N.Z. Bowls Champion At 31

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31579, 17 January 1968, Page 13

N.Z. Bowls Champion At 31

WHEN Burwood’s S. E. Lawson travelled to Dunedin for the Dominion Bowls Championships last week, he took just a small tin of the resin-based wax used for polishing the bowls and giving added grip. He thought a small tin would be enough. In the twelfth round of the singles, his penultimate game, the wax ran out and Lawson borrowed some from the opponent he was in the process of beating. He carried on to win the final and became the New Zealand singles champion for 1968. It was during the match •gainst the player who lent

him the wax (B. McKinnell of Roxburgh) that Lawson received a telegram, signed “Sinatra,” wishing him the best of luck. Lawson was trailing 10-16 at the time, but fortunes changed after the telegram and he caught up to win, 21-20.

The "Sinatra” was a former opponent, J. Rennie, of the Christchurch club, who earned his nickname be-

cause of his facial resemblance to the singer. In the final, Lawson comfortably beat H. J. Valentine (Kaituna) 21-10. “The next thing I want to win is the Mammoth Golden

Kiwi,” he said, “but my wife said she would leave me if 1 did.” Mrs Lawson, who does not play bowls but watches her husband whenever she can, went to Dunedin and saw every bowl her husband rolled up.

“I didn’t really think he would go so far. I was thrilled and surprised,” she said.

She went through al! the nail-biting tension which prevailed in the four games which Lawson won by, a solitary point. But the game can be a great leveller. Upon his return from Dunedin, Lawson played in the Burwood triples tournament, and was in the team which at one stage had lost 39 successive points. The team lost the first game, 0-27, and was down 0-12 in its next game before scoring. “And we were trying,” he said.

J. H. Dale skipped the Burwood rink, which included Lawson, and which was eliminated in the second round of post-section

play. The four was beaten by that of R. Mills (Wakatipu), who played “terrific bowls.”

Lawson and Dale also played in the pairs together and were eliminated after losses to the North Island skips M. Marinovich and N. Unkovlch, in the first and eighth rounds respectively. Lawson, a 31-year-old taxi driver with three children, started playing bowls eight years ago—and he gave up tennis to do it He has won four club championships, but so far has not succeeded in centre championships. Five years ago in the Christchurch centre’s open singles, he found himself the only two-lifer left. Instead of leaving Hie green, he stayed to watch other games before his own came up.

Lawson became over-con-fident; he lost his next two games and was eliminated. He has not forgotten this lesson. Another lesson he has learnt —for future Dominion championships he will take a large tin of wax.