BOWLS NOTES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21323, 16 November 1934, Page 15

BOWLS NOTES

[By JACK.] "Enquirer"—The rule reads: "In all tournaments or competitions any player in a singles, or the skip of a pair or rink, will be held responsible for seeing that all bowls played by such singles player, or the members of the pair or rink, are stamped.in accordance with the rules of the association." '/our contention that all bowls should be stamped is quite right, and the rule should be strictly enforced. Indifference over a matter of this kind could lead to all sorts of abuses. * • m A correspondent asks if a player is permitted under the rules to indicate with a "wiper" a bowl which he asks his skip to run off. This is quite in order, but the article used as an indicator should not be placed on the bowl, however lightly. See rule 88, page 17.

Even bowlers appear to be getting the "record" mania. A Scottish newspaper claims the following card as a "record in unique scoring":—seven ends (7-7), eleven ends (11-11), fourteen ends (14-14), nineteen ends (1919), and twenty-one ends (21-21).

The executive of the council of the New Zealand Bowling Association is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the success of the forthcoming Dominion tournament. The services of the Trade Commissioner in Sydney have been enlisted in an endeavour to secure Australian representation.

Bowlers visiting the tournament in Auckland are advised that railway concessions are available for their wives and families.

An Interesting: Visitor An interesting visitor to Dunedin at present is Mr H. Bland, of England, who is making a leisurely tour through Australia and New Zealand (writes "Jack" in the "Otago Daily Times"). . Mr Bland is an enthusiastic bowler, and when at home in the Old Country spends the greater part of his time touring the counties of England in the pursuit of his hobby. In conversation with the writer recently Mr Bland had many interesting comments to make concerning the sport. A life member of the Pingnton Bowling Club (Devon), and a member of the Torquay and Worthing Clubs. Mr Bland, although he does not enter, has attended more tournaments than probably any other bowler in |the Homeland. His time is his own, bowling is his hobby, and he makes the most of it.

Speaking of the recent Empire Games, Mr Bland said that New Zealand, in his opinion, was poorly represented in bowling. It was the only country which did not enter a pairs team and, although the singles player did his best, he was not successful in winning one game. Nevertheless, it was a happy reunion of the Empire, and the occasion, he said, should do much to cement the bonds of friendship between the Mother Land and her fur-flung dominions.

Asked his opinion of the greens out here compared with those in England, Mr Bland said thai they were vastJv dilferent. English greens for the most pari were composed of Cumberland iuri--u special turf which made a wonderful surface, although it was a little .slower than the greens in this country. A green was laid down in sods. Then some special and arduous preparation was not needed, and the green could be played on after the first good rain had knit the sods together. The ordinary grass green which was so common in New Zealand was always specially mentioned in catalogues at Home. The expense of the Cumberland turf was rather heavy, however, and a good green might cost £BOO to .£IOOO to lay down. The Temple Club, which, together with the Paddinglon green, was the scone of the bowling tournament of the Empire Games, was, said Mr Bland. undoubtedly the best club in London, if not iii England. house was 10 yards iong and was a two-storeved building. On the second floor were three indoor rinks, full length and full width, laid down on a special floor with half-inch felt overlaid with fine baize. This gave the same play as a billiard table. The club house, which was situated on Denmark Hill, looked out on to a glorious panoramic view of London. The club had had to shift its premises no fewer than four times owing to building operations, and on each occasion the sods of the greens were carrica to the new site.

The severe drought in England last summer had a very detrimental effect on bowling greens ail over the country and during the big tournaments it cost some clubs as much as £lO a week to get water to keep the surfaces in good order. The water had to be carted from a well and led on to the grass by means of pipelines. Nearly £25,000 worth of turf had been required for repair work after the drought. The greatest pleasure which Mr Bland finds in bowling is the number of friendships which are made on the greens. Bowlers, he said, were men who had generally "had the corners knocked off them" during their lives, and were therefore more tolerant and easy-going.

On Sportsmanship By the very nature of the game many untutored sports make their ways into the playing of bowls. We read and hear of "nature's gentlemen." They must be natural sportsmen also. The world is not full of them. "Good sports" more often are the outcome of the training that sporting clubs have given them in their youth than the product of heredity. The statement that the "Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of the great English public schools," rightly or wrongly attributed to the Duke of Wellington, doubtless had some basis of fact. Certain it is that there is no better place to learn the essential habits of self-control, obedience to established authority, and loyalty to one's fellows than in—not round—the important sporting arenas. Before a man can get into an Australian Eleven he must have absorbed and be prepared to uphold the principle that his team and his club must ever have precedence of his own interests, likes, and dislikes. The rules and practices of his club must be upheld on the field under all conditions. In his heart he may feel, in his mind he may think, that one or other of them is unjust or otherwise unworthy. That feeling or opinion should not be permitted to disturb the club's harmony. Either it should be voiced in meeting properly called for that purpose, and altered if a sufficiency of the members are of the opinion that it should be, or it should be suffered in silence.

Elbert Hubbard soundly advised men to "Get into line, or get out." He advocated every constitutional effort being made to correct alleged faults in management. Apart from such efforts, he claimed that for the honest, loyal man there is no other conduct but silence or removal. Growling, fault finding, carping criticism, and general dissatisfaction are schism-creating. No club can be successful where these disturbing influences exist and are given playMany bowlers have not served their apprenticeships to cricket, football, lacrosse, or other discipline demanding games. They take to physical recreation late in life, after years spent in arduous and continuous employment. Their subscription, they think, should buy for them all the advantages and positions which others earn by means of their greater skill. They fail to see that skill should have any preference' 1 They condemn roundly and emphatically any rule or regulation that appeals to them as a hindrance to their receipt of their supposed and desired advantages and pleasures. "Unfortunately, bowlers of this type cannot be sent back to school. There they could learn that discipline is as necessary on the bowling green, and in a bowling club, r - in battle and the nation. The instruction that a man should do nothing to disturb the peace and good order of society is an excel-

lent one. A bowling club is not only a society—it is a part of the society which we call the Commonwealth of Australia. As we act in the greater so should we act in the less.—"Bowls" (Melbourne).

RINKS FOR TO-MORROW CHRISTCHURCH CLUB Members of the Christchureh Club appear to lie marking the club jubilee year by unusually heavy entries for the several club competitions, and recent games have resulted as follows: Champion Rinks—Whetter beat Barnsdale, Wilson beat Marks, W. Dobbs beat Orchard, Piper beat Barnett. , Champion Pairß—Ainger beat W. Shervis, W. Dobbs boat' Marks, Lewis beat P. Cooper, and Sargent beat Grant. Champion Singles—Ward beat W. Sherris, Newman beat Sargent, Dixon beat P. Cooper, nnd Wyber beat Maddren. Helliwell Handicap Singles—Barnett boat Wilton. IMPERIAL CLUB v. Opawa, at Opawa—Grammer, McCullough, Fuller, Wornall (s) ; Welsh, McCracken, Blackmoro, Draper («). v. Opawa, at Imperial—Patton, Prebble, Hewson, Clark (s). FRIENDLY GAMES v. Barrington, at Imperial—Wills, Dumpleton, Fox, Fuldseth (s). v. Edgewnrc, at Imperial—Miller, Lyon, Morrow, Gilligan (s). KAIAPOI WORKING MEN'S CLUB v. Beckcnham and Sydenham—Stagee, Price, Bristow, Monk (s) ; Beer, Richards, Robson, Simpson (s) ; Williams, Anderson, Brown, Clark (s) ; Shepherd, Millar, Ramsay, Mealings (sj ; Greenwood, Williamson, S. Richards, Taplin (s). Friendly Games—Baker, Hunter, Boilington, Tavendalo (s) ; Sturgess, Boulton, Simpson, Hirst (s). OLYMPIA INDOOR RINK The Olympia indoor bowling rink closed for the summer season last evening with a tourney which drew an entry of 10 rinkß. At the end of section play two rinks qualified for the final, which resulted as fol'"Wß:—Sydenham—K. Lnnglev, R. Garth, W. Britten, C. Spearman defeated Sum'■ier^T G - WHims, A. Graham, C. Lawson, and J. Thomas, 3-2. On wet days, when the outdoor greens are unfit for games, tho rink will be open for play. In Britain's elementary schools 8000 classes contain more than 50 children each. British filmgqers pay admission to cinemas at the rate of 18,500,000 a week.