BUSY BOWLERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 3, 5 January 1938, Page 12

BUSY BOWLERS.

STRENUOUS CHRISTMAS

ACTIVITIES IN JANUARY. DUNEDIN AND SYDNEY TRIPS. (By TRUNDLER.) A biisy seven days of competition bowling finished yesterday, with the completion of the numerous club tournaments arranged for the two Xew Year holidays. Apparently these did not interfere with the Christmas tournament of the centre for oniy three rinks in the latter survived until New Year's Day. In fact the large club tournament at Carlton tended rather to give eclat to the Christmas final, for the competitors therein were able to watch the last few heads, and they would thoroughly enjoy the last three, where Russell was at his best, exploiting his favourite shot with such success as would have given him the game if he could have done the same in the middle of the game. Last of all, on the twentieth head, they saw Wool ley clinch his victory liy putting both of bis bowk round a big draw to count.

After a short spell this week, broken only by a few one-day tournaments and the meeting of the British bowlers at Auckland this afternoon and at Carlton to-morrow, next Monday will start the biggest fortnight of bowling in the whole year, the Dominion tournament in Dunedin.

Next Tuesday, however, there will be a local tournament of peculiar interest, for the Carlton committee have given the Buckland'e Beach club the use of their greens for a one-day tournament, a handsome gesture "which will be heartily appreciated by all the bowlers of the city, and not merely the 200 who compete. Carlton extended a similar courtesy to the Howick Club last year, and the club deserves the t'hanks of the whole community for thus helping the little clubs in the outer suburban area. The Dominion Tournament. Three rinks from the Auckland Centre are competing in Dunedin, the same number as there were four years ago, and Mantell is again taking a rink from Tauranga. Fortunately this disposes of any suggestion that the proposed trip to Sydney 'has weakened the support to Dunedin. A few notes o;i the tournament

will appear in the Sports Edition on Saturday, but in the meantime it is rather interesting to know that the entries have been increased three times since the official closing day, and even now the programme shows t a blank- in the pairs,, •the committee' obviously trusting to get one more pair, to make the numbers even for six in each section. Presuming that this will be easily filled there wi'll be 256 in the singles, 228 pairs and 124 rinks, a total of 608 entries, and this compares with 168 singles, 180 pairs, 98 rinks, a totai of 446, when the tournament was last held in Dunedin, four years ago.

Meet of* the competitors for Sydney will leave Auckland by the Aorangi next Monday night, accompanied by the five Canadians who will be coming from Vancouver by the same ship for the Empire Games. As the council of the association will hold their half-yearly meeting during the tournament in Dunedin they will doubtless invite the Canadians to spend a few weeks in the Dominion before returning to Vancouver. It would also appear to be rather a good move to give the American bowlers an official invitation to tour the Dominion. The popularity of the game is increasing by leaps and bounds in the United States, and if they exploit it like they have handled tennis and golf the game of bowk will enter upon a new era of success. The Council Meeting. During the tournament the council of the association will hold its half-yearly meeting, but on this occasion it is unlikely that therftjjjwill be any important business except of a somewhat routine nature, unless the meeting takes the very unusual course "of over-riding a decision at the

annual meeting in July. This was in regard to tha proposed revision of the constitution and the laws of the game. It was there reported that some centres had sent in suggestions, so the others would be asked to do the same, after which the centres would be given particulars of the suggestions, presumably to support or to criticise them, the council to make a final decision at the annual meeting next July.

So far the centres are not aware of any | proposals except their own, and yet" thefe is a suggestion, from the Dunedin executive to deal with theip next week. This is sure to be very strongly opposed, not' only because it is directly contrary to the decision in July, but also because it Was previously decided to hold up the whole scheme until after the conference in Sydney, and also because all the centres should first be furnished with a complete list of 'all the proposed amendments, and the names of the centres which supplied them. The Auckland Centre proposed 88 alterations to the .constitution, 84 alterations to the laws of the game, 16 to the regulations, and 28 to the conditions, and it Seems only a fair thing that a centre with sufficient initiative to do this should hafe an opportunity to see the proposals of .the other centres, as decided by the annual meeting, before any alterations are permanently decided.