Woman bowler’s record

Press, 18 February 1978, Page 10

Woman bowler’s record

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

Wally Wilkinson earned deserved praise when recently he won a record ninth Christchurch centre bowls title. But to be completely accurate, Wilkinson still has some distance tolgo before he becomes the most successful bowler in the Canterbury area. This distinction lies with a woman: Lorraine Carson, of the Woolston club. Mrs Carson has won 12 centre titles, plus one on the West Coast before she shifted to Christchurch in 1950. She is, in fact, the Only double gold star holder of either sex in the province. Like Wilkinson, Mrs Carson has won one national title (the singles in 1967) and been placed second in the fours (in 1969), but at the local level there is an appendage to her record that puts her even further ahead of the versatile Beckenham skip.

If Mrs Carson lumped together all her centre titles the total would be 16 or 17. Her lapel badges provide a ready reference to her 12 Christchurch champion - of - champions successes — five singles, five pairs and two fours. From memory, she recalls two wins in the Rose Bowl fours, one, possibly two, in the open pairs and one in the open triples — all events that have no standing so far as a gold star is concerned. Mrs Carson, who was Mrs McKenzie until she remarried nine years ago, has also been beaten in more finals than she can remember. She has twice lost the champion-of-champions singles final in the last three years — this season to April McDonald (Burwood) after they had been the last two-lifers and met four times in five rounds.

Mrs Carson says that this tournament, which required her to play 11 games in three days, left her completely exhausted and this no doubt was an explanation for her heavy loss to the much younger Mrs McDonald in their last game. Mrs Carson estimates her club titles over the years at more than 30, which gives her an average of better than one a year since her career began. Wilkinson, who has been playing bowls for 25 years, puts his club tally at well over 30. He has won 13 in the six years he has been at Beckenham. However, Wilkinson is not so confident of heading off Mrs Carson at the centre level. “It has taken me 25 years to win nine and if her total is 17 then I don’t think I will be around long enough to get another nine,” he said.