BOWLING NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 77, 26 February 1930, Page 10

BOWLING NOTES.

FIRST ROTORUA TOURNEY. TRIUMPH FOR WELLINGTON TEAMS. (By “Trundler.”) It was a glorious summer day when tho first Rotorua bowling tourney wns commenced, with tho throe greens fully occupied. Looking from the second storey of the big bath-house the scene was most animated a'nd picturesque. In the immediate foreground were the croquet and tennis courts, and towards the road tho three bowling greens rising in terraced formation, so that one could easily perceive the movements of the players. The gardens were a riot of colour and the ensemble made a picture flint only Rotorua can provide, perhaps anywhere in the world. Herein lies tho charm of playing bowls, croquet, or tennis in these delightful surroundings. The fifty-five teams in tho tourney wero drawn from various parts of the North Island and included many players of Dominion reputation. The winner of section A was Robertson, of Onchunga, a very skilful player who can draw and drive with remarkablo accuracy, which he demonstrated in tho post-section play against Trustcott (Carlton) and in the semi-final against Hill (Wellington). Harvey (Devonport) brought off a mild surprise when he won section B, which-included Kerr (Mnsterton). A defeat at the hands of Loglcy (Rotorua) spoilt Kerr’s chance of winning tho section. Section C was the hardest of all. In it were Brighting (Hataitai), Bremner (West End), M. Walker (Auckland), and H. Clark (Carlton), all well-known and experienced skips. Brighting eventually won the section, but it was a stern strugglo for him. He played an exceptionally fine shot to win his game against Walker and earned rounds of applause in doing so. Walker and Brighting tied on tho 20th head, and on the 21st Walker, with his last bowl, had turned the jack against his own wood with two of Brighting’s team’s bowls immediately behind. Playing a little firmly to dislodge the shot, Brighting delivered a perfectly greened bowl which achieved the objective and he scored a nnrrow win. A KEEN STRUGGLE. On the final morning of section play Brighting had to meet Clark, who has won the Dominion singles championship, and throughout the section play had drawn with great accuracy. Each had had one loss. Clark soon established a good lead and the ehnnees of winning the.section seemed very bright. Brighting, however, began to reduce his deficit and towards the end was pnly three or four points in arrear. Then occurred an unfortunate incident following a drive, when a bowl in the ditch was claimed as Bnghtling’s by bis number three, the skip having driven the kitty through to the ditch with his last bowl. The opposing team claimed the bowl in the ditch as the first delivered by the Hataitai skip which had failed to achieve its purpose, and that the second bowl went outside one boundary of the rink. The discussion ended in Brighting sooring a point and thereafter Clarke’s team seemed to go to pieces and Brighting won the game. Whether the incident had any further effect on Clark’s team the writer does not know, but he failed badly next game against Parkes, Rotorua, being heavily defeated, and thus eliminated. • Truscott (Cartlon), an experienced Auckland player, took the honours in section D but wns eliminated in the post-section play by Robertson, of Onchunga. UNSTAMPED, BOWLS. A veteran player in E. J. Hill (Wellington) annexed section E. Actually, he tied with L. Crowley, of Tnuranga, each having three losses, but a protest by Maher (St. Leonard’s, Hastings) against- a member of an Opotiki team for using unstamped bowls was the means of eliminating Crowley. The committee of the club upheld the protest by Maher, which brought him in with three losses. The Opotiki team had also beaten Hill, but had gone down to Crowley. As Opotiki was given a loss in each game for tile breach of the rules. Hill thus gained an extra win and took the section with two losses. Hill’s team then mad*'' a sporting offer to play Crowley to determine the winner of the section, but the committee had no option but to adhere to its decision. . The brilliant weather of the week broke on the evening of Thursday • and all prospects of further play were banished until the following Monthly by the steady rain of the intervening days. Monday was cold and damp underfoot when the four teams assembled to decide the honour of winning tho contest and it was a battle between Wellington and Auckland, with the southerners the victors. AUCKLANDERS ELIMINATED. Hill had a great struggle witli Roberston. The latter’s team played well ot the start and established a good lead, but the tournament experience of the Wellington four was tho deciding factor. Immediately they got within striking distance the Onchunga lead, two and three went to pieces and gave their skip,-who was in good form, no chance to save the game. Hill led by two points, at the last head and his lend, placing his first shot on tho jack, had his opponents in trouble. Though Roberston tried hard—and promoted one of his bowls for shot —he could not save the day and Wellington won a great victory by a single point. Brighting easily beat Harvey and the final was commenced at once in the presence of a fair number of spectators. It was another good game with fortune in the balance most of the time. Hill took the lead with two points to spare at the 20th head and his lead getting a bowl on the jack on the final head had Brighting in trouble. This was the deciding bowl in a very well contested game and gave victory to Hill by three points. THE SECOND TOURNEY. Tho second tourney is now in progress, there being a record of 42 entries. One pleasing fact to the secretary of the club is that all the teams are genuine representatives of their respective clubs. Hitherto, it lias been necessary to make up teams among visitors to swell the entries.

What should be an interesting and enjoyable match will be played on the Lev in Club’s green next Saturday when the southern clubs will meet tho Palmerston North Clubs. There will be eight rinks a side and the game should do much to bring the members of distant clubs into touch with each other. Good progress is being made by clubs with their championship events and in the majority of cases the winners will represent their clubs in the champion of champion events next month. Tho Terrace End Club does not hold a championship rink tourney, the percentage fours competition taking its place. there was no play for the Dixon Cup on Saturday owing' to Christenson (lead) and Johnson (skip) of the Terraco End rink, which has staved off a long succession of challenges, being at the Rotorua second tournament. For the same reason there will be no game next Saturday. In the final of the champion of champions singles competition in tho Hamilton group of the South Auckland Centre, N. licll, junr., made a great finishing effort to annex tho honour. Higgott was leading 15 to 7 on tho 17th head but on the last four heads Bell secured 10 points. Tho Te Awamutu Bowling Club entertained the ladies at a progressive pairs tourney last Saturday in appreciation of their valued help in entertaining visitors during the season. Mrs R. Noonnn won the skips’ prize, and Miss Mavis Clark the leads, with Mesdamcs G. F. Smith and A. A. Reego as runners-up respectively. Awards were also made to Mesdames O. O’Brien, S. Dowds and L. G. Armstrong. The British bowling team which has been touring South Africa has been beaten so often that “Another British Defeat” has been tho common heading to reports of its matches. One of the most interesting exorcises in figures is the averaging of the ages of

the venerable bowlers who turn out on Elderly Bowlors’ Day in Dunedin. C. W. Fountain, a life-member of the Roslyn Club, admitted having passed his 94 th milestone. and expressed his determination to scoro a century. But he had a rival in T. Moodic, who is also on his 95th lap. The ages of tho members of the 20 rinks taking part in the day’s play toallcd 6126 years, an average of 76.51 a player. Not a bad advertisement, this, for bowls! Maoriland bowlors must have good nerves (says tho Sydney Bulletin). Someone has sent me a photograph of the Barnett Tiki, a trophy presented for competition among- M.L. howlers. Christchurch, holder of tho gadget, managed to heat off a challenge by Wellington and retained the monstrosity. This is a carved wooden figure in the best Maori-Byzantine style of art, with a dash of Futurism and a soupcon of Epstein thrown in, and looks like a cross between a Greek wrestler and a disgruntled cuttlefish. Its appearance in any Australian bowling club at the end of a long hot afternoon would certainly send half the members off to sign the pledge.

PLUMBERS AND A. AND W. A bowling match was played on the Palmerston North green this week between Plumbers and a rink representing Abraham and Williams, Ltd. Sixteen heads were played, Plumbers losing by 17 points to 19. The trophy,'a shield presented by Mr R. W. H. Rainsay, thus changed hands after having been held by Plumbers against five challengers. The rinks were as follow: —Plumbers: Carton, Kirk, Cope and Ramsay (skip) ; Abraham and Williams, Ltd. : Larcomb, Moffatt, Bryan and Kerslake (skip).