BOWLING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 20979, 18 December 1931, Page 14

BOWLING NOTES

[By Measuksb.] FIXTURES. December 25, 26.—Dunedin Centra December 31j January 1, 2.—Southland Centre tournament. . January 11 to 25.—Dominion tournament at Christchurch. January 23 or February 27.—Dunedin Centre v. South Otago Centre. February 13.—Elderly Bowlers’ Day. March 12 and 14.—Champion of ■tampions. , . ~ March 19 and 23,—Adess Shield. . Easter, 1932.—Dunedin Centre tournament. ■“ Measurer ” extends to all readers ij| this column and to all lovers of the game the season’s greetings. Congratulations and good wishes to ffiwo St, Clair members who have just Entered for the Prosperity Doubles. Last Saturday’s interclub games resulted in Caledonian, by virtue of winjhing four sections out of five,, mainJtaining its position at the top of the f (table with a lead of five points,oyer fjilornmgton and Valley. The section st by Caledonian was against Logan ark, which result must have been a grise to both sides. St. Clair and field were the only clubs to notch maximum points. St. Clair’s wins i against Leith and West Harbour i sections each), the latter wins Joeing meritorious, although in one section by a single point only.; There were three or four section wins •By only one point. In one Cavershamj£t. Kilda section the game ended in b, tie, and 6n the extra head, after pome good but unlucky drawing on both Jades, Stuart .just failed to run the Ihot ball out, and Brown won the section for*Caversham. Two of Kaituna’s Winning sections (one each against Otago and Leith) got home by a solidary point.- Balmacewen, though, near pie bottom of the list, scored creditable gins against Taicri and Mornington. i /The following table gives the present

The Dunedin Centre’s Christinas pairs tournament has attracted the splendid entry of 88, necessitating eleven greens feeing required. Only four rinks on Bach green tvill be used, so that there p room available for club members to fcajoy their holiday fun. Entries have feeen received from all over the. province. Those who have not yet paid their ahtry fees for the .Christmas tournament are requested to do so at Mr Banning’s office before Tuesday next. Pne entry is still required. The dominion tournament to be held la Christchurch next month has attracted .a fine tally of entries —better (than some pessimists expected. The Comparative figures for the last three tournaments are as follow: —■

Naturally the Christchurch chibs are yrell represented, but the North Island jjintry is not so good as usual, accountable by the two factors of distance and expense. All the entrants will be genuinely sorry that N. Bell, jun., will fiot be defending his singles title, also that A. Parsons (Ponsonby) is unable come to Christchurch. The local gink entries arfe:—Tyrrell (Iloslyn), Armstrong (Iloslyn), Tonkin (Nortlifast Valley), Adess (St. Kilda), E. S. Vilson (St. Kilda), Anderson (Dunedin), Deare (Dunedin), Ferguson (Balmacewen), Abbott (Caledonian), Bead (Pay), Foster (Caledonian), Hutchison (Dunedin), Forster (Caver§bam), Ryan (Kaikorai). Many of the Inembers of these rinks have entered plso for the Singles and pairs. The secretary of the Dunedin Centre advises that it is impossible to give a full statement of wins and losses for (Wednesday games, as some clubs have ftot sent in results. His records to Bate show that Anderson’s Bay and Mornington are leading with 15 points for the first three games. Four-rink Games. —A statement of ■he wins and losses to date in the fourfink games is given hereunder:— =—Section A.—

Logan Park ... ... l*Leith v. Caledonian and Leith v. paversham are not yet played. —Section B.—

There may be some bowlers here who Intend visiting Sydney for the opening the new bridge, and to them the following information forwarded to me jjkr the secretary of the bowling carftlval will prove of interest:—The New fouth Wales Bowling Association will hold a'bowls carnival in celebration of the official opening of the Sydney Harbour bridge. It is confidently anticipated that the carnival will be the biggest ever held in Australia, and comheritors will include players from all (Australian States, New Zealand, Great Britain Canada, United States, South Africa,’and Fiji. Play will commence In Monday, March 21, two days after the official opening of the bridge, with E rink competition, which will be played bi sections. Each rink will play nine games, three each day for three daj s.

The section winners will then play off. There will also be a singles tournament, to be called the “ Harbour Bridge Singles,” to follow the rink play. Trophies will bo presented in accordance with the scale obtaining for Australian championships, and special medals are being struck in commemoration of the historic occasion. A special souvenir is also being prepared to .bo presented to each competitor. It is expected that the nominations will be around tho 2,000 mark. THE NEW RULES. Local clubs have now received wall copies of the revised edition of the laws of the game. In 1929 the Auckland executive took in hand the work of revising the rules, and their useful suggestions formed tho basis of the proposals subsequently considered by the N.Z.B.A. Eventually the revision was completed, and the Christchurch executive was authorised to get tho new rules printed. Bowlers will be wise (says “No. Two,” in tbe ‘Post’) to road the rules carefully, s 6 as to bring themselves up to date. Everything has been so completely recast and such vital alterations have been made that it is only by studying them closely that the full purport of tho changes can be grasped. With regard to the green a new provision is made that the playing area shall he surrounded by a ditch, which shall not be less than Ciu below the surface of the green, and ho not less than lOin in width. It is recommended that the bank be not less than 18in in height, with an angle from the green of not more than 120 deg. The definition of tho boundary of the rink is made clearer than it was before. Formerly Rule 16 said: ‘‘The four corners of the rink shall he marked by pegs driven in the top of tho bank where practicable.” The new rule (4) says; “Tho four corners of the rink shall be marked by pegs not less than one-half nor more than one inch in width, driven into the top of the bank where practicable, the outside edge of such pegs to be the boundaries of the rink.” The “ following up ” rule has undergone a change, inasmuch as it is now permissible to follow up a bowl for 20ft as against the 15ft previously allowed. Why following up is allowed at all is hard to understand. The excited player chasing his wood up the green cannot blow on it . with his breath or kick it to send it near its objective, and he only delays the next player getting into action. Some of the British people, of course, delight in running after their bowls the full length of the head; the practice doubtless has some peculiar psychological effect on the individual, affording him some keen sense of pleasure of a purely personal kind, but what ,is the use of it to anybody else? The new rule 19. sets out definitely the limit to the size of a howl; .“ A bowl shall not exceed 3-}lb in weight and shall not measure more than 5 3-16 in in its major diameter.” The standard howl is defined as a bowl approved by the council for the purpose of testing other bowls. It shall have a major diameter of s|in, and weigh not less than 31b 4oz. Its draw shall be’ 59in in a run of 84ft on a standard green, and such run, shall bo determined at the 15ft mark on a testing rail 17ft long with a gradual rise of 4ft over its whole length. Players must be careful to note that in future “ all bowls shall bear a distinctive mark, apart from a number, on both discs of each bowl.” An alteration of some importance is made regarding the placing of the mat by leads, and “No. 2,” who in reality is only a No. 1, gives fair warning that for the future he proposes, if his side has had tho luck to win the preceding head, to lay the mat for himself, and not follow the custom of allowing the lead of the side which has lost the head to perform this office as a matter of courtesy. Some people aro even more 'fastidious than the rules provide in the matter of placing the mat, and there is no satisfying them; either it is not straight, or it is too far up. the green, or too near the ditch, or there is something else wrong. Rule 11 says: “The winner of the head may. place the mat in the centre of the rink between the point where the jack lay and the ditch, provided that the front of the mat shall be not more than 20ft nor less ..than. 6ft from the ditch. If the jack lay in the ditch, or less than 6ft from tho ditch, tho front of the mat shall be laid about 6ft from the ditch.” The old rule read the same, but as it does not'seem to he as well known as it might he, it is printed again herewith —as Mr Speaker says in Parliament, “for purposes of greater accuracy.” The point which it is wished to emphasise, however, is the alteration to tho rules, which says that “ the winner of tho previous head shall lay tho mat in accordance with Rule 11 and play first.” This means that the winning lead places the mat, and that he need not necessarily wait for his vis-a-vis to do it.

Another amended rule empowers skips to call up the No. 3’s to the head for consultations. The English practice is for the thirds to remain at the head until their turn comes to play. There is a change with respect to the throwing of the jack. In future, if the jack is thrown less than G6ffc from the front of the mat or into the ditch, or outside of either side boundary of tb© rink, it shall be returned, and the throw taken by the opposing lead, who may shift the mat into any position in winch the winning lead of the previous bead could have laid it as provided in Rule 11 before ho throws anew, but he shall not play first. If, however, he fails to throw the jack correctly the privilege of replacing the mat shall revert to the opposing player, who shall then throw the jack. If any head he drawn or mad© dead the jack shall revert to the original lead. There are a number of alterations with respect to movement of jack and bowls, and the striking of neutral objects, and these should all be studied carefully. Incidentally, a definition is given of the term the howlers will find that it does not mean “dead,” in which sense it is so often wrongly used. A jack striking the bank and rebounding on to the green is alive and shall remain where it rests, unless this position is less than 20ft from the front of the mat, in which case it shall he dead. If the jack be prevented from falling into the ditch by an opening or any inequality in the hank, or any steps in the hank, it shall be dead.

position; — yVi L. Points. Tl. Caledonian ,. 4 1 ' 9| 57| Momington . 2 1 8 52 Sfalley ... ... .. . 1 2 4 52 Boslyn ... . 3 1 9 48 fit. Kilda ... .. . 2 3 4f •43± qlaieri .... ... .. ; 1 1 6 42 Kaitima . 3 1 9 39 Sit. Clair. . 4 — 12 39 (Paversham ... .. , 3 1 9 36 Preen Island . 1 — 12 36 , — , 3 — 36 ©nnedin , 4 2 8 30 Port Chalmers ... . 1 1 6 30 ®Test Harbour ... — 2 — 30 Kaikorai , 1 2 4 28 |)tago 1 2 4 28 JAnderson’s Bay ... . . — 4 — 24 Balmacewen , 2 2 6 24 fhitram , 1 .— 1 24 Slogan Park . 1 1 6 18 . — 3 ' — 8

Dun. 1930. Auck. 1931. Ch’ch. 1932. links 90 148 100 ingles ... [airs 176 272 186 ... 176 234 168

Caledonian .... Wins. ... 3 Losses. Green Island ... 3 1 ?Leith .• ... 2 h— Kaikorai .... 2 2 Mornington .... 2 2 Otago ... 2 2 North-east Valley ... 2 2 t*Caversham ... 1 2 .West Harbour ... ... 1 .3

Dunedin ... 3 1 St. Kilda ... 3 1 Taieri •: •••: 3 1 Balmacewen ... 2 2 Kaituna ...: ...: ... 2 2 Roslyn ... ... ... 2 2 St. Clair ... ... ... 1 3 'Anderson’s Bay ... — 4