BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 148, 19 March 1931, Page 7

BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

UMPIRES’ DUTIES—MOVING THE MAT

Central Club’s Default

(By

“Armada.”)

A unanimous opinion was expressed at the last meeting of the Wellington Bowling Centre that the umpire officiating at the eliarapion of champions rinks games acted quite properly in overhauling the bowls before play commenced, and in condemning a dozen of them which did not bear the required stamp. The members not only agreed that he acted rightly, but commended his action in so doing, and several thought it would be all to the good if other umpires took their duties a little more seriously.

It has been said of umpires on other occasions that all they had to do was to look on; that their services would not be called upon at all. Some, take the view that the umpire should not interfere until he is' requested to do. so, or there has been a protest on the part of another player. That is quite a wrong idea, and to follow that line-—the line of least resistance —is but a perfunctory performance of what is expected by the centre;

In the first place it is. not a fair thing to place the odium of a protest upon a player, for probably only one in a hundred will do it, although the offence be flagrant enough. Obvious as the offence may be, the " player who protests does not gain popularity by doing so; rather the reverse. A member of the centre, referring to an incident at the Christmas tournament, when a delegate protested against a “poker” bowl, said the protesting player .was undoubtedly regarded as ‘‘not being a sport,” and there is little doubt that this has been the case.

It may be that rules are unpopular, but every game must be governed by some rules, or it would become a “rafferty” sort of affair. Imagine a game of Rugby, soccer or cricket without a referee or umpire, or that if : he official was there he did not enforce the rules! Football might well .degenerate into a riot, or cricket would deteriorate sadly. Granting the necessity for rules, these have been drawn up by men who have been elected to control the game, men

who are players and keenly interested, and would not hesitate to eliminate anyone that was deemed unnecessary. In a friendly roll up, if men like to relax the rules, well and good, but in competitive games it is only fair that one and all should abide by the rules, not regarding them as irksome, but .as designed to improve the standard of play. Take the “follow-up” rule as an example. If every player followed every bowl up to the head, it would want two hours of “summertime” instead of half an hour to get the senior pennant matches through before dark.

I think the majority of old players do observe the rules, generally speaking, but there are very many who don’t, and so set a bad example to young players. It is a matter in which the clubs can all help by training young bowlers in the way they should go. Teach them to observe the rules from the start, and later, when they enter the competitive stages, the umpire will not need to worry about them.

One Foot on the Mat. One foot must be on the mat. It would be no hardship if a bowler had to keep both feet on the mat, and really there is no good reason why the rule should not be revised to this extent. “The front of the mat shall not be more than 20ft. nor less than six feet from the ditch.” The average is eight to nine feet up, but nearly all bowlers step forward with one foot a couple of feet as they deliver the bowl. If the mat was laid two feet or two yards further up they would still continue to do so. Why, when they have 14 feet to come and go on? The mat is quite large enough for any bowler to have both feet on it. allowing for a step of fully two feet, and if the rule was revised in this way it would put an end to its elasticity in its present form.

The same umpire who condemned the unstamped bowls was not upheld in his

refusal to permit the losing lead on the previous head to relay the mat after his opposing lead had sent the jack out of bounds. The rule is so framed as to penalise the lead who sends the jack out of the rink limits, and the penalty is twofold ; the other lead may bring back the mat to the limit of six feet from the ditch, and throw the jack, making it a long head or a short head as he pleases. Curiously enough, one rarely sees a lead want ing a short head achieve this by advancing the mat to the 20ft. limit. He pre fers to throw the jack short of the full rink. This, of course, leaves more room behind in which to trail the jack to any bowl or bowls which may be beyond the head. Defaulters. When all is said and done, the belated excuse and apology of the Central .club for defaulting in the pennant games did not carry the matter any further, and amply justified the moderate criticism expressed in this column following the default. The Central delegate felt that he had “not a leg to stand on,” and could not excuse his club in view of the vigour with which he urged the committee to fulfil its obligations. However, the centre expressed its strong disapproval and recommended the incoming • commit--tee to provide a penalty for future defaults by any club. It is a matter which will require careful consideration, as there may be circumstances in which a default cannot be avoided. Now that summer time is over again, the games must not be too prolonged or it will’be a case of candles and matches. The inter-social club tournament did not finish till 7 o’clock last Friday, and the light was going then. What is going to happen in the Eastern Suburbs tournament at Easter time? There have been occasions when the final heads have been played almost in darkness. If the tournament lasts so long that there is not time to finish the final of 21 heads in full daylight, then the final should be postponed or an agreement reached to play 15 or 16 heads instead of 21. There is no fun in playing bowls in the dark. • • • For Earthquake Fund. Island Bay Bowling Club will hold a one-day tournament on Wednesday, devoting the whole of the entrance fees to the earthquake funds, providing the prizes, value £4/4/-, to the winning rink, out of the club’s exchequer. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided, and also a cup of tea for those taking their lunch. Five games of nine heads will be played, three in the morning and two in the afternoon. So. roll up and support a good cause. Do spectators paxon this occasion?