BOWLING

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 38, 13 August 1930, Page 9

BOWLING

SENIOR PENNANTS

PRESENT SYSTEM RETAINED

■Annually the Wellington Bowling Cwatrc is faced with tho difficulties of the proportional system iv tho Senior Pennants, but motions containing suggested alternatives at the monthly meeting last night, notice of which had been given, were heavily defeated. Time in arranging the season's contests was saved by the allocation of rinks for Senior Pennants by tho club delegates, so that selectors will avoid a certain amount of trouble by the narrowing down of the possible number of pennant players for each club. Mr. H. G. Mayer (Wellington) presided. Mr. J. Kershaw (Hataitai) moved: "That the competition for the Senior Pennant shall be a four-rink inter-club one." .'■'■-. The" chairman seconded the motion. The Wellington Club, he said, considered that they should go back to the four-rink games. Too many rinks meant lack of interest iv selection for pennants. Mr. J. A. Doherty (Kelburn) thought four rinks too many for a small club and two rinks too few for a big one. Each club should decide its eligible pennant players, and a general proportion should be struck by all clubs. Mr. C. Rendle (Eastbourne) said that the Saturday strength of his club was only six rinks. Mr. G. Jones ( Johnsonyille) said that as far as his club was concerned the -Pennants did not matter, but he thought the centre should make Pennant rinks proportional to membership, or drop the Pennant games. MIGHT BE WORSE. Mr. 11. P. Clark (Island Bay) said that the only argument against the .proportional system last year was that the proportion in some clubs was a little unfair. ' Supporters of Mr. Kershaw might go from bad to worse. If they carried the motion. some of the smaller clubs would have to put in 50 per cent, of their members, while the larger clubs might only need 16 per cent., and the biggest clubs would need only S per cent. The present arrangement was the best to give all members of clubs a chance of friendly games, Another delegate said that it would be a mistake to go back to the two home and two away idea. That was all very well in 1888, but since then, bowling had increased, and clubs were stronger. . . . Mr. B. Guise (Newtown) supported the motion. He had, commenced with a great ambition to play in the PenBants, but the system adopted in the last few years meant that any bowler at all could get into the Pennants. Every member of his club was a Penpant player, and that was not right. A delegate:, "It is lovely." Mr. M. Marks (Victoria) said that the' true "blue ribbon" of the game ■was the Pennants, the most important event of the season in every club. Putting on Pennants and friendly games on the same day worked out very well. He supported the present system, as his club had voted that way. \ Mr. Kershaw said that if any of the smaller .clubs put ou two rinks it would be quite a workable scheme. He believed that most clubs would content their members by putting on friendly games oii the same days as Pennants. The great, objection to the present system was that there was no real interest in the Pennants. The chairman agreed that for the last two years the system had resulted in a lack of interest in Pennants. The motion was lost by eight votes So twelve. -v ••-.'■. . ANOTHER ■• PROPOSAL. Mr. W. T. Goodwin (Thorndon) moved: "That the Centre arrange three separate competitions to be known as Senior Pennant Competition, Welling* ton Bowling Centre Cup Competition, and Flyger Shield Competition, entries to be made by affiliated clubs of four rink teams, any club to be able to enter any number of teams for. each y>r any of the competitions." Under his suggestion, said Mr. Goodwin, clubs that had no chance in the Pennants could enter the other competitions. In several years the Pennants had gone • round .only five clubs. Many taking part; knew they had no chance, and play was merely of •the nature of friendly games, certainly not competitive. The chairman seconded the motion, as it enabled larger clubs to play for the Pennants,; and. the smaller clubs to enter the other competitions. Mr. Guise said,that Newtown. was for th&. Pennants or nothing. His club would put in 16 rinks. Mr. .Doherty said that the_ motion liad the objection- of the one just lost, that it would merely split up the players. .-Kelburn had tried to reduce competitions to prevent that. Mr. Goodwin said that there would be no more competitions; The gameß would be played on the same days as Pennants. Here was an opportunity to enter the" Pennants with only four rinks, with a chance of winning them. With 48 players last season in the Pennants, Thorndon had half its members at a loose end. The motion was lost on the voices. A motion by Mr. Marks that, in order to avoid the suggestion of the unfairness of the proportional system, each secretary supply a list of members of club's willing to play in, the Senior Pennants, led to delegates settling the number of rinks available for Senior Pennants on the spot, as follows:— Wellington and Kelburn, 12; Hutt, Island Bay, Victoria, Hataitai, Thorn-" don, Karori, and Newtown 10; Central 8; Petone, Khandallah, Lyall Bay, and Seatoun, 6; Upper Hutt, Johnsonville, Woburn, and Eastbourne, 4; Plimmerton, 2. -