BOWLING.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17586, 15 December 1928, Page 20 (Supplement)

BOWLING.

THE GAME IN GENERAL. GREEN AND PAVILION GOSSIP. (By "Toucher.") The Centre Tournament. To-day was the date fixed for closing of entries for the South Auckland Bowling Centre's annual tournament at Hamilton during the Christmas holidays, but no doubt if any rinks have overlooked this date their entries will be accepted on Monday. At time of writing a fair entry had already been received, with a number , of others known to be coming, and there seems every reason to believe that the fixture will be as successful as was its predecessor last season. Activities Fop 1929. During the New Year local bowlers should find ample scope for their activities as may be seen from the following list of events and the dates already fixed or suggested for their decision. The Te Aroha tournament Is down for January i, and the Dominion tournament at Wellington begins on January 7 the singles. Dominion rinks commenoe on January 9, followed by Dominion pairs on January 14, and inter-seotion play in the rinks contest on January 16. On January 23 the return match with Auckland tor the Hardley Shield is to be played at Hamilton. The Thames tournament starts on January 29, and Matamata on February 1. Entries for the Centre champion of champions singles close on January 31, and the first games of the second round of the champion rinks competition for the Howdeu Shield will be played on February 2. The first Rotorua tournament starts on February 4, and on the same date entries close for the Jacob Henry Wright Cup competition, the first round of which will be played on February 9. The Tauranga tournament is down for February 11, and the second Rotorua tournament for February 18. Play in the champion rinks contest will be continued on February 16 and 23, on the latter of which dates the section winners in the champion singles are to be found. On February 27 the Northern Waikato Bowling Association (Pukekohe) will visit Hamilton, while between that date and March 8 a party of Bay of Plenty bowlers are expected to tour Waikato. March 8 is the date for the champion singles final, and March 9 for the champion rinks final. Between then and the end of the month the South Auckland visit to Taranaki will take place, but the date for starting had not been definitely fixed at time of writing. March 29 will see the Cambridge tournament opened and a pairs contest at Hamilton, and major events of the season so far as this Centre is concerned will conclude with the Jacob Wright Cup competition on April G. For Dominion Tournament. R. Higgott, of Whitiora, who had the distinction of being the only South Auckland skip to come through the recent Hardley Shield games without one defeat, intends participating in the rinks and pairs events at the Dominion tournament at Wellington in January. His team for the rinks is Land, Wycherley, H. B. Jenkin and himself, while in the pairs Jenkin will lead for Higgott. Centre Executive Brevities. At a recent meeting of the South Auckland Centre executive it was resolved to invite a party of Bay of Plenty bowlers to tour the Waikato later in the season. One or two applications by clube for one-day tournaments have had to be refused by the Centre executive in accordance with its policy, which is, speaking generally, not to approve tournaments in two Centre towns on the same day. In this connection clubs should note that the fact of having been granted a permit for a certain day one season must not be regarded as a precedent for future seasons, and that applications must be considered by the executive in the light of priority of receipt. Keep Away From The Head. How often during club games one sees six of the players all standing over or roaming round the head, and more often than not. arguing some point, whilst the skips are playing from the mat. This, of course, is quite wrong, and by rights four of those six players should be on the bank and not at the head at all. "What does it matter in a club game?" some one will probably ask. Perhaps it doesn't matter much in a way, but everybody isn't a philosopher, and a skip, whose attention is being distracted and who is therefore making bad shots because players who have no right there are wandering about and "gassing" over the head, must bo more than human not to become annoyed. And if he is annoyed he can't get full pleasure out of the game. Isn't a skip entitled to any fun. Of course one isn't suggesting that skips are angels of meekness who turn both cheeks to be slapped. Heaven knows many of them are not, and if there is any "biting" to be done they are usually equal to the occasion. But even the hardest of them don't "bite" for fun, and would sooner applaud a good shot than curse a bad one. But how can a skip entertain much kindly feeling for either his team or his opponents when they all appear united to spoil his shots by rambling round the head. Only the thirds are suppqsed to be at the head at all, and e"ven they are supposed to be six feet away when the opposing skip is playing his shot. The point is that wrong habits of this sort contracted by players during club games are likely to repeat themselves at tournaments and more important fixtures, and may cause quite a lot of unpleasantness. Dead Or Alive. If asked the question whether a jack that had been driven or trailed outside tho limits of tho rink could become "alive" again most bowlers would, one fancies, answer in the negative. But, as a matter of fact, a jack taken into the ditch outside the limits of the rink is not "dead" if it rolls or trickles down the ditch to within the boundaries of the rink, provided it has not, during its course struck any neutral object. Rule 54 reads: "A bowl or a jack which in its original course, or after being moved by a bowl in play, comes to rest on or within the boundaries of the rink, shall be alive, notwithstanding that during its course It went beyond the side limits of the rink, but not if it rebounds off the side bank." Not Unbeatable. A toucher resting alongside the Jack In the ditch might, In actual fact be regarded as unbeatable nearly always, and unless tho opposing side has a toucher on the green It Is unbeatable. But if such a toucher is on the green and tho sldo owning It can drive that toucher into tho ditch so that it displaces the ditched toucher, or jack, and comes to rest nearer to the jack than the toucher orginally in the ditch, then it becomes the shot, unless the jack has thereby been moved wholly beyond tho limits of tho rink, whaait

becomes dead. This is clear from Rule 60, which says: "If a toucher in the ditch is displaced by a toucher, it shall remain where it comes to rest," and from Rule 53, which says (regarding the jack) : "If moved by a toucher, the place where it then lies shall be marked unless it be moved wholly beyond the limits of the rink, in which case it shall be dead."