BOWLERS ON TOUR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1030, 20 January 1911, Page 8

BOWLERS ON TOUR.

u BACK FROM THE TOURNAMENT. ;? ' MUST THE PAIRS GO? i. ]• , (By "Jack.") ■: Though the N.B.A. tournament is over, and tho local contestants have returned from Auckland, Ihero is still a. good deal to be said arising out of the largest gathering of bowlers ever held in New Zealand. After conversation with at least two dozen Wellington bowlers, who played in the tournament, the writer is convinc- " ed that for to big an event the manages ruent was satisfactory, and all was done that could possibly bo done to mako the visit to Auckland as pleasant as possible. ■■ The only person who would insist on on--0 deavouring to imperil the sweetest of re- | lations between tho players was the purblind Auckland loyalist, who would put himself out of the way to compare Wel--2 lington unfavourably with Auckland. J Tho visitors, as a matter of fact, were ! charmed with Auckland and its beautiful surroundings, and exhilarated by the fine 2 air of bustle in its streets, and the obvi--2 ous signs of prosperity everywhere, but 6 as one exasperated Wellington bowler S said to his tormentor, "Look here, old q man, I'll agree that all you say is right, but I came Hp to play bowls, not to learn 0 untruths about the city 1 belong to!" 5 Fortunately the typo was not numerpus. D Auckland is full of fine fellows, and most of them belong to bowling clubs. They don't worry about the respective merits of Auckland and Wellington, , but aro naturally pleased to see their town buzzing along. "Set Fair," During the whole of the tournament the weatner was "set fair." Rain fell on the afternoon of tho opening day, but it was light, and it did not interfere materially with the games. Thoso bright, hot, , stiil days in early January will live long ' in the memory. Tho sun was cruelly hot at times, and by the third day many faces began to peel, and lanoline was in urgent demand in all tho city hotels: Even those of the cult of the hatless were 1 forced to wear some sort of head-gear, and hero and there men who had read stories of sunstroke used umbrellas, as an extra nrotection against the burning rays of tho'sun. Devoriport green is a favour- > e(l spot—thoro •is always a chance of a breeze from the sea there. Tho Auckland Club's green is down ia a gully —a' cool glen not- far from the heart of the city, where the mosquitoes make merry by "drawing" blood with an occasional "drive." -The Carlton and Rocky Nook are both very good greens, but Grey Lynn was decidedly the worse for wear on the' mat spot. The Remuera is a particularly , inviting spot, and l'onsonby is a carefully-tended green,: which one can rely on with confidence. Ths Pairs Problem. Chatting oyer tho tournament • with many players, both Aucklanders and visitors, the "writer has come to one conclusion—that. the pairs .contest cannot exist in its present form as it is at present conducted. Either the pairs will have to bo knocked out altogether, as was proposed at-a recent meeting of the Northern Bowling Association held in Wellington, or the contest must be restricted to thoso not .participating in tho rink contest. The arguments in favour of one alternative or the other are almost overwhelming. In Auckland recently.- the pairs, which commenced on the Wednesday afternoon, did not ovokn nearly, tho interest they should have done, simply because those who liatl been playing in tho rinks since the Monday morning bad had pretty well all tho bowls they wanted, tho exception being those who were given an extra spur by coming out a section-winner. On Thursday, pairs games were being given away by default all over tho place, a'nd 6omo of thoso who stuck to their fixtures, and wero unfortunate enough to get a lato start with the last game in the day, were playing with the aid of matches and candles. Macintosh, who skipped ths Onehunga rink which won tho rink championship, came out • a section winner in the pairs, but had to forfeit his chance, as ho was engaged in tho semi-finals and finals .of (he rink on Friday and Saturday. Had he been given an opportunity of playing in the pairs, Mr. J. Martin, of Turaiiganui, might not be. such a proud man to-day. Bowlers, as a rule, love tho pairs game, but two and a half days' strenuous rink play under an angry sun is apt to sap the enthusiasm. The association will have to face the pairs question once more, and it would "be wise, in my opinion, to cut them out altogether,' leaving the big event a champion rinlt ; tournament pure and simple. ' An alternative to that is suggested in having a rink tournament in one centre and a pairs (or pairs and single.-) tournament in another each year—Wellington and Auck- : land to take turn about. ( Sectional Ties, • -, J Another soro point with many of the < bowlers, who were playing in Auckland t last week was the one involving the num- 1 ber' of wins in sectional play, and those < entitled to play off as section leaders. To 1 mako it quite clear, the position at pre- i sent is that a rink may win a section ' with three (original) wins, whilst a rinlc ' having had four (original) wins may be c bumped out in the sectional tics play-off. r It is, in a nutshell, the case of a rink having done better in one section being bumped out by a team with a less worthy record. In the course of manv arguments, I sifted out that what might, and, perhaps, should, be done would be to call ail winning ties in sections sectionwinner?, and put them in a bag and draw them one against the other—to play olf on the sudden death principle. This would be a' quicker and more satisfactory way to settle the sectional tie question than playing each section out on its own.

Harmonic Hospitality. There was plenty of fun apart from bowls in Auckland during tuc tournament. The Wellington .contingent included a group of singers, headed by Messrs. B. Hill and C. Paratn, who were ever prominent where song and story were in demand. All the. bowlers had a great night at the Royal Hotel one evening, at which Mr. Clack, an Auckland bo'wler and entertainer, did some good work. Mr. Parata led a haka, and sang of love and bull-figlits, and Mr. E. J. Hill contributed "Rule Britannia" in ringing style. On Thursday afternoon President Elliott, who made himself very popular, treated the bowlers, their wives, sisters, cousins, and aunts to a glorious trip round the harbour, and the same evening the bowlers- visited the theatre, en masse to witness the Plimmer-Demiiston Company in a delightful performance of "The Profligate." On Friday evening most of tho Wellington bowlers wero entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Victor Casey, of Grev Lynn, and 011 Saturday evening Mr. and Sirs. Charles Lawrie held out the glad hand in right royal style. The majority of the Wellington bowlers left Auckland on Sunday evening, being sung off to tho air of "The Sweet By and Bye." It was a joyous week.