LARGE ENTRY FOR N.Z. INDOOR BOWLS TITLES

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32007, 6 June 1969, Page 11

LARGE ENTRY FOR N.Z. INDOOR BOWLS TITLES

Waikato, which made a clean sweep of the 1968 titles at Wanganui, will have the same personnel to defend them at the nineteenth New Zealand indoor bowls championships which start in Christchurch on Saturday. The tournament will conclude with the final of the fours on Saturday week.

R. Cumerland won the singles and was a member of the victorious four last year. He has again been in impressive form this season but the task which lies ahead of him is * difficult one. The husband and wife pair, G. Oliver and Mrs J. Oliver, will be anxious to add to their laurels, and the winning four Of Cumerland, M, Sullivan (skip) Mrs 0. Sullivan and B. Guy will be difficult to dislodge from posVeection play. Heavy entries have been

received for the championships. They are greater than when the tournament wai last held in Christchurch—in 1964—but not as high as the record figure. In all there is the fearsome number of 1485 in the singles, 880 pairs and 440 fours. Canterbury will supply 700 players, and because they will be playing on their home mats at Cowles Stadium and the provincial headquarters at Kearney’s Road, their chances of reaching the finals are good.

As yet no Canterbury entry has emerged with an outstanding chanee of success but under the stress of the championships one is certain to make its presence felt in the later stages. R. Fridd (Canterbury), the 1957 national pairs winner meets the 1958 pairs and 1967 fours winnings skip, L. Dunn (Auckland), in postsection play of both the singles and fours. These engagements between two such fine players might well have a bearing on the final outcome of both titles. An-

other of Canterbury’s leading representatives, G. Barnes, has a stiff assignment'in post-section play of the singles. He strikes the 1967 winner, J. C. Michie (Lower Hutt). The dependable Mrs N. Buckley (Canterbury), another former national pairs winner, meets Fridd in section play, but probably among the most interesting pairs matches will be those between the national 1964 fours winning skip, P. Nee, of Canterbury, Dunn, and last year’s runner-up for the South Island title, B. Gerken. After battling with Dunn in the round-robin section, Nee will then be pitted against the formidable Gerken. In 1964 the singles title was won by the youthful Greymouth player, L. Bellis. He will be back again and should acquit himself well. The section play of the fours will provide Mrs A. Beazley (Canterbury) and her other three women the opportunity to reverse the verdiet of their semi-final match last year against the winner. Waikato. This will be a close affair.