Update 26^th February 2014.

Comment on Bowls   by Denis Duffy.

As Bowls followers battled the horrendous gales to locate a worthwhile spectacle last weekend, probably very few thought to stop off at the abandoned top green at Takaro. If they had, they would have observed our Commonwealth Games players, Barry Wynks and Mark Noble, hard at work for hours on end as they gradually master the skills they will require. A very different mindset, backed up by distinctly different skills, is required to be competitive on the rough, lead-heavy and at times under-prepared greens that most countries in the world strangely choose to play on. It was encouraging to hear that Mark and Barry were joined at the weekend by Wellington’s Lisa White, a member of our Women’s Team, who was in the squad that journeyed to Glasgow to experience the foreign conditions in recent months. Sharon Sims is also giving generously of her time and ‘knowhow’. To be able to tap into the experience of a local player who has managed to earn medals in top Northern Hemisphere competition must be a big advantage. Centre President Phil Skoglund battled greens like these at Edmonton in 1978, leading to his biographer later being threatened with a libel suit for honestly reporting his opinion of the local surfaces! It’s comical now to read in ‘Mr Bowls’, the biography of Phil’s uncle T.T. Skoglund, how this country sent a team in total ignorance and completely unprepared to the Vancouver Empire Games of 1954. New Zealanders played on lightning-fast grass greens in those days, and our team were totally bewildered to find themselves competing on vast swards composed of something vaguely resembling buffalo grass.

The major fixtures of the weekend were of course the Hexagonal for Men and Women, which was endorsed by players and officials and will be continued into the future. The performance of both our teams was simply outstanding. The Women proved themselves equal to the powerful Wellington side and the Men just got home ahead of Wanganui, while both left the other four Centres battling for the minor places. The Men’s Singles players, Shane Rogers and Darryl Johnson, must deserve special mention for their lion-hearted exhibitions of skill and tenacity in seriously adverse conditions, finishing with a scarcely believable nine wins and a narrow loss from ten starts. Darryl’s immaculate weight control and Shane’s ability to fight back from substantial deficits were a highlight, but the combined achievement of both teams was huge. Then came the difficult process for the respective selectors of cutting back their successful teams to the seven players required. Viv Lozell’s Women’s team looks strong and experienced, with an in-form Feona Sayles providing the spearhead in the Singles. The Men’s side is a conservative selection by Terry Puklowski, who has preferred  to call on the vast top-level experience of Philip Skoglund in the Singles, rather than gambling on Shane Rogers being able to step up to an even higher plane. Shane will be disappointed, but he’s in the team, and both Men and Women have the firepower to pull off a big result.

This weekend sees another chapter of the very successful Hospice Tournament at Northern with its associated auctions and raffles which Barry Gush continues to organise and run so well. If readers not already involved are keen to participate in any way in this worthy event, they should contact Barry or the Northern Club, even at this late stage.

Denis Duffy

Thanks Denis.

Update 4th February 2014

Comment on Bowls   by Denis Duffy.

Four Manawatu bowlers are set to strike out into missionary territory when they take up an invitation to visit Hong Kong next month before penetrating the Chinese mainland to further test their skills. The unique opportunity came about through past contacts made by Centre President Phil Skoglund. Vern Sixtus, Willie Young, Paul Joe and Stu McGrail will discover that Bowls is strong and well established somewhere among the concrete canyons of Hong Kong, and might also find the ‘skins’ format which they are asked to play quite a challenge. Nobody that I asked had more than a vague idea of what it entails! The Chinese leg of the trip is even more mysterious, as Bowls is hardly a significant sport in those regions. I seem to recall local Singles exponent John Davies once being selected to compete in Korea, where he found the greens a bit different to say the least, but China seems to be virgin territory.

The first Champion of Champions winners were found at the weekend with Bev Budd winning the Women’s Singles for Terrace End, and Darryl Johnson snaring the title that Himatangi Beach have been threatening to win by taking out the Men’s event. Bev is of course a local legend,  and was close to the elusive Singles double, having been narrowly beaten by Noeleen Elston in the earlier Open event. Darryl has a strong background in the uber-competitive Auckland Centre, and was unlucky to run second to Ray Lovie a year or two ago in a Singles final played in winds varying from gale to hurricane force at Northern. The Triples finals will be played next weekend and could well prove to be a bonanza for the smaller clubs with Dannevirke and Hokowhitu both featuring. As well, all eyes will be on Scotty McGavin, who gets a big chance to finally shed the bridesmaid tag and win a title for Bulls if he can subdue a steady Hokowhitu side in the Men’s final. The same Palmerston North Men’s Triple that made the national play-offs in Invercargill last year fell to Takaro in the first round, with a huge final bowl by Takaro Skip ‘Trunky’ Johnson later just failing to deny Bulls their place in the final. As the Champion of Champions events play out, it’s relevant to bear in mind that this is the second year since these events have been used to decide who gets to progress regionally and nationally under the ‘pathways’ concept. Many, if not most other Centres use Open events to find these winners, and it’s likely there will be further debate on the issue when the Bowls Manawatu AGM rolls around.

It’s not often that a twelve year old wins a Senior club title, but that’s what happened when Murray Wilson recently found himself in the winner’s circle at Takaro as part of the Barry Wynks Four. This will be an interesting team to watch when they compete at centre level shortly.  

Denis Duffy

Thanks Denis.