Update 24^th February  2015.

Good luck to the Northern Interclub Teams at Gisborne this weekend.

Comment on Bowls   by Denis Duffy.

A moment of hope and optimism about the future of our sport is welcome in these days of relentlessly declining membership. The huge response to the Centre’s promotion of an ‘Under 5 Years’ Experience/ Any Gender’ Open Singles has provided just that! Forty-eight starters will line up at the Terrace End greens next Saturday – a number that easily exceeds entries in the Open Men’s Singles held earlier in the season. Centre officials have responded well by devising a format that guarantees all entrants two solid days of competitive play. Players will be allocated on their first day performance to one of three divisions, each of which will offer cash prizes for the two best performed players, with the top section obviously attracting the best reward. However, at this early stage, finding out where you stand against your peers is usually incentive enough. It’s obvious that the problem Bowls faces in attracting new players is more than matched by the greater challenge of keeping them involved long-term. The Centre is to be congratulated for coming up with a format which maximises the chances of doing just that. Singles events with substantial entries do bring with them the  significant problem of finding enough markers. Twenty-four markers for each of two days is a very big ask, and all bowlers with time to spare next weekend are urged to make their availability known to Centre Manager Vern Sixtus.

The Manawatu performance in last weekend’s Hexagonal event was a little disappointing, especially for the Women, and especially after such a strong showing on foreign greens in the recent Quadrangular. At time of writing, Sharon Sims had not unveiled her elite seven who will contest the Inter-Centre finals in Christchurch. Women’s selector Eric Watson was happy to guarantee passage to his potent Four Skipped by Chris Quinn and including Liz Rossiter, Robyn Schishska and Janeen Noble, but was still pondering the key Singles and Pairs positions. In the Men’s competition, Wellington simply swept their opposition aside. Unbeaten  ‘B’ Singles player Laurie Guy produced the only flawless record in the tournament, thereby underlying the in-depth strength of the capital. A period of sparse success for them at the top level could be about to end. This pundit also needs to acknowledge the fine performance by Kapiti, whose chances he had not fancied at all.

Some faces not seen in the Manawatu for decades were spotted among the weekend spectators. One belonged to Andrew Seator, briefly a national representative while playing out of Palmerston North in the late 1980’s and very early ‘90’s. Phil Skoglund Snr was also delighted to catch up with Errol Barron, a team-mate when he was briefly domiciled in Wellington in the late 1960’s. Errol’s father, Jeff, went to two Empire Games in national colours, and he was present to support son Neil, the ‘B’ Singles player for Hawkes Bay. Both Andrew and Errol have spent many years now ‘across the ditch’. 

Thanks Denis.