BOWLING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2362, 1 December 1908, Page 2

BOWLING.

NOTES.

(By “Toucher.”)

The-, programme of tlie Christchurch Champion Fours Tournament, to bo held at Napier on Jantiary- Ist, 1909, under the. control of the Northern Bowling Association of New Zealand; is to hand. The -first prize its the Association’s certificate and four pair, of ivory-mounted bowls or trophies to the value of 80s each. The condition; of the Champion Fours matches are: 1. these shall be played, if possible, each club against club, until concluded, the scores to be by club wins ; 2, should there be more than 16 club, represented, they shall be divided into two or more sections, each section to play to a finish—winners of each sec lion playing in the final, and the winner of this final shall be declared tinwinner of the Club Champion Fours Matches —••the above at the discretion of the Tournament Committee; 3 any club entering must provide one full rink, and no club shall be allowen to play more than one rink; 4, a penalty of £5 will he strictly enforcer: on any club which commences, and from other reasons than illness oi other justifiable cause allowed by tin. Tournament Committee, discontinue,, before the finish of the Club Matches; b,.. nominations and entrance lees—20s each rink—must be forwarded to the Hon. Secretary, Wellington, on or before Thursday, 31st. December, 1.908; 6, the rules of tlie Northern Bowling Association of New Zealand shall be followed during the tournament; 7, all games shall be 21 head, up, drawn heads to count. If a tie at that point, an extra head or heads shall be played;' 8, all competitors must be members of a club that N affiliated to an Association, and must wear the colors of the club they an playing for; 9, no changing ol : players" will be allowed except in cases, oi illness or enforced absence from Napier., in which case a substitute may be appointed by, or subject to the approval of the Match Committee ; 10, .Rule 17 as amended of the Northern Bowling Association’s Laws of the Hame will be strictly adhered to in regard to size, bias, testing, and stamping of bowls ; 11, bowlers to remain at the end from which they play until the third players have delivered their last bowls, then all change ends with the skip ; 12, all disputes to be referred to the Match or Tournament Committee, and the decision of the latter shall be final; 13, it is insisted upon that all skips shall be held accountable for their scoring cards, which must be properly filled in, signed by both skips, and handed to the secretary, or liis appointee, immediately on tlie conclusion oi each match; 14, the Tournament Committee reserve the right to strike out any match if it is considered time wall not permit of its being played. In addition to the foregoing competitions the citizens of Napier have presented to the Associataion for rink competition after the Tournament, trophies to the value of 34 guineas, which will be allocated as follows:First prize.—Four gold medals to the. value of 4 guineas each; second prize. —Four gold medals to the value of 2} guineas each ; third prize—four trophies to the value of 2 guineas each. Tlie above will be played for under tlie following conditions; —J . The competition to be open to any members of a club that is affiliated to a recognised Bowling Association, who must wear the colors of their club; 2, members of a rink must- all belong to the same club; 3, the game shall bo winners against winners to a. final; 4, all skips to furnish the secretary with the names and positions of players ere tlie competition begins on a date to be intimated in Napier; 5, all entrance fees to be handed to the secretary of the Association at the time of entry, viz., 10s for each rink; 6, all disputes to be referred to the Match Committee ■ (to be elected in Napier from non-players), whose decision shall be final; 7, play to be on greens selected by tlie association; B,’conditions 6,7, 8,9, 10, 11 and 13 pf the Tournament conditions to apply also, to this competition, which shall be under the control of the Tournament Committee.

The tournament is held by the Northern Bowling Association of New Zealand, whose President is Mr ~J. O. McVay (Napier), and the Vice-Presi-dent Col. Id. J. Collins (Wellington). The popular and genial secretary is Mr J. H. Mentiplay (Wellington). These officers are to be assisted by a Tournament Committee,, which will include one member from each club competing. The Match Committee is to be elected at Napier by the Tournament Committee, and the latter is to meet at the Masonic Hotel, Napier, on Saturday, the 9th January, at 8 p.m., and on Monday and the following evenings if necessary. Tile coming tournament is the talk of . the fraternity on both tire local greens. Many and varied .are the opinions expressed as to the teams to lie selected, no two members seeming to be of the same opinion. I hear that the old veteran, J. Ponsfortl, has expressed his willingness to go. with the Gisborne Club’s team in .any position. He would be .a great help to a Gisborne team, but I doubt the wisdom of putting such a player in any position other than skip. I have seen a tournament whereat one team, which was expected to do wonders, comprised a club’s four best-skips, but tlie team ignominously failed, the reason being that there was no cohesion and -each player thought be knew better what to do than his skip. Such a team was never again sent to do

battle for tliein club.' Thus the Gisborne Club would be wise hi putting the veteran in as skip or leaving hnn out altogether. I have carefully gone through a list of those who I expect would like to represent the club, but in “Toucher’s” opinion the following team will not he materially altered’as the Gisborne reps.: AV. Fettle (No. I), AV. J. Hennessy (No. 2),F. A. ■Martin (No. 3), ami T. A. Crawford or J. Ponsford (skip). Speculation ou the Turanganui green is also rife as to the probables. The list is to close on Saturday. J. hear that only about six players are offering, and I am afraitl the Club will not be represented by its best. It seems to me as it M. Neill will run 13. Hird for No. 1 position, while A. Sawyer should be a “moral” for No. 2. The position of No. 3 will be hard to full, as the best No. 3’s in the Club are not offering. Possibly Gaudin or Patel iff c will fill the gap. J. J. Martin I look upon to be skip. I am by no means picking the team or influencing Ahe skip in his choice, but- the foregoing is rnv selection. I notice that the Turanganui Cluo have divided their Handicap Pairs into sections, wherein all play each other, the winners of each section paying off in the finals. This scheme is a- good’ oiio, ( and should moot with ’the hearty approval of the players. The second round in the Handicap Fours is to be completed on Thursday, when Williams’ and Hallam’s teams meet.