PENNANT BOWLING COMPETITION

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 102, 21 July 1927, Page 8

PENNANT BOWLING COMPETITION

TWO DISTINCT METHODS OF GRADING IS UNIFORMITY POSSIBLE, OR DESIRABLE? THIS article deals with the difficulties in the way of a satisfactory solution of the Pennant Bowling Competition, which has been so widely discussed. Both sides of the question are fully outlined, and the different points of view are candidly dealt with on their merits.

By

JACK HIGH

CLUBS GRADINGS It can be considered as unfortunate for the pentre executive that the many puzzling difficulties now facing the inter-club pennant competition should be placed in the hands of that body for a happy solution. The reason for this contention is that until the numerous clubs which participate embark on a completely uniform policy in grading their respective players, no solution satisfactory to the participants can be found. At the present time, there are two methods of grading, which place clubs upon an unequal competitive playing basis with one another. The first is the classification on purely bowling merit — the only method of true selection. If adopted, this system will immediately give satisfactory results in the pennant competition. A DRASTIC EXPERIMENT

To give a practical illustration of the system put into practice, the following will serve. Some years ago, a bowler, with a wide Southern experience, who had taken up his permanent residence in Auckland, was asked' to accept the unenviable position of sole selector in one of Auckland’s leading clubs. Having consented and being duly elected, he asked his committee if it desired that the club should win the pennant competition and was informed that it was its wish to place the matter of winning, if possible, this great test of club strength, entirely in his hands. Having obtained this consent, he spent some days on the bank making a close study of the bowling strength of the individual members of the club, so much so, that when he had summarised the capabilities of all the members, he was personally satisfied that he had a correct estimate of the fighting strength of the club, which, if put into actual operation, would land the club with the coveted pennant at the end of the current season and thereby place it in the position of the desired bowling prominence. Having arranged his selection, he duly made out the teams in their newly arranged positions and placed the revised list upon the notice board for members to inwardly digest. But great was the slaughter of the old hands; old skips who had held their proud positions for many years were placed as even number twos; threes who had looked with longing eyes t 9 the previous selectors for recognition found that previously unattainable positions allocated to them. In short the selector had done his duty. The members had been re-graded on their playing merit.

But on the other hand, a storm of fiery criticism had to be faced from old de-graded players. However, the new selector was equal to the occasion and was prepared to stand solidly behind his selection and face the music. On the following Saturday afternoon, he waited outside the gate until the green was fairly full, buttoned up his coat and walked on to the club’s property prepared for eventualities. As was expected, the storm burst immediately. At that moment he found he was the most unpopular bowler in the club. But an appeal to the disgruntled members to let the interests of the club supersede individual interests, met with & ready response. The members took the necessary drilling and fell into line with one accord, ready for the fray in the pennant competition. To cut a long story short, the club won the coveted pennant and duly acclaimed the sole selector as their benefactor. COMPLEMENTARY POSITIONS

The second method of selecting players in a number of clubs is that which has as its basis the harmony of all the members and the club’s general welfare. Under this heading, probably the first consideration is given to those players who can only find time to indulge in the game on Saturday afternoons, and whose standard of play therefore is not necessarily of that strength which is developed by those more fortunate players, who are at liberty to devote more time to the necessary practice. It is rightly felt that these players have a strong claim to inclusion in the teams com-

peting in the pennant competition and that also a bowling club is more than a mere group of men combined together for the sole purpose of playing bowls. But on the other hand, the broader principle should be extended, which is the fellowship of all members of the clubs wherever possible, and 1 should be developed. For these reasons mainly, Saturday afternoon players who exhibit a moderate playing standard of play are found sprinkled through many teams that compete in the competition. The next type of player who finds a prominent place in the selection is. the weak skip, who has gone off his play of recent years, but is an excellent worker in the interests of his club’s welfare. These skips are found in most clubs. It is wide experience that it is most difficult to de-grade these splendid fellows into positions of less responsibility.

Hence it is found that the only way is to strengthen up the teams which include these bowlers by the inclusion of players of marked ability in team work, and thereby endeavour to some degree to carry the skip.

There are other reasons too numerous to elaborate on here which justify the inclusion of weaker players in the inter-club pennant competition. Suffice to say that in many clubs there is a marked inclination to hold all the members together in play by not allowing a division in the ranks by giving the stronger players any advantage over the weaker ones. Hence it can be advanced that the policy of the clubs can be clearly divided into two distinct classes—the clubs which are out to win the pennant competition and the clubs that are out to give all their members as full a bowling life as possible under the existing conditions. While there are in existence these two opposing policies of club government, there is little hope of the competition being a successful competitive event. But on the other hand, if - the clubs will regard the competition purely as an opportunity for a social inter-club competition and not take the matter of the actual winning so seriously, the competition can really hope for continued success during the coming season and in the future years. In laying down the scheme for the competition’s smooth running, the centre executive has therefore little opportunity or guarantee of meeting with success for the clubs, as it is purely a matter of on what basis the numerous participating clubs will select their respective players. Hence it is mostly for the clubs themselves to decide upon what policy they will adopt to assist the centre executive. A WEAK SUGGESTION

A suggestion was recently advanced that a solution could be found by dividing the competition into three distinct sections A, B and C grades. This is obviously a weak suggestion and not in the interest of progress. Already there are four grades of players—leads, twos, threes and skips. These grades account for a large amount of the present troubles. To further divide them into 12 distinct grades would be in direct opposition to the best interests of the sport. Rather should a scheme be evolved by which all players can be made to play together. It is earnestly hoped that whatever is done in this direction in the future will tend towards bantling the bowling fraternity closer together, a>nd- not toward a division of the ranks into infinitesimal parts. The competitive side of the sport has reached a very high standard indeed — probably the highest anywhere in the world. For this wonderful development New Zealand bowlers can feel justly proud. What is now desirable is a policy that will fully maintain that standard and at the same time develop the traditional social side in keeping with the competitive. If this can successfully be accomplished, the forward trend of the sport will indeed have nothing to fear in this Dominion in the future, and the fine ideals of bowling can reach a rich and broad fulfilment.