BOWLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 46

BOWLING.

NEW ZEALAND BOWLING ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT. Tho annual tournament under the auspices of the Dominion of New Zealand Bowling Association was continued last week in somewhat broken weather, rendering' play on' some occasions not quite so enjoyable as it might Have been. Tho greens remained in very good order under tho circumstances. Of tho 80 rinks taking part in tho tournament, 50 rinks were from Dunedin clubs (including ono from Taieri and one from Green Island). Five rinks came from Auckland, 13 from Wellington, 17 from Christchurch and surrounding districts, two from. Taranaki, two from Nelson, three from Invercargill, and ono each from Blenheim, Gisborne, Carlton, Hokitika, Timaru, Oamaru, Gore and Blufi'. The weather conditions on Saturday left a good deal to be desired, and a soaking rain which fell early in the morning made tho green rather heavy; but by the afternoon matters showed a considerable improvement, and, with the exception of one fairly heavy shower that fell during the progress of play, the conditions were quite pleasant. Tho occasion .-was observed as "Ladies' Day," and this".fact, coupled with the promise of some interasting games —a promise that was amply fulfilled—was responsible for a very large attendance, especially in the afternoon, when the green presented quite an animated appearance. Amongst those present during a portion of tho time were Sir James Allen, the Hon-. J. A. Hanan, and Mr T. K. Sidey, M.P. Tho visitors generally were courteously treated by the members of the Dunedin Club, and were also provided with afternoon tea. A programme of music by Flint's orchestra did much to enliven the proceedings.

CHAMPION RINK TOURNAMENT. When we went to press last week the rink tournament was in progress and play was continued up to and including Saturday. The weather was fine during the day although the rain which fell during the night or early morning made the greens somewhat difficult at the beginning of the play. There were some A'ery close games and some good exhibitions of play. The chief centre of interest and attraction during Saturday afternoon was the final of the Rinks Competition, which was played between Robson, Spinks, Falconer, and C. R. Smith (Otago) and M. Casey, M'Leod, V. Casey, and Parsons (Ponsonby). A further point of interest about the game was that the Otago rink was skipped by the president of the association, and when his team eventually secured the coveted banner, which has never before been won by a South Island club, their victory was loudly acclaimed. The game, -which was watched by a large and intensely interested crowd of spectators, was not a particularly striking one for a dominion tournament, but it was fairly well contested, and much good play was seen, many of the heads being built up very compactly. All the Otago men played well, but notably Spinks and Falconer, while the skip himself did whatwas required of him on a number of occasions. Robson's leading also left very little to be desired on the whole. The Ponsonby team had- an uphill fight practically throughout, and they failed to reproduce the fine form that they had previously shown during the progress of the tournament. This may have been due in a measure to a certain amount of staleness on the part of M'Leod and Parsons, who had had a fairly strenuous time in both rinks and doubles, while the state of the green would also have some effect on the northern players. The game ended: Otago 23, Ponsonby 18. The following shows the result of the play:— CHAMPION RINKS for Association Certificates (one for each member of the winning team and one for the club), and the Association Banner to be held until the next tournament.

Dunedin Green.—Gray (Kelburn), 7; Gillies (Dunedin), b; Macdougall (Christchurch), 6; Smart (Stratford), 6; Henderson (Lyttekon), 5; Smith (Northcnd), 5; NobleAdams (Blenheim), 4; Sinclair (Raugiora), 2; Carter (Kaituna), 2; Armstrong (Pukekohe), 2. Caledonian Green. —ColvLlle (Edgeware), 8; Dall (Dunedin), 6; Foster (Caledonian), 6; Wylie (Kaiapoi), 6; Irvine (St. Kilda), 4; Colo (St. Clair), 4; Nash (Palmerston North), 4; Orchard (Christehurch), 3; Howarth (Canterbury), 2; M'Gallan (Beckenham), 2. Roslyn Green.—Johnson (Dunedin), 7; Wylio (To Hiwi), 7; Eraser (United), 7; Masson (Carterton), 5; Porteous (Wellington), 4: Redpath (Canterbury), 4? Bremner (Invercargill), 4; Haldane (Nelson), 3; Smith (Gisborne), 3; Marker (Edgeware), 1. ' \

St. Kilda Green.—Walker (Ponsonby), 9; Bailey (i'lataitai), 7; Calder (Phoenix), 6; Hain (Northend), 6; Thomson (Carlton), 5; Underwood (Newtown), 5; Smeaton (St. Kilda), 3; Bentley (Dunedin), 2; Wilson (Balmacewen), 2; Stevenson (Hokitika), 0. N.E. Valley Green—Smith (Otago), 7; Magnus (Wellington), 6; Millar (Park), 6; Sharp (Stratford), 5; Allnutt (Kaikorai), 5; Perks (Gore), 4; Dee (Maitai), 4; M'Curcly (St. Kilda), 4; Henaghan (Caledonian), 2; Cruickshank (Bluff), 2. Kaikorai Green. —Noble (Newton), 7; Watts (Otago), 7; Cormack (Caledonian), 6. Carswell (Taieri), 5; Norwood (Victoria), 4; Malcolm (Kaikorai), 4; Forrester (Caversham), 4; Scott (Roslyn), 3; Burson (Lmwood), 3; Knox (Edgeware), 2. Balmacewen Green.—Pastier (Caversham), 7; Smellio (Green Island), 7; Parker (Auckland), 6; Crane (Wellington), 5; Efford (Rangiora), 5; Wilkinson (Roslyn), 5; Marriott (Linwood), 4; Wyatt (Dunedin), 3; Macdonald (St. Clair), 2; Abbott (N.E. Valley), 1. % n Caversham Green.—Casey (Ponsonby), 8; Cameron St. (Kilda), 6; Wilson (Auckland), 6; Hill (Wellington). 5; Tonkin (N.E. Valley), 5; Sandston (Christehurch), 4; Harraway (Dunedin). 3; Gagliardi (Edgeware), 3; Hughan (Carterton), 3; Wright (Balmacewen), 2. As the lowest number of wins for a green winner was seven games, all who had won seven games were arranged into threo sections and continued play, eaoh rink having to play every other rink in the section with the following result: Section One. First Round. . '

Princo. Davis, Spiers, Noble (Newtown) 26 beat Thorn, Howarth, Fountain, Tastier (Cavcrsham) 16. Robson, Spinks, Falconer. Smith (Otago) 19 boat Archer, Dow, Nelson, Johnson (Dunodin) 14.

Second Round. Johnson 24 beat Fasticr 16. Smith 20 beat Noble 8. Third Round. Smith 19 beat Fastier 18. Johnson 21 beat Noble 13. C. R. Smith won tho section with throe wins. Section Two. First Round. . Claridge, Fielding, M'Whannell. Bailey (Hata'fcai) 22 beat Kummer, M'Millan, Wilson, Walker (Ponsonby) 18. Miller, Wilson, W. Smcllie, A. Smellie (Green Island) 20 beat Brown, Atkinson, Woolf, Frascr (United) 19. Second Round. Frassr 29 beat Bailey 10. Walker 29 beat Smellie 20. Third Round. Walker 25 beat Fraser 19. Smellie 19 beat Bailey 17. Smellio and Walker tied for this section with two wins each. Section Three. First Round. Houldsworth, Compton, Shallcrass, Wylie (To Hiwi) 16 beat M. Casey, M'Leod, V. Casey, Parsons (Ponsonby) 11. Hay, King, Cooke, W'atts (Otago) 20 beat Lomas, Dohertv, Kinvig, Gray (Kolburn) 14. Colviile a bye. Second Round. Watts 21 boat Wylie 13. Casey 22 beat Colviile 17. Gray a bye. Third Round. Casey 21 beat Watts 19. Gray 16 beat Colviile 14. Wylie a bye. Fourth Round. Watts 14 beat Colviile 10. Gray 13 beat Wylie 11. Casey a bve. Fifth Round. Casey 16 beat Gray 14. This left C. R. Smith, Smellie, Walker, Casey, and Gray as section winners. As the conditions provided that preference should be given to thoso with most wins in tho first sectional play in cases of equal wins in the second 'sectional play games, Smellie and Watts had to play off to decide which should take part in the semi-final, and Smellio won. SEMI-FINAL. Robson, Spinks, Falconer, C. R. Smith (Otago) 17 beat Kummer, M'Millan, Wilson, and Walker (Ponsonby) 15. M. Casey, M'Leod, V. Casey, Parsons (Ponsonby) 20 beat Buchanan, Miller, W. Smellie, and A. Smellie (Green Island) 15. » Final. Robson, Spinks, Falconer, and O. R. Smith (Otago) 23 beat M. Casey, M'Leod. V. Casey, and Parsons (Ponsonby) 18, and won the championship. Kummer, M'Millan, Wilson, and Walker (Ponsonby) 24 beat Buchanan, Miller, W. Smellie, and A. Smellie (Green Island) 20, and took third prize. PAIRS COMPETITION. The Pairs Competition was continued during the week and brought to a con--clusion on Saturday. The final between Hogg and Harraway (Dunedin) and M'Leod and Parsons (Ponsonby) was a most interesting game. It was marked by splendid leading by both Hogg and M'Leod and by a stern tussle between the two skips, with the result that the outcome of many of the heads was tmdecided until the last shot had been played. Harraway had the scoring all hie own way for the first five heads, and put on 8 points. Then Parsons got in six.' Some fine play was seen in the following heads, but although the Ponsonby pair played a splendid uphill game and eventually were a point to the good—l 9-18 —Harraway took out two of the opponents' bowls lying short and drawing another was now two- up. The final head in a fast disappearing light was a close one. Harraway's lead secured the shot, with Parsons lying second, when the Dunedin skip put down a beautifully-placed short bowl as a, safeguard. This effected its purpose, for when Parsons played his last bowl it" encountered the obstruction, and Harraway was 1 up, 'the final score being 21—19 in his favour. Following are the results: — PAIRS COMPETITION. Ninth Round. J. M'Leod and A. Parsons (Ponsonby) 25 beat E. E. Daniels and A. Dickson (Christchurch) 22. St. G. Atkinson and J. Brown (United) 22 beat J. Snell and T. Knox (Edgeware) 20. Byes.—M. Casey and V. Casey (Ponsonby), T. Macdonald and T. Sanders (Kaituna), T. Compton and W. Wylie (Te Hiwi), W. Fraser and I. Woolf (United), F. Bishop and A. Rawlinson (Dunedin), W. Hogg and E. Harraway (Dunedin). Tenth Round. Wylie 20 beat Sanders 15. Harraway 21 beat Casey 9. Brown 22 beat Rawlinson 21. Parsons 16 beat Woolf 15. Eleventh Round. Harraway 24 beat Wylie 20. Parsons 22 beat Brown 17. FINAL. W. Hogg and E. Harraway (Dunedin) 21 beat J. M'Leod and A. Parsons (Ponsonby) 19. PRESENTATION OF BANNER. At the conclusion of the rinks final Sir James Allen, in a brief and, appropriate speech, presented tho banner to tho winners. In replying on behalf of his team Mr Smith expressed his pleasure that for the first time since its inauguration four years ago this coveted trophy had been wrested from the North Island. Dunedin was looked upon in many respects as tho home of bowling, and it was, therefore, the proper place for the flag.— (Laughter.) Ho thanked the members of his own team for the way in which they had played, and expressed h } 3 pleasure at having met the Ponsonby team in tho final. If ho could not have won tho banner himself nothing would have given him greater pleasure than to seo Mr Parsons's rink, which contained an old and very enthusiastio bowlor in Mr M. Casey, take it away with them. —(Loud applause.) Mr Parsons, who was received with applause, expressed his appreciation of the kindness that had been extended to tho visitors by the people of Dunedin. He had como down to win tho banner, and that was tho third attempt he had made to do so, but he assured them that when they came to Auckland next timo ha woidd have it. —(Applause.) Messrs M. Casey and Professor Maxwell Walker were also called on to speak, and both referred in warm terms to tho kindness and hospitality that had been extended

to them in Dunedin. The latter added a word of praise regarding the manner in which the tournament was being conducted, and expressed the opinion that with one or two slight amendments the arrangements hero could very well be taken as a basis fo L, turo tournaments.— (Applause.) Ihe ceremony concluded with cheers for the winning and losing teams. WINNERS OF CHAMPION RINKiS. . Ihc Champion Rinks is tho blue riband in connection with bowling in New Zea« land, and generally brings out tho pick of tho bowling talent in tho dominion. On this occasion 80 rinks entered. This is tho same number os competed in 1914, when tho tournament was first inaugurated under tho Dominion Association. On that occasion the event was won by Porteous (Wellington), Fountain (Roslyn) securing second position, M‘Curdy (St. Kilda) third, and Stephens (Petone) fourth. In 1915 the contest was held in Auckland, when 99 rinks participated. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) was the winner, E. J. Hit) (Te Hiwi) being runnermp, Muir (Dominion road, Auckland) third, and Jury (Karangahake) fourth. Christchurch was the scene of action in 1916, when 72' rinks presented themselves. J. Laughton (Newtown) was tho winner, R. Torrance (Christchurch) run-ner-up, and Laing (Waimato) and Fountain (Roslyn) filled tho other positions. In 1917 Wellington was the locale, and 136 rinks competed. Tho winners were: Osmond (Auckland), with A. S. Spiller (United) second, Smart (Now Plymouth) third, and Schauer (Onohungn) fourth. At the tournament Dunedin had 31 rinks engaged, Christchurch 17, the North Island 22. while the balance were drawn from other centres in tho South Island. SINGLES COMPETITION. Tho Dominion bowling tournament was continued on Monday, and good progress was made with tho Singles Competition, which was played on nine greens. Tho weather was lino overhead, and most of tho greens were in splendid order, but a tricky wind prevailed throughout the day and militated to a considerable extent against anything like really' good play. A number of competitors who entered originally, withdrew from the contest, but many of the vacancies were filled by other players. The Singles Competition was played on the two-life system, which means that when a competitor has suffered two defeats he drops out. On tho majority of the greens play finished comparatively early, especially in the section for winners v. winners. The fine spirit between players that has .characterised the tournament up to the present was again in • evidence, and all the competitors seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. On the whole play was not of a particularly interesting order, but a greater degree of interest should attach to the games to-day, when tho final stages will be reached. At the close of the fifth round there were three players on each green left in the competition, and of this number the following nine had not lost a game:—W. Fraser (United), J. M‘Curdy (St. Kilda), R. Houldsworth (To Hiwi), B. Harraway (Dunedin), A. Smellie (Green Island), J. Tait (Taieri), W. Foster (Caledoniart), W. Walker (Ponsonby), and J. G. Bentley (Dunedin). Tho others loft in tho contest were':— Parsons (Ponsonby), Ingram (Wellington), Rawlinson (Dunedin), Hogg (Dunedin), Sharp (Stratford), Johnson (Dunedin), M'Millan (Romuera), Lanigan (Auckland), Craig (Gisborne), Barnes (Dunedin), Henderson (Lyttelton), Seddon (St. Clair), Buchanan (Green Island), Leith (Caledonian), Falconer (Otago), W. Spiller (Sydenham), A. J. Dotting (Mornington), I. Woolf (United). As a result of Tuesday’s play, only three players arc left in the competition—namely, Foster (Caledonian). Walker (Ponsonby). and M‘Curdy (St. Kilda). Foster has not so far lost a game, and would require to be twice defeated to lose, as both Walker and APCurcjy have each suffered a c:< feat. The tenth round resulted; Foster (Caledonian 24 boat Falconer (Otago) 11. Walker (Ponsonby) 18 beat Bentley (Dunedin) 10. WAIKOUAITT v. PALMERSTON. A throe-rink match between teams representing the above clubs was played at Waikouaiti on Wednesday. The visitors found the green to bo much heavier than their own, and as a consequence wore at a dis-

advantage. the scores wove: — W. P, Hunter, Palmer, Williamson, Carson 32 . M‘ Gregor, J. Ross, Smith, Gallo14 way ••• — Phillipps, Stewart, Hunt, Mudge 18 — McDonald, Arkle, W. Ross, I>. M‘Donald 20 Davis, Souter, Templeton, Fell.... 33 — Cameron, Hopkins, Pickett, Lofevre ••• — 13 Totals ... ... 83 47 MILTON v. BALCLUTHA. A match between the above clubs was played on Milton Green on Saturday, and resulted in victory tor Balclutha by 26 points. Scores: — M. B. Martin, Moroney, Campbell, Henderson 17 , Treaney, Mill, Watson, Buchanan — 15 Hamilton, Hood, M'Donald, Hilton 17 Gunthorp, , Guest, Almond ... — 21 Ransome, Riddell, Reed, Wyber 15 — Batchelor, Stewart, Lyall, Ramsay — 18 Hubble, Stechman, Featherston, Holluk 18 Sheddan, Bryant, Clinch, Bishop — 22 Lockhart, SmailL Tavlor, Moore 10 — Jack, Hagen, Hutton, Anderson — 27 Totals 77 1Q3