BOWLING NOTES

Free Lance, Volume X, Issue 499, 22 January 1910, Page 11

BOWLING NOTES

By Wrong Bias.

SO the-- Noaithern, ' Association's triennial bowling tournament is over "at last, and the. Wellington Club (thanks to Churchward's rink) lias got the champion banner, while the .young .Bracken-ridges, .of Newtown . have proved themselves." the best out °i }? 6 p T airs gathered from most parts of the. North and South Islands, "The -open. door" has been triumphantly vindicated and Wellington, is slowly recovering from an. eruption, not of measles but of blazers, tinted with ail the hues of-the rainbow, t The contest between the 90 rinks foir the Association's - champion banner reached its final stage on Saturday, when the excitement of numerous matches came to- a climax.. After the •deciding of section, ties.- the winners of sections started to play off, and the finish was fought out~ on. Saturday afternoon between Tom Churchward's Wellington Club team (Harry Mayer ■b. Carroll, Geo. Brown) and Baildon's . ,'fa-rey-liymin team, viz., Maurice Casey (pore), Pascoe. and Victor Casey (fils). ■''■'.-* « » The winning rinks to the various sections proved to be as follows ••—Section A, Bell (Wellington); Section. B, Fickeriirsr (Palmerston North); Section C. Land (Hastings), Section D, Wylie {Newtowiri—the only rink by the way 'JS^x 9 r, wil^ ' Section E, Hendry {Mutt), Section F. Masom (Pihama); Section G, Churchward (Wellington') Section H, Nash (Palmerston NorthV: feection J. Brackenridge (Newtown). There was some , muddling about playing off winners against winners and as a consequence some winners were knocking out other winders at the sarnie . time that other rinks were merely deciding sectional ties, and these tieing rinks, therefore, had fewer round® of final matches to play as a consequence. • * e ■u ¥ S 1 ? Play-off (Ist round), Pickering- - B^ l S 24^- Wylie beat HendrJ ■' r~JL 9) Ba JMon beat Land (30—19) and Brackenridge beat Masom (28—16) while Churchward's team, which had VI Z O * ies to decide in its section., got oft with a bye. . *' . *. * Tn , tne second round of play-off matches. Pickering knocked out the Hitherto victorious Wylie by 27 to 11 and Ba'ildon swamped the Brackenridge family ~b 7 27 to 12. Churchward's rink apparently had another bye.

■4. i fe third rouoid. Churchward tackled Pickerina. and, after a. slashing game,, m which •excitennent ' was well sustaamed from start ;Wfinish,-beat otr mer ' stoTl No ' rtn skip'by a point —25 to 24. Chu'rchwaa-d~irea.uired : to <rot 3 to tie on the last head, ainid with his last bowl he got 4 and won-' the game. In this .rotund Bai'idbn's rink seeims to have had a bye. ,••'■'* * *.-.■■■'' The final took olace on Saturday afternoon, between Churchward and Baildon. so that it was readily a, contest for the banner between Wellington and Auckland. It was a keen congest for of the distance, but after that the Wellington team gradually forged ahead, aoad worn, amid loud cheers by 26 to 1.7. Churchward in this tournament played at the top aof his form. In four separate .games viz., against Hawera, Turangaaiui. Carterton, amid Palmer ston North (Pickering), he won the game with his last boM. lb the tiedecidine game a.srainst KiJgou/r (Carlton). Churchward with his last bowl made a. tie. and Kilgour with his last bowl shifted the jack to wheire his opponents lay two, and thus gave away

the game to Chunchiwaird. Georee Brown was a reliable No. 3'. As it is eight years since the Wellington Club last flew the chamrpioni bantater, it will be readily understood there was ajreat getting it back again. and hour Churchward is the hero of the

In the Champion Pairs contest, wihich smarted on Thursday, and finished on Monday, morning, mo lees than 126 pairs competed. They were grouped into 21 .sections, of 6 pair© each, and they each played 4 games of 21 heads to decide winners of sections'. These turned up in the following—names marked with am asterisk denoting that a trie had to be played off to de-, code which was winner:—Section A*, Enowles ,and Williamson (Kelburne , >: Section B, Jones and Wylie (Petone) ; Section C*. Jani.es and John Brackenridge (Newtown);. Section D Otter and Curteis (Canlton'" • Section E. La wry and Kilgour (Carlton); Section F. Geddis and Lock (Te Hiwd) ; Section G. ' 8.. M and Jas. Brackenridge, senr. (Newtown); Section H*, Hon. J.

A. Millar and Dall (Wellington); Section J*, Veitch and Webb (Wellington): Section K*. Mills and" Hawkins OPahiatua); Section L Parata\and Dimock (Te Hiwi): Section M, Hiiglies and Mcßratney 'Pahiatua) ■' Section N. Sim and Still (Wellington.); Section and Hill (Te Hiwi): Section B . Brunskill and Bell (Wellington; Section S, White and Crichton Smith (Kelburme); Section T*. East and Woollen- - Section V*, Kerr and Laughton (Newtown); Section W, Ifambie and Mason (PihamaVSection X* Sexton and Prince (Newtown) • Section Z* Maurice and Victor Casey (Grey Lynn). * * * '■ In the first winner v. wianer- round, ten paii-s were, to have coni(peted-7-five against five—aaid 11 were to. have-byes. This left 16 in for the remaining stages, but. as in the rrinks soi in. ' tbe pairs, certain pairs which, were engaged in the link finals as well escaped one or two rounds of the pairs, and. things became a bit mixed in consequence. * * - : ' :'''.'* The two pairs that .came, through to the final stage were Jaines Bjrackenradge, jun,.. and John,. Brac&enridge (Newtown) and J. M. Geddis and Thos. lipjok (Te Hiwi). In playing section winners, the two Brackenridges beat the two Caseys by 23 to 14, beat Jones and Wylie (Petone) by 23 to 15, and beat Smith, and Pickering (Paimerston North by 24 to 14. Geddis and Lock feat Sim and Still (Wellington) ,28 to 18, beat Kmowles and Williamson (Kelburne) 24 to 11. a*nd beat Sexton a/hd Prince

(Newtown) 25 to 18. The final beiweein the two. Birackemridges and Geddis and Lock cam© off on the Wellington Club's lower greein on. l Monday nioirning, and resolved itself into a question between short beads and long heads. Whenever the had the jack they served up short beads, and usually scored on them. Geddis and Lock, on tbe other baaid, served full pitchers, and for tlhe most part beat their opponents in the long beads. They were 20 to tlhe Brackenridgeßi' 12 with thirteen heads gone. Then the Brackeinridges began steadily to pull up. and with seventeen beads gone tbe pairs were level. On the twentieth head Lock, with 1 point down, Jay-tlhe' sbot. when Bracken ridge, witb a drive, took the jack to tbe ditch and scored When tbe last head started, Lock bad to. get 2 to tie .aind 3 to win. With his third bowl he carried the jack to the ditcb for one, and had twenty

fee b in which to draw the second ahosb. Bait Rrackenridge. with a splelndid draw, placed a shot on the brink of the rink—another inch and it would hare been dead—and Lock's last drive fadlinig to dislodge it. the Brackemr idges won the. igame by 24 to 21. * » » James and John Brackenridges— both young meta—belong to. the Post and Telegraph Department, and bowling runs in the family. Their grandfather was a noted Scottish bowler,

£ S + fatlher-jrames Brackenridge —is about the keenest amid most experienced skip in tb© colony. ; In this tourney he skipped a rink of his three sons with .much success in the rink matches. «l«s iuw John BrackenridgeV howling exploits began at the 1902 Association tournament, when he played- N0.3 *? his father,, and helped him to win the champion banner for the Victoria Olud. In 1906, at the Dunedin tournament, he partnered his father in wiping the Champioai Pairs,and also in 19U8. he again competed with his father in the Ghampio-n Pairs, and they came out a® runners-up. ''■'■■-,•',■ * Thomas Lock has a nine fneco,r«T gso. In 1904, with J. HfeK fe 5 T> h ' e^ n + the CWpiqia Pairs a* the Duntedm tourniainent of the- New Zealand BowW Association, ;, nd in +£? o «Jf s . kl PP e3 , **» rink that the £50 prize at tihe Invercarcnll J' rs t Pr touruament. This is the ?rst 'S ti5 6d iQ a North I^aS. w4^hS s r s ss^^ : s Balkngeir (skip) in winning ±h' 3 Champion, Fours at the Association tournament in Auckland, and in 1902, at the Associataon, tournament in fceMingto Geddis and Churchward won the Champion Pairs. Churchward as iead was associated with \lcK>~ in winning the Pairs at the famous'dril£ ? innTx nament irL the; nineti3S, and ™ 9 2t *-r£' W ? bb ami CburchVvW won the Champion Pairs at Curis * ehurch.. Thos is the first 'however, on which Sunny Touii skipped the Champion Rink * » •» This .week the New Zealand Bo Assopiatioti is carrying- out its to-urna. ment at Dunedin with a record number of entries-108 rinks, and a proportionate u/umber of pair®. This is the recordI for the colony: Only three North Island rinks are an> pigad mig, viz.. Braokentridge's rink (Williams. CampbettT and W^lie),-Bary> s i« from ISria and Kennedy's rink from Napier Brackearidge and 2T& bott appear-, ed to be out .of it. having more losses/ than wins, but Kennedy was standing on top ,of has section, with 5 «ar.ring accidents, I should say that Carswell's famous Taieri rink (the heroes of many tournaments) will again secure the blue riband.