BOWLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 36

BOWLING.

Secretaries are requested to forward particulars of games played and of forthcoming matches.

NOTES BY JACK. The annual tournament of the N.Z. Bowling Association, under the control and management, of the Dunedin Centre, was successful in every respect save weather. The elements were not too kind, but visitors from far and near, as well as local bowlers, were out for a holiday, and for the most part succeeded in enjoying themselves. The general arrangements were excellent, thanks to the arduous work of the chairman of the centre (Mr H. 11. Scott) and' the members of the executive. Much credit is due to Mr H. F. M. Mercer, the secretary, who put in an immense amount of work, preliminary and otherwise, and was always obliging and ready to supply every possible information. Mr Gallaway, the president of the association, was in evidence on the various greens during each day. In this connection the centre is indebted to Mr A. Black for bis kindness in placing his motor car at their disposal, thus enabling those running the tournament to get about from green to green. The play in the tournament has been already dealt with so fully that very little that is new can be said in that respect. It was not so brilliant as has been seen on previous occasions, but the weather and the condition of some of the greens may be responsible for this. Several of the greens proved somewhat disappointing - , andi in this connection a mistake was made in selecting St. Kilda Green before the Otago Green for the rinks. _ The seaside green may play fairly well in fine weather, but that cannot be said to have been the case on Monday and Tuesday, when the drizzle did not help to mend matters. Those who played in the pairs on the Otago Green on the other hand, were quite satisfied with its condition. And for the pairs Wakari Green should not have been chosen before Outram. Players would have been content with a drive over the Taiori Plain if assured of a keen, even green afterwards, such as is to he found at Outram. _ Had the Wakari gj-cenkeeper been notified a few days before that the green would be required, he could have greatly improved it. As it was it was cruel to send up there bowlers who had, for instance, come all the way from Napier. The executive would have been quite justified in selecting by ballot a section of players from the Dunedin Centre for Wakari Green. _ And this raises the whole question of limitation of entries; but that may 'be dealt with on a future occasion. . We are dealing just now with the effects of the weather and of some of the greens on the brilliancy of the play. It is contended by some that the weather was never bad enough to cause a'suspension of play. That is not the point. The question is, 'Would a Green Committee authorise their own players to play on the greens in such weather, and especially on Friday morning, when steady rain fell for an. hour. It is doubtful if any committee would. The general result was that players were performing under entirely novel to them—greasy bowls, difficult to hold, and a surface on. which the water did not run away as fast as it fell. The conditions certainly took the sting out of Carswell’s team, and without in any way seeking to disparage the great game put up by the Canterbury rink skipped by Saxton, they must consider themselves fortunate bf meeting the Taieri cracks under the weather conditions which prevailed. The honours of the tournament are on this occasion Well distributed. Southland takes a first and a fourth prize, Taieri two firsts, Dunedin Club a. second and a third, Roslyn and Kaituna a second prize each. Caledonian and Clinton each a third, and United (Canterbury) and Kaitangata each a fourth. The visitors from the North Island were on this occasion out of it, a most unusual circumstance so far aa Brackenridge is concerned. The win in the Rinks tournament of Service (cf North Invercargill) and and his men was very popular, and was well deserved. He lost his game in the fifth round of the sectional play, on the Green Island Green, to Kissel], of To Rangi, Invercargill; but after that never looked back. The team put up a very solid game in- the final against Wedderspoon’s Roslyn team. The skip had some very nerve-trying shots in the last few heads. In one cf these five shots wore against him when he took up ms bowl, the position being extremely difficult. He proved equal to the occasion by drawing the shot, and thus practically extinguished Rosly.n’e last hope. _ Weddcrspooii and his men played magnificently on the Morningbon Green, on which two very warm sections had been drawn. They won the section outright, beating strong rinks skipped by M‘Laron (Dunedin), T. Sanders (Kaituna), G. P. Molliion (St. Kilda), T. M‘Gallan (Sydenham), and J. Ogg (Caledonian). They followed this _ up by putting down for the green final Haip’s strong rink from North End. Invercargill. The Caledonian rink skipped by D. Smith pained third place by some sterling play. They appeared to have lost their form in the finals. Some fine work was done by the United (Canterbury) players skipped by J. Brown, the ex-president of the N.'v-8.A.. the Ih,E. Valley Grijsen winner. If bo had infused mens dash i,n bis,own pi-"v, he had a chance of accounting for Wedderspoon’s rink. Some very pretty play was seen in the

f Fairs tournament, aways popular with j bowlers. The win of the Taieri pair, JJr ! Allen and J. 'i'ait, was well deserved, as I they played very consistently on the whole. The doctor was in great loan, until tn© | final, when he fell away somewhat. 0. J. j Payne haH a habit ol popping U P unex- | |n>ctedly in 1.110 prism li«t. As ho had rtfoeivi'd » |,.,-. nil', winning his green, 11,.,,■,» who Inui not, |.,!1.,w.l Llmi play closely ! «,,,, E ..,pn c< d n. lii.d Inn, playing. He | ■„-,„, ,1 „ ,vin ~,-. , Hull n.i.d UiiiK- in thn , hi.nl. I I l.y ii ■:• ■■/ pi' U..y trail, inad/j jx;kI ,1,1,- |iy n i,waitlist: •,,, Hi- j,.,.1. oi Jli« 'JpJKJi,mI. in jH.ii,,,;.; ~, „ .-.-...■,,,'1 shot and un ..ovriii,,,.. i 1,.. ' ,„. i- r„ y ,.i, and HcjU ;,-,,!,.,1 'i. ~i, .1 1,1,11= w,,, l.y I J,0,,,1. 'J'liul 1,1,,. i,|„,l, w„ = ~..1. MiM.il. ~.■!< 'I 1.7 tt'slil* I"' ■'■■■ i H (| „,|,, I.mm,. « = had, 11,,. j.,-1- 1.1i.V.11-l a fmv ,f,,,ilM, il,- •.i.|.0f.,7, i / M«l«i would IlltVd c,,..1 .. 1.,--,. 1,01. ,! r,:,;-. a mil iH-iiul.y ..II 11,.. =■.,»,-■- Uall «"d l)urie, win hud pliiywl 0., i.!,«0 own «!<*■ « l.hroiiMlioill., 1..-..1 io I," ion,U-nl, Will] third place. Uieloji, ol Kajlangata, «,nd hiM companion, who ','■!. foii/th ).o<-ii.i'.n, had played mww beautiful gamz-o, hut Uw etrain cvid(!iitly told on tli«in. A striking IVnlniv ol th.„ tfiiijWi-H '/.;,:•; iJiu prominent part |i!:iv".l h.V Uifs TttifiH Club with three? gr(v:i -i«r« in the finals - namely, Stevens* n, ■>. line-Lie, and W. Allen. All throe played beautifully in their respective section .game:;. Christie, on the Dunodin Green, gave about as fine an exposition of the drawing game as has been, seen at any tournament. W. Allen, by persistent good play at long heads, wore down all opponents until he met Miller, of Southland, whose sang fro id and seeming happy-go-lucky etylo of play attracted much attention. As for Stevenson, he also delights in long ends, and when he get 3 hold' of tho mat alter "rinding" the green is always dangerous. He played a magnificent game when apparently in- a losing position against E. Harraway in the final. But for an error of judgment c> the part of the latter in the second last head he would in all probability have been for a second time the holder of the Singles Championship. As it was, Stevenson beat him on the post by the narrowest of margins. So far ea public interest was concerned, it -was centred more upon the play of young- Fruish, of Clinton, than on any other player in the contest. Bis youth gained him the public xympathr. But apart from that, he played beautifully, and displayed a knowledge of the fine points of the game surprising in one so young. When ho met Christie, of the Taieri, the latter appeared to be troubled by the change in the green brought about by the drizzling rain, and his play showed a decided falling away Younrr Fruish was lucky in winning against Miller. In, the last head the Southlander got the jack, whicih he wanted to trail back to his own bowl, but the bowl did not stick to it, and the Clinton youth gained third prize. _ . There was one feature in connection with the sectional play in the rinks which should be carefully considered, before the next tournament— namely, the giving away of games by default by those who have no chance of winning the section. In line weather and on good greens a rest or three (hours or eo may prove, a disadvantage, but when the weather is bad, as was the case last week, the opposite may be the case. But apart from that consideration, the true, bowler does not engage in, the tournament to win a trophy or a certificate but to have as many keen games as possible against opponents he may never meet on a green again, and instead of throwing up the sponge because bis own chance is gone, he will play on as keenly as ever, without .hope of reward'. It might be desirable to provide that any players not completing the sectional play should be fined unless prevented by illness or some valid reason from taking part. The attempt to make every day a ladies' day and doing away with the special ladies' day, which has been the custom for_2l years or more, was a distinct failure, and the lady supporters of the various clubs have a distinct grievance against both the council and Dune-din, Centre in failing to recognise their valuable services throughout the season, and in not, setting apart a special day on which they can see and be seen. Apart from the ladies who were good enough to provide morning and afternoon tea, there was not more than a dozen ladies at a tini'e on any of the greens in nse for the first four days. But on Friday, for the finals, they Hooked to the Dunedin Green, and many more would have been present had there been an open invitation. The ladies of the Social Committee of the club provided afternoon, tea for those lady visitors. Since the erection of a new pavilion and the converting of the tennis court into a new green, there is no means of accommodating a large influx of visitors to tho Dunedin Green, and as the executive had taken no steps to improve matters, dozens of ladies went away at once on finding the state of affairs. A number of forms were brought on rather late in tho afternoon, but these were for the most part rushed by the men present, and most of these ignored the fact that ladies were- standing behind them. Then again, the ladies lost their seats when they went for afternoon tea to the pavilion. In carrying out the decision deliberately arrived at that there should be no special ladies' day, the executive were quite consistent in making- no special provision for their accommodation on Friday. All tho same, they have alienated the sympathy of many members of the fair sex, and that is scarcely a state oi affairs to be desired. Despite {he trouble and expense gone to in providing a testing machine and appointing an official tester, it was noticeable that a very considerable proportion of the bowls used during the tournament were unstamped, and decidedly on the narrow drawing side. This matter of no-n------drawing bowls is one which seriously threatens the future of 'one of the most popular of pastimes, andl requires to, be seriously grappled with. The rules dis-. tinctly provide that no bowds shall be used in an association tournament unless they be,ar the official stamp of the N.Z.8.A., the Northern 8.A., v or other recognised association. Despite this unstamped bowls were everywhere in evidence. Now, if a bowler ignores a rule that has been in existence for several years —a rule which has probably been more discussed than any other, and persists in playing unstamped bowls with very little bias, he must be doing eo because he believes it gives him, an advantage over other players with good drawing bowls. Irf other words, lie , is playing with loaded dice. It is a strong j comparison? to rhake, but when calmly con.- I

" sidered the truth of it will be admitted, ! Or let ua take a. kindred sport again—cricket. What would bo said of a player! who persistently and knowingly used a knit ' an inch wider than the regulation, size? | Hitherto the authorities in' the bowling I world have been content with passing laws,. but have taken no step to see that theseare observed. As a matter of fact, a very I prominent member of the executive when ! spoken to on the subject said it was nofc Uieir duty to do unpopular policeman 9 I work. Now, the general opinion is that I 11 is the very duty they are called upon) ! I/, perform. Be that as it may, ona ! ivwm-d 1 prepared to "bell the cat." One i player in a. discussion on the Dunedm Green on Thursday announced that as a result ! of what he had seen he had decided to i «;lmll< tig* any narrow-drawing, unstamped I |Kiwki which he found himself playing | against, hut none of the 30 or 40 player* I pmvinl thought anything would come of it. I Cut the challenge was made next day, with : th<> ;'-ult. already known. ~,,.,. I Wlton th'i howl:, of the Fairfield Rink in I \h'- rink tournament finals were challenged! a. ultunu "ffort was made by the challengers to induce »uch members of the executive ! 0H were present to be content with disqualifying the bowk which did not craw up to the .standard bowl, and -the Fairfield piaycra to continue w:. ottier bowls. Many thought this might ce done in view of the fact of the case being the first one, and the players belonging to a youns club, but the authorities contended' this could not be done, and the rink was sacrificed As the challengers absolutely declined to benefit by the disqualification, but accepted their defeat, and acted solely, in the interests of the game, and for the protection of others engaged, thereseems no reason why the executive should l not have modified the sentence to suit the ch-eumstances. The incident should do something in the direction of checking the growing evil of selecting narrow-draw-ing bowls. In fact, it had 1 an immediate effect as it is confidently stated that three or four sets of bowls were at once discarded by some of the players engaged in the finals. . As the authorities are disinclined to do what is called policeman's duty s**» that the rules are rigidly carried might be well worth while adding a rule by which the bowls of every winner of an association prize would have to he tested automatically. The suggestion came first, it is understood, from Mr Johnson, of the Dunedin Club, an old" Volunteer and a rifle shot. At prize-firing meetings as soon as a match is over the rifle of the winner is tested to ascertain if there is the standard pull on the trigger, and if there is not the prize is not awarded. It could be made a condition of the association tournament that ea soon as a prize was won the bowls of the winners should be at once taken possession of by the official tester to ascertain if they complied with the conditions ilaici down. This would probably solve the whole difficulty without anyone being called upon to do policeman's work. Writing of bowl-testing, it may be added that Mr Scott, the official tester, has put through about 130 sete. Ho has had to increase the bias in about 50 per cent, o: the eats. It may be added that Mr Scott is going to iiotorua on a well-earned hoi.day, and for the next three weeks or so there will be no bowl-testing. The "barracker" is making his appearance on the bowling green, and may speedily develop into a nuisance. It is only within the past year or two, that this has become manifest. Heretofore a pretty and effective shot has been greeted by the clapping of hands l , but that is too tame for the barracker, who is not content unless his ear-splitting yells are heard above everything else. But even that is not all, for last week personal remarks were indulged 1 in, iand what was remarkably like hooting followed' a good shot from the other side. As yet the number of barrackers could probably be counted on tho fingers of one hand, but his example is apt to become contagious, and he should be sternly repressed. On his own. green his fellow-members must deal with him. When he is on other greens as an onlooker he must be reminded he is there o'n sufferance, and that if he makes himself objectionable he will be quietly asked to retire. It might be too much to say that the result of the Singles ChampionshiD was affected by the barracker; but at the same time he is apt to get on the .nerves of a keen, but nervous, player.