BOWLING NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19254, 17 February 1926, Page 15

BOWLING NOTES.

QUIET AUCKLAND GREENS. WELLINGTON COMPETITIONS. PAIRS TOURNEY IN FAVOUR. BY SKIP. February has always been a quiet period on the local bowling greens in recent years, and this year it has proved no exception. Saturday's play was again confined for the most part to club competitions, although a few clubs were engaged in inter-club games. Next Saturday will see a repetition of this procedure, but on the following Saturday the pennant and fourrink competitions will be resumed. Although the fixtures in Section B of the pennant competition have been worked out, yet eight out of the twelve clubs competing will be engaged in the four-rink championship, results of which count iia the pennant percentage. Papatoetoe, Otahuhu, Edendale and Manurewa are, therefore, free for the succeeding two rounds. , Pennant competitions are now being run in Wellington, and there the centre had th(> wisdom to postpone the matches during the Dominion championships. This was not done in Auckland, which sent far more representatives to Dunedin than Wellington. The pairs tournament has also found favour in -Wellington. Not very long ago the Wellington Centre tried to have this event struck off the list to be decided at the Dominion championships, and it is rather strange to find them now refusing a club permission to hold a pairs tournament at Easter on the grounds that it would interfere with its own pairs* competition. Even though' the local pairs championship will be held on off days, commencing on March 2, a large number of entrants is anticipated. The general opinion seems to be that it was an unwise course to take this event away from the Easter holidays, when it always drew a large number of competitors and provided good bowling. The Rotorua Fixture. The majority of the twenty-eight Auckland teams which competed in. the recent Rotorua tourney have returned, and, as uWal, the players were delighted with what was' to them a great week's holiday. There is no doubt that the inland event is very popular with Auckland representatives, and this is reflected in an en try* of one over half the total number of competing teams. The Rotorua tournament is generally almost as popular with the public as it is with the players, many holiday-makers visiting the greens each day to watch the play. Given fine weather and a "bank" as is. usually seen at Rotorua, a tournament in progress makes a very pretty sight. The competitors did not have much wet but a high wind made matters rather unpleasant for them. There were, as usual, a number of_ stubbornly contested games and close finishes. There was an unusual coincidence in the meeting of the two Fells. Two years age, the West End representative defeated the Hamilton skip, N. Bell, by a score bf 17 to "15, and the same result attended their game on this occasion. The meeting of these two skips has a peculiar attraction for the spectators, as on both occasions the games have been the star attraction of the round. Whittle's Tine Eecord. Apart, from the brilliant win of Maxwell Walker's Auckland Club team, the position attained by the Grey Lynn skip, H. Whittle, was the 'outstanding event. The Grey Lynn team put up a very fine record in sustaining only one defeat in the section play, and that at the hands of aii expert like N. Bell. _ However, Whittle was not successful in the final, where age and experience told its tale in favour of Maxwell Walker's rink. Lyell, the winning lead, played a very steady game all through the tourney, and hi the final was well up to form. His opponent, Minchim, had played some marvellous games up to the final, but in that was not as steady as he might have been. Hardie Neil played a prominent part m the final, and his game was quit© hi 3 best of the tournament. Whittle played fine bowls throughout the game, but the final against such a master as Walker, backed up by a solid team, was too much for the Lynn S This latest win adds another to Walker's. already long list of successes. It is wonderful how he retains his form, and also how great an attraction his play has .for the spectators. Wherever he is engaged there is always sure to be a crowd of spectators. Aucklanders' Good Showing.

The Auckland teams throughout did very wall, and their performance in winning every section was excellent. The preens were said to be good, but not up to the standard of the previous _ year, when they almost reached perfection. J. Pascoe, president of the Auckland Centre, had the distinction of scoring an flight against the Carlton team skipped by Duffin, who had C. Warren as third. It was quite a simple matter, as all the shots were drawn. Duffin had the bad luck to find an opening in the head with both bowls, and consequently failed to save. ~ . ~ The visitors speak well of the arrangements, and say that in spite of the unpleasant wind a most enjoyable weeks bowling had resulted. The North Bland Tourney. The tourney now in progress in Hamilton has drawn only 45 teams, which does seem as though it is a very popular fixture. It is hard to understand why an island tournament is required when the number of events already on the season s programme is considered. Evidently the Dominion Council did not take that into consideration when it granted permission for the tourney, and also it did not think that the staging of an island fixture would result in a serious interference with the Dominion event. It is certain that the number of tournaments is at 'present far too great. Some of them will have to be discarded, and it is to be hoped that the choice will not fall on the Dominion championships. PROFESSIONAL EOTNING. AUSTRALIAN SPRINTERS. TIM BANNER'S SUCCESS. "To the cheering of excited thousands, Tim Banner, of iSew South Wales, won the coveted title of Australian sprint champion at- the Horsham Athletic Club Carnival recently," states a Sydney paper. "The perfectly-moulded Goulburn athlete proved his remarkable ability by brilliant races over 75yds, 130 yds, and 220yds—the three tests set down for decision. Banner was never extended at say portion of the various events, and by the times recorded showed himself a worthy successor to Jack Donaldson, and fit to be matched against any runner in the world to-day." He won* the first test of 75yds in the excellent time of 7£s, and the 130 yds was covered in 12 7-l6s for Banner to secure an easy victory. Another excellent performance stood td his credit in the 220 yds race, for he won it in 22 l-8s without being extended. Banner, a strongly-built, natural athlete, is 22 years of age, and was born at Goulburn*. He weighs lOst. 101b. in condition, and is sft, 6£in. in height. He commenced his running three years ago. and won his first big handicap, the Parkes £IOO, of! 11yds, in 1923. He has formally lodged a challenge to race world's* champions over specified distances for a stake of £SOO a side.