BOWLING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5508, 2 December 1929, Page 2

BOWLING.

PAEROA V. TE AROHA. Paeroa travelled to Te Aroha on Saturday to play the club there and try conclusions in the Howden Shield competition. A well-fought game in the Howden Shield competition resulted in a win for Te Aroha by 21 to 17. The teams were as follows :— Te Aroha.—Powell, Hepburn, Murg6e, Clothier (skip. Paeroa.—Bassett, Vowles, Morland, Silcock (skip). Inter-Club. Four games took place in inter-club play, Te Aroha winning three out of the four with a score of 82 to 77. The following were the results, Te Aroha names being mentioned first in each case :— Arthur, Ray, Kenrick and Hedge 23, beat Dale, Smith, Forrest, and Brocket 18 ; Roach, Aickin, Lockyer, and Kriskovich 22, beat Kidd, Hutchinson, Palmer, and Gibb 20 ; Sellars, Stuck, Buchan, and McCowan 21, beat Lowden, Alexander, Pye, and Surrey 17 ; Powell, Hepburn, Maingay, and Clothier 16, lost to Basset, Vowles, Morland, and Silcock 22, FRASER STARS. In a Fraser Stars game on Saturday Saunders and Hetherington (Morrinsville) 18, beat Heathcote and Bygraves (Te Aroha) 10. BRENAN SHIELD. Owing to the inclement weather on Thursday last no play took place in the Brenan Shield competition. THE PILKINGTON CUP. / The president of the South Auckland Bowling Centre, Mr R. N. Pilkington, has presented a cup, which will be known as the Pilkington Cup, to be held for 12 months by the winner of the Champion of Champions singles competition. ' In section D of this competition the draw made is Thames v. Hikutaia, Waihi v. Waikino, and Paeroa v. Te Aroha. These matches will probably be decided somewhere near the end of January, although March 8 is the last date to find the winner. Section winners will meet in Hamilton on March 15 at 9 a.m. to play the finals on the Hamilton Club’s green. The entrance fee is ss, clubs to be responsible, and the prize for the winner is a trophy valued at £4, and one valued at £2 for the runner-up. The competition will be run on the one-life system, finals on the two-life system. GENERAL. The South Auckland Centre tournament will be played on December 26, 27, and 28 ; Te Aroha, January 1,2, and 3 ; and Thames, January 28, 29, and 30. The finals of the Howden Shield match are to be played on January 18. The Bay of Plenty toui’ has been fixed to commence on March 16, and will comprise eight rinks. The Canadian touring party will visit Hamilton on January 2, Rotorua on January 3, and Opotiki on January 6. • Weight Sense. With young players weight-sense has to be developed over a period of months of practice, and even years. They are advised to daily handle their bowls. If they cannot get down to the green, they should take a bowl and practice throwing it into the air about two feet, and about thirty times in succession. By this means the muscles in hand and arm are gradually developed, and the sensitiveness of touch that is so necessary is attained. Grip and Size of Bowl. The primary point to be considered is that of the size of the bowl. Waxman, one of the leading singles players in Australia, advises that the bowl must fit the hand of the player to allow that it will run smoothly and evenly off the tip of the fingers. To obtain the advantage of size, the following rule is laid down : Take a bowl in the left hand. Place the right hand on the bowl. Reach round with the thumb to the centre of the left* disc, and with the little finger to the other disc. It will be seen that the second finger lies truly down the exact dead-centre of the bowl, and that the first and third naturally are equally distant from the second. Turn the bowl over. Immediately it will be observed that the fingers one, two, and three, with their pads at the base of the fingers, form a perfect cradle for the bowl, and that the bowl is naturally away from the butt of the thumb. If a bowler cannot reach the two discs with thumb and little finger, or if the bowl sits against the pad at the foot or butt of the thumb, then the bowl is too large for the player to use with perfect control. It will be noted, from the above directions, that there are actually only three bowling fingers used—first, second, and third—and that the thumb and fourth finger are simply used as steadying factors only. In actual practice the bowl runs sweetly along these fingers, Hvith the pads at the ends of the fingers as the final point where the sensitiveness of touch is developed. A modification of the above, in respect to the thumb and little finger, can be obtained by placing them as near the discs as possible, but not to interfere with the sweet running of the bowl off the tips of the fingers one, two, and three.

The thumb grip on the centre of the bowl is roundly condemned as most inaccurate, being inducive to wobbling the bowl, and is considered not advantageous to correct bowling.