Update 7^th Feb 2013

Bowling On 5^th Feb

Champion of champion events have begun and by the end of this weekend winners will have been found in fours and pairs and triples will be down to a final.

Interestingly though there is very little available for other bowlers in the Centre. Usually feature tournaments are played against champion of champions on the basis that only a few players from each club are involved. However when the Centre moved champion of champions from April to February those other tournaments remained in their original programmed position.

A triples at Woodville was the only tournament on last weekend, there isn't a single tournament this coming weekend and when champion of champions are completed the following weekend there is but one tournament, the Ashhurst Invitation fours.

It remains to be seen whether the Centre's experiment of playing champion of champion events as it's National Club championship will be continued with but if it does clubs will need to be awake to the opportunity. The feedback I get from the more competitive bowlers is that they would prefer a return to Open centre events as the feeder tournaments. Some tell me they have had to win eight games to get a club title while in a smaller club some have got through with one or two wins. The imbalance is obvious. No doubt the issue will be aired at the centre's annual meeting.

In regard to the champion of champion fours and pairs finals at Northern on Saturday I would expect the womens fours to be a close run thing between Northern and Terrace End. Sheryn Blake has rebuilt her four with the front half being Lindy Crawford and Anna Hammington and long time lead Georgie Kahui-Rogers moving to the director's spot.  Northern's singles exponent Feona Sayles is not often seen skipping a four but this time she has Anna Davis, Jacinta Cousins and Julie-anne Mills in front of her. Perhaps home advantage is the only possible edge.

In the mens fours you would expect Chris Barrett, Brian Little, Ron Henn and Brian Henn (Palmerston North) to donkey lick Ashhurst but it was only a very few years ago that Woodville came to town in the same event and cleaned up a star studded Northern in the final. Tony Woodley, John Lawrence, Eion McIntosh and Mike Hickey will enjoy sitting under the radar and will take the game to Barrett. Any complacency from the city side will see them on the back foot.

In the pairs Northern have Sharon Sims (s) and Sue Meyer representing them against Johnston Park's Gillian Friis and Maureen Coffey and should be too strong although the Feilding club has a good recent record in centre events. Still a multiple world champion at home is a daunting opponent.

Pat Horgan and Ross Ellery should make it a double for Palmerston North in the mens pairs when they meet another Johnston Park combination in Simon Westby and Mike Sinclair.  Westby replaced Keith Walker who was incapacitated due to a hernia operation. Naturally I hope I am wrong and my own Feilding club mates take out both pairs but the cerebral part of the body rather than the heart tells me otherwise.

On Sunday champion of champion triples will be played down to a final at Johnston Park and a first round mens clash between Palmerston North and Takaro will be a game worth watching. The final will be played on Sunday 17 February along with the singles finals.

Good bowling.

Tony Jensen

Thanks Tony.