loses the whole lot. Then ail the section winners and section ties will continue on the second day on equal terms, on the two-life system. Newspaper correspondents in every city and town are invited to make this known, for it would be most regrettable to find afterwards that a number of competitors in the rinks would have also entered in the singles i£ they had known of the attractive programme for the first day. They need not be afraid of getting tired, for ill they do no good they will have all the Tuesday to get over it, before starting the pairs on Wednesday, and players never get tired if they qualify. The pairs will bo played with three bowk', following the innovation which proved so successful in Wellington and Dunedin, and the only suggestion that one can make to local clubs is that they play their own club pairs with, three bowls this year, for otherwise their members will be at a distinct disadvantage when they meet opponents who are accustomed to the different strategy required for the threebowl game. The rinks will follow tho system of the last three years. Instead of three games each day for three days, as in Auckland four years ago, there will be two games each day for four days. This is a concession to visiting competitors, for they come here for a nice holiday, and hardly relish returning to their hotels after a long day, to find that dinner is "off." It must also be admitted that quite a number of Auckland players are beginning to confess that they are not as young as they were twenty years ago, and they find three games rather severe. Now that the summer season is opened, intending competitors in the big tournament will be busily engaged in making up their rinks. A few more are announced; A. T. Stehr, F. W. Wilson, F. Furnell, E; T. Richmond (Epsom); A. Graham, H. Montgomery, M. J. Hooper, H. A. Farland (Epsor-;); L. Bray, T. S. Bassett, E. B. Wright, S. Vella (Onehunga); J. P. Lane,, G. F. C. Hosking, J. Newton, Theo Walker (Mount Albert); A. Blomley, H. C. Dawson, W. Franks, R. Thomas Wouut Albert); T. J. Buxton, Dr. P. Moir, H. C. Clarke, S. 'Jenkin (Carlton).