BOWLING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16713, 20 April 1922, Page 3

BOWLING

NEWS FROM THE CREENS. NOTES BY “OBSERVER.” The .Easter rink tournament which ! concluded on Tuesday marked the close i ot the 1921-22 season in Christchurch, j Looking lxick on the past six months, i howlers have every reason to feel grati--1 hed with the excellent results obtained. Hie past season has brought out new champions and new players, and not one unpleasant incident has happened that was not immediately adjusted to the satisfaction of all. The numerical strength of bowlers in t-lie Christchurch Centre lias been increased by the addition of a large number of colts, h urthermore. the formation of new clubs has given added strength to the game, with the result that very few districts remain that either have not a bowling club of their own or one in close proximity. Friendships between clubs have been cemented by interclub I matches; and on the greens, where all men are brothers, players have been enabled to get to know one another and to see the best side of man's nature. Although the past season has not been ns successful as some previous ones in ; the matter of successes at the Dominmu tournament, it has at least been ! cue of the most enjoyable to those taki mg part in the game from the purely j recreative point of view. Ihe following is a list of the principal fixtures held during the past season:— A Pennant..—Won by Sumner—F. C. Cooper, C. H. Newman, T. F. Chambers, W Henley (skip) ; F. Alarrie. C. X. Forrest. AY. Raphael. H. C. AA’ilson (skip): R AYallace. AY S. Mitchell, H. , H. Barlow. AN. J. Hampton (skip), j Linwood were runners-up. ! L Pennant.-—Won by St Albans—A. i■' Barrett. J>. H ills ton, C. Jones. C j Allingfcon (skip); F. Evans, A. C. Reed. •G. Simpson. R. AY. Brown (skip). Papa nui wore runners-up. Aladdison Trophy AYou by T>r A. C. J Sandston (Christchurch*). AY. Spiller j was runner-up. j Champion of Champion Doubles.— ; ou Opawa- W . M. \A T est and G. ;•( Gold stone. Kdgeware —H. A. JarI den and A. Price—-were runners-up. 1 Champion of Champion Rinks. A Yon ; by Sumner—R. AYallace. AY. S. Mit- | chell, FI. H. Barlow and AV. J. .Hampton. Kniapoi—J. F. Miller. J. Healings, G. Hall and K. -Monk—were run-ners-up. Easter Rink Tournament. Won by Linwood R. Kel la way. AY. Ramsay, i R. Haworth and B. Penlington. Edgeware—C. Hoggin, A. Legli, G. Lucan and T. P. Sewell were runners-up. Redpath Shield.—Otago defeated Canterbury. North v South Canterbury. North Canterbury won. The Christchurch Centre at least knows how to conduct a tournament properly, " remarked one of the Tiroaru howlers during the JBa.ster tournament. He was speaking on. behalf of the members ot his rink, and he said they had all enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Next year they hoped to come back again and bring a big number of others with them. It is certainly a matter for satisfaction when one hears such remarks by a visiting player, and to know that light through the tournament everything went without a hitch. ; Great credit is due to the green umpires for the expeditious manner in vhieh they got the games started, and j particularly to Mr A. J. Benzie, the i chief umpire, upon whom rested the re--1 sponsibility of the tournament. The whole of the programme was very care--1 iully planned out beforehand, and with [ good umpires on the job there was little opportunity tor anything to go wrong. Fortunately the weather kept fine. and. although the conditions were not always to the liking of the players, they were ou the whole satisfactory for this time of the year. . The performance of B. Penlington's i rink at the Easter tournament surprised everybody, and many bowlers wondered wli > the new skip was. Air Penlington joined the Linwood Club in J 1915. and at the end of the season 1915-10 lie won the AVatson Challenge Badges for junior players. Ho has played continuously in the club’s com- ' petitions each season, and also in the Pennant matches, playing generally as .-eeond or third in rink teams. He | played third in the club’s champion i link team in the season 1918-19, and second in the club's champion rink ■ team in the season just closed. He ; has taken part in the Dominion and { Faster tournaments each year ext opt. | when the former was held in Auckland, j and also in nearly every Christmas tournament .t Tirnaru since 1916. He j (vice won sections in the doubles competition at Tima i’ll, but was beaten in - übsequetit section winners’ play-off. Ihe Easter tournament just concluded was the first occasion upon which he had played .is a skip in Christchurch or even in club competitions. At the Inst Dominion tournament in Dunedin I he played No. 2 in H. Bnrson’s team, j which won >ts section, and played well on in subsequent section winner play. !Mi Penlington is ;i teacher on the | staff ot the East Christchurch School. Ihe tournament has resulted in some i discoveries being made of really first- j class players who have kept more or j le>s in the background in the past. R. Penlington, the winning skip, made his first appearance in tournament play as a skip, having previously played mostly as second or third. His performance. in piloting ins rink to victory, v About a single loss, was remarkably good, and shows that he possesses the qualities that go to make a successful skip! T P Sewell. The skip of the Edge ware rink, i* also a discovery, for he has been bowling for two years only, hawing been one of A 1 . Barnett s colts at. the Canterbury green a couple of years ago. He has ever.' reason to feel proud of his record in the tournament The game between Dr Sandston and Penlington was a hard contest. The Linwood rink, however, got a good lead after the first three heads, and though some of the later play was very ©een. Dr Sandston had too big a hurdle to get over A large number of spectators were present and saw some good pla -’ Many of the greens, in Christchurch have already closed down for the season, but friendly games will be played on a few others next Saturday. The indoor rinks should shortly be in lull swing again, as the chief winter rendezvous for howlers who rant leave the game alone in the off season.

The annual meetings of the will commence next month. when membcrs will have opportunities afforded them of discussing plans for next season. At such meetings it would be appropriate for the subject of daylightsaving to be discussed, and if the members are convinced it is a workable proposition. they .should pass resolutions urging the Government to bring about the change. In .most of the clubs there arc members who have had war service, and these members could enlighten the meetings on the effect of daylight saving in England and France. Til those countries daylight, saving was such a pronounced success during the war, that it has been adopted permanently. and there seems no sound reason why New Zealand should lag behind, when the scheme is past its experimental stages. The eternal question in bowls is bias; the always present but never ending argument, composition or wooden bowls. Certainly the proportion of composition bowls in use to wooden nn« is small, but. after all. both require a man to push them (says an Australian writer). Some conditions favour artificial timber, while 'wood is best at other times Where* composition bowls score is that they •are perfect in form, weighty for their size, and run truly; wliereas many of tho wooden bowls one sees are pudding draped and hard lo keep on an even keel- Given a high keeled perfectly shaped wooden bowl, with weight in it, I fail to sec it is inferior to a composition one. The trouble seems tr* Lie that many wooden bowls in use are *o mis-shapen and lopsided that it is impossible to put them down truly, and from such comparisons the conclusion is reached that compositions fire a man' using them a 10 or 1 per cent advantage over the user of wooden bowls. Mr C. H. Hughes (the e.x-Kaituna player), non of Sydney, has sent the I >ll nodin “Star” a quarter-page illustration which appeared in the Sydney Kveiling News,"' showing close upon fifty gentlemen who took part in Sydney's Elderly Bowlers’ match. The letterpress description reads: “ Four thousand five hundred years of bowls. Once every \ear the oldest- howlers in Sydney gather together, and play for presentation medals. You’ve got to be seventy-five before you can join them. Seventy-four is too young.” Extracts From u capital article on the Tame by W. H. Macler.nan. published in the February issue of <i ldfe” ; Don t try’ to dr’vc or play strong shot* until you have been playing bowls for five years. There is nothing to learn in driving as compared with drawing. It is out of the draw that the real results are gained. ... In a rink gam** there i? no position of greater importance than another. Admittedly some players are better than others. Games are won by leaders, twos, threes, and skips. There are men who, having once * a steel the sweetness of “skipping’’ seem to make up their minds that it is an insult to be asked to play in any other place. These men are just of that type whose days of expert play are numbered. When a player ceases to bo adaptable it is about time for the selector? to look out lor rising players upon whom they can experiment, rather than continue much longer with the older and more experienced bowler, rho can. if in earnest, win his way back to the Highest honours after a, spell of “ off-ness which comes to every man in iiis time. A discussion at the la s * meeting, “f the Dunedin ( « litre Executive showed some anxiety as to the composition of rinks representing the smaller centre** in im< rprovin i.l matches While itwas recognised that the country teams did well m the contest against Canterbury. the teeliug seemed to be that the smaller ur nns did not send their best men. Owing to the importance of the games, it was necessary that sub-unions should choose their strongest. Precisely the same trouble occurred in the selection of the Canterbury team. Many of the beat bowler* from the province were unable to make the trip to Dunedin recently. Would you believe it? The high wind on Saturday afternoon was responsible for many amusing situations." stains .lack" mi the “Otago Daily Times.” On the West Harbour green the wind at times blew with hurricane force, and one bowl which, was sent away on the wrong bias actually was blown across the rink and lav shot. Another bowl sent away rather narrow was blown-against the bias, and rather rudely disturbed tiie howls on the neighbouring link. Rut the win* beat all previous performances when it got under ill the howl? on one head and sent them rolling into the next rink." "Whether you would or nor. it is recorded that the information came from a gentleman, v ho. although a howler, lias tiie reputation of being a veritable George Washington.