Bowls For Women

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 39, 2 March 1937, Page 6

Bowls For Women

THOS. S.

DOBSON.

^To th© Editor.) Sir, — ■Th© letter wnxcja appeared in your isau.e of Monday by "atroJling" was both amusing aua rnost inteysatmg. But, like. nxost people wUo are gtven fo L li&tening, nali trutixs, when tol.d, are very oiten misieadxng, a,Od create a wrong impression. lt m true the .debate as mentioned • by "Btrolling" .was eroquet yersus iady bowling, an.d that tne meeting ■ favdured laaies bexng given the opportunity of trying their hand in "ihe noble.'art" q± eowixng, for, when it ■ became known .that in utago ther.© was an association oi lady oowlere com1 prising 16 clubs attached to that of the mea's (yet geparate and .distmet) anu8 that several ladies in Hastings desirea to emulate their sisters in that piovince, it .was thought by the majority present that .they snouifl be pernutteu io practice during the xemain.ue.r of iue present season. In Otago, a la.dies' tournament oi bowling has just finished, champion singles, pairs., and rinks such as are played by the men. in the rinks no less than 144 lauxes took. part, and the tournament in every respect prove.d a huge success, and. has set up a standard wnich the men bowlers wul have .difiiculty in surpassing. nf +r\ /.rtYria TIUUYIQk V» n TVI a A 1 n J 4 r. n )

juut y\j byiuv uuaioi AiUXLLw, XX lauivd bowling club has been formed at Edendale, iiuekian.d, with 40 members, and bad they the accommodatioh they could treble .tnat number, they say. »la New Plymouth, a ladies' bowling club was formed in October lagt with a good membership; so keen were the ladies there to play bowls that they converted their eroquet green into a bowling green, aua the ciub is growing in leaps und bounds, I am inf ormed a club has been formed in Gisborne, while in Wellington many male clubs are fostering the idea. It has been stated as a fact that in all places where ladies ' clubs have been fornne.d, they have proved to be a source of strength to the men's club, numerieally an.d finaneially. Bowling for the fair sex must come sooner or later in- Hastings, whether we like it or not, an.d those clubs whieh have the facilities to offer will be well advised to seriously consider the matter. How ' many ladies are there who would never have taken up eroquet had there been a ladies' bowling club iu the town? I make bold to say there are very many. It might be asked why this should fce, but the answer is not hard to find. Mrs Brown, and Mrs Jones, decide to have a game of eroquet. Mrs Brown is a good piayer, and onee she gets possession of .the game, she plays on an.d on, while Mrs Jones sita by and lookst on. She, being an indifferent piayer, may h^ve to leave the green when the "game is finished, when only liaving hau a "crack" at thq eroquet balls for only a few minutes all through the game. I fancy I can hear many cioquet play ers say, "Too true," But how different with bowls; a piayer is not only interested with his own "shot" bnt watehes with every nerv© strained almost to breaking point the bowls delivered by those of nis own side, and of those delivered by his opponents. This goes on throughout the game, and is full of interest from start to finish. Thus the comparison is obvious, and though the game of eroquet may be a Ifiglxly scienrific Qinl, I doubt very much whether those who have given it up tq take on bowls woul.d again go back to it. I trust male bowlers will remember that which is characteristic in every true "bowler" — harmony and goodfellowship. If so, then will our ladias have a chance.— Yours. etc.,

Hastings, March 2, 1937.