HENSELITE BOWLS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22211, 14 March 1934, Page 8

HENSELITE BOWLS

BARRED IN DUNEDIN BOWLING CENTRE’S DECISION After a prolonged discussion, in the course of which tlie legal standing of the meeting was questioned, the executive of the Dunedin Bowling Centre unanimously decided last evening to prohibit the use of Heuselite bowls in competitions and tournaments under its control.

The meeting was a special one called by the president (Mr E. T. G. Falconer) to discuss the use of these bowls in the light of complaints that had come to hand since the previous meeting, when the dele, gates had decided to take no action regarding the use of Heuselite bowls. There was a full attendance of delegates. Mr Falconer said that they were up against a difficult and perplexing problem, and he had called a special meeting on account of the fact that since their last meeting, when, they decided to take no action in the meantime, certain letters had come to the centre, and he thought that delegates should view the matter from the new angle that had arisen. He asked them, therefore, to waive any rules and regulations in the constitution that might pertain to the calling of special meetings. The correspondence was very interesting, and they would agree that on his part it was necessary to call them together. He asked the delegates to endorse his action.

The president’s action was endorsed by the unanimous vote of the meeting. Mr Falconer went on to say that at the last meeting they had dealt exhaustively with the question of Heuselite howls, and had decided, on the facts in front of them, to take no further action, as no specific complaints had been made, and the secretary had stated that he had not had an opportunity of perusing the minutes of the New Zealand Bowling Association, and was not prepared to say that Henselite bowls had been discussed. He had now done that, and had a letter before the executive showing that the matter had not been discussed by the New Zealand Bowling Association.

The president also read the following letter from the Caversham Club, which had been received since the last meeting;—

“At the executive meeting of the Caversham Club full discussion on the use of Henselite bowls took place. It was unanimously decided that, in view of the damage that is being wrought by the Henselite bowl, the centre should take some action in the matter. Members of the club had reported damage to sets, and the club objects to the use of bowls which are doing so much harm. Trusting that the question will be faced at an early date, ptc,” The president said that they were a subservient body to the New Zealand Bowling Council, and it was not their affair that the council had not dealt with this matter. All they were concerned with was the protest from the Caversham Club objecting to their use. They had to decide whether they could, or could not, permit the use of these bowls in view of the fact that the council had not .dealt with the subject. They had no right to interfere with the laws of the game as set down by the New Zealand Bowling Association. The point was a difficult one and full of complexities. Naturally, they felt for those people who had purchased these howls. On the other hand, if the executive were satisfied that damage was being done, it was difficult to see how it could condone their use. He understood that the damage was being done.rby the rings. They could not sit on the fence, and it looked to him as if they must take a definite stand and say whether the bowls could be used or not. ■ Mr W. Gladding (St. Kilda) said that he thought the meeting was illegal, “We have no standing and can’t discuss the matter,” he added. “There is no notice to rescind the resolution passed at the last meeting.” After a brief discussion on the legal standing of the meeting, the president went on to say that his reason for calling the meeting was definite. Since the last meeting definite complaints had been made, and they had their rules, and the question was whether they could sidestep their rules or stand to their resolution of the previous meeting. It was going to be rather awkward if a club or an individual put in a protest against these bowls and referred to the rules. They knew well that the matter had never been dealt with by the N.Z.B.A. Mr J. Forster (Caversham), supported the letter from the Caversham Club. The statements made at the meeting of the executive of the club were very drastic, and the club definitely wanted to know what was going to be done. A pair of bowls that had been damaged by Henselite bowls had been produced, and it would have been hard to place a pin point between some of the scars. Prior to the match there had been hardly a mark on these bowls. The question also arose that in the event of the executive not taking action there was a chance that members of the Caversham Club entered for the Easter tournament would not play if they had to meet Henselite bowls, so they thought the best thing they could do was to put the case before the executive. Mr T. Smith (St. Clair) also said that members of his club had produced howls showing distinct marks from Henselite bowls. The air was thick with complaints about these bowls, and the matter was very important. The championship Singles games were approaching, and the Easter tournament, would also be seriously affected.

Mr L - . Edwards (Caledonian) said that there had been no complaints from his club, but the matter had been talked about quite a lot, and he had seen marks made by these bowls. Mr J. H. Hinton (St. Kilda, representing Waikouaiti) said that it did not appear to him that the executive had any real option. Had the Henselite bowls never ' been challenged they would be justified in doing what the New Zealand Council had done—sitting back and allowing them to be played. They were all conscious of the fact that the bowls were doing damage, and they were bound, in his opinion, to carry out the rules of the N.Z.B.A. If any club appealed to the Centre they dared not permit a bowl made of a material not approved of by the N.Z.B.A. to be played. They must support the complaint of the Caversham Club and they had a right to say that until these bowls were approved by the N.Z.BA.. they would decline to allow them to be used in any tournament. Several other delegates supported Mr Hinton’s remarks.

Mi- G. A. Nelson (Dunedin) said that he doubted if there was any other club in New Zealand carrying such good wood as the Dunedin Club, and, although his directorate, was not taking action a lot of members were sitting up and taking notice of the damage that had been done. He was certain that if the - executive of the centre did not take action the members of his club would take action along the same lines as the Caversham Club. Some members had told him that they would not take part in the Easter tournament if these bowls were going to be allowed. If they were not going to deal finally with the matter they might as well close up their Easter competition. A delegate inquired what the position was regarding their motion at the previous meeting. They could not do anything underhand about it.

The president: I have had all these facts rammed home to me in the past week or two. We can obstruct this from going through, or we can use our common sense, but if we are going to allow technical points to defeat us we are going to have difficulty in our tournament. I would not like to feel that a small minority of bowlers here used a technical point to prevent justice being done to our bowlers. You gentlemen can take the onus. The onus has been thrown on you to use your common sense in a matter that has been perplexing us all., Mr Hinton said that what he could not understand was the attitude of those wdio had purchased Henselite bowls. They knew that they were murderous things, and yet they persisted in playing with them. They should at least .withdraw their bowls until the matter was settled. After further discussion, Mr Falconer said that he refused to be placed in an untenable position. “If you are going to ask your president to run the Easter tournament,” he said, " and he has to go against his common sense, I must ask you to find somebody else to run the tournament.”

Mr Forster then moved the following resolution: —-“That this executive bar the playinii of Henselite bowls during the remainder of this season or until the N.Z.B.A. approves of them as per rules 18 and 22.”

Rules IS and 22 read as follows; — Rule 18— Bowls must be made of lignum vit®, or any approved material. Rule 22 .... No player shall play a bowl which does not comply with the laws of the game, and any competitor playing such bowls shall be disqualified from the match in which be is taking part, and the game awarded to his opponent. The motion was seconded by Mr Hinton and carried unanimously. Mr Hinton remarked that it was simply a matter of tlie association adhering to the rules of the N.Z.B.A. Notice of motion was given for the meeting of the executive on Saturday to rescind the motion carried at the previous meeting.