Bowls change mooted

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 30

Bowls change mooted

The Dominion bowls tournament, the biggest annual sporting event in New Zealand, is under threat. A motion on the order paper for next month’s annual meeting of the New Zealand Bowling Association in Christchurch calls for the abolition of the tournament as it has been staged for the last 66 years and replaced with a "format of regional play-offs and a final. Although it is questionable whether a move as radical as this will win wide support, the fact that the man behind the motion is. John Phipps, the current president of the N.Z.8.A., suggests that it might be dangerous to dismiss it too easily. Mr Phipps is highly regarded as an administrator and there is no doubt that he is motivated by a desire to see that the championships are as open as is possible. Mr Phipps’ scheme is for the country to be divided into four zones and for tournaments to be staged simultaneously in each zone. Immediately after these tournaments the last two remaining in each of the three championship events (singles, pairs and fours) be brought together in one centre, preferably the centre where the president of the N.Z.B.A. lives. It would then take just two days for the champions in each event to be found. The major benefit of the scheme is that it would allow a lot more bowlers thechance of pursuing a national title. As things stand at present, the tournaments are very much island orientated.

South Islanders, especially,' seemed to have lost interest , in spending the high sums necessary to compete at Auckland and Wellington and while the traffic south to Christchurch and Dunedin is a little thicker, it has become increasingly obvious that there is a financial restriction on competing annually. However, while Mr Phipps might strike a receptive chord with top bowlers who cannot afford to trip away each year,, there is likely to be many who will oppose his scheme. It was highly unlikely that the Christchurch centre would support the motion, said Christchurch’s senior . ranking councillor, Mr Dave Martin, this week. ‘.'The whole atmosphere of the tournament would be lostand it is the atmosphere, with so many participants still on hand to watch the latter rounds, that makes a Dominion tournament,” said ' Mr Martin. He is also wary of Christchurch having to stage a regional tournament each year, especially as this could wipe out the usual holiday tournaments, tournaments which are vital to the financial well-being of the centre. Another motion, affecting the conduct of the national tournament, is one which calls for a completely open entry for the championships. It would allow for players from any part of New Zealand to come together in a team, an extension of the rule introduced two years ago which, with the exception of family groups, demands that teams be drawn from the same centre.. Kevin McMenamin