BOWLS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27075, 25 June 1953, Page 12

BOWLS

DOMINION TOURNEY IN CHRISTCHURCH ORDER OF PLAY DECIDED The 1954 New Zealand bowling championship meeting will be held in Christchurch. This decision was made at the annual conference of the New Zealand Bowling Association in Christchurch yesterday. On the recommendation of Christchurch delegates, the starting date for the tournament was fixed for December 30. It is anticipated that the tournament will be completed by January 15 before the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen, on her visit to the South Island. The adopted order of play is that the preliminary rounds of the singles championship will be played on December 30 and 31. The preliminary rounds of the pairs will be played on January 1 and 2, and the section play in the fours has been set down to begin on January 4. The post-section play in all events will begin on January 8. The object of altering the normal order of play is that by January 8, a large number of the competitors will have been eliminated, and will be able to go home, and that the expected influx of visitors to Christchurch for the Royal visit will have less difficulty arranging accommodation. Christchurch council members reported that the city hotels had been most cooperative in making the necessary arrangements for accommodation for competitors in the tournament. Mr S. F. Marshall (Christchurch) was appointed tournament secretary-treasurer, and it was reported to the council that Mr Marshall had successfully officiated at two previous Dominion tournaments in Christchurch. In view of the early starting date of the tournament, it was decided to close entries on October 14. LEVY UNCHANGED ASSOCIATION’S FINANCES REVIEWED The individual levy on bowlers and entrance fees for the Dominion championships will not be altered, according to a decision made at the annual conference of the New Zealand Bowling Association in Christchurch yesterday. The levy is at present Is 3d a member, reducible to Is Id, if paid by December 31. The decisions were made in accordance with the budget presented by the secre-tary-treasurer (Mr R. S. M. Sinclair), who said that the association’s income from levies last year amounted to £2091, compared with an estimate of £2OBO. The total estimated expenditure this year was £2156. It had been decided at the last annual meeting to raise the levy to Is Id net, which was estimated to produce £2058. Revenue was greater by £5l than anticipated, arid there was a working surplus of £3B for the year.

In view of the recurring deficits in the association’s accounts, it was wise to increase the entry fees for the last New Zealand championships, stated the report. Entry fees had been increased to 15s for each player in the singles championship, 25s for each pair, and £5 for each four. ’.’Had this not been done, the New Zealand championship tournament would have shown a loss. The surplus of income from the tournament amounting to £637, a very gratifying financial result and will serve to lay a firm foundation for the tournament reserve fund of £750 authorised by the annual meeting,” the report states.

A decision to set aside £lOO for greens research was made. The money will be spent at the discretion of the executive in special circumstances for any specially conducted scientific research on the care and maintenance of bowling greens. The motion was carried unanimously on the recommendation from the executive when the conference was considering a grant to the Institute of Turf Culture at Palmerston North. A grant of £125 was made to the Institute last year. The president (Mr R. H. Taylor) said the decision meant that the association would be free to make a grant to the institute if it felt that this was desirable. The - institute was not functioning fully at present, he said. N.Z. APPOINTMENTS APPROVED MR W. M. MATHESON TO ATTEND BRITISH MEETING The following appointments were apS roved at the annual conference of the Tew Zealand Bowling Association yesterday : Executive members, Mr P. O. Skoglund (Manawatu) and Dr. R. E. Austin (Otago Central), both re-elected; judicial committee, Messrs W. O. Clark (Dunedin), G. N. Boulton (Wanganui), and Dr. Austin, all re-elected; representatives to the International Bowling Board, Major Sir Ivor B. Thomas, Messrs J. A. Griffiths, Trevor Toms, and W. Williams; representatives to the New Zealand and Olympic Games Association, Messrs M. J. Casey, F. C. Dewhurst, and O. F. Angell. Last year’s president of the association (Mr W. M. Matheson) will be in England when the next annual meeting -of the International Bowling Board is held at Brighton, and he will take the place of one of ths four Welsh representatives who have looked after the association’s interests in the past. MEMBERSHIP OF CLUBS INCREASE REPORTED The number of bowlers in New Zealand is now 38,435, according to the annual report of the New Zealand Bowling Association, presented at the annual conference of the association yesterday. This figure shows an increase of 1169 in the last 12 months. In the North Island there are 'll centres, 299 clubs, and 25,976 bowlers. In the South Island there are 11 centres, 215 clubs, and 12.459 bowlers. The largest centre in New Zealand is Auckland, which has 72 clubs and 7571 bowlers. Christchurch, with 57 clubs, has 3841 players. South Canterbury has 14 clubs and 834 players; Buller nine clubs and 324 players; and the West Coast 10 clubs and 583 players. The largest club in New Zealand is Remuera, Auckland, with 345 members. Carlton follows closely with 299, and there are 260 players at Nae Nae, Wellington. Fendalton, with 179 members, is the largest club in Christchurch, where there are 13 clubs with memberships of more than 100. The largest club in Dunedin is Kaituna, with 153 members. The smallest club in New Zealand is at Springfield in the Christchurch centre. The membership there is only six. “It is pleasing to see once again an increase in the membership of clubs throughout the country, and it is noticed that the game is making rapid progress, particularly in the North Island,” says the report. NEW PRESIDENT INSTALLED Mr R. H. Taylor, of Christchurch, was installed as president of the New Zealand Bowling Association at the annual conference yesterday. Mr Taylor, who started playing bowls in Temuka, was president of the Beckenham Bowling Club for three terms, and is at present patron of the club. A delegate to the Christchurch Bowling Centre for more than 12 years, Mr Taylor has been president of the centre, and he has been a member of the Dominion council since 1946.