Update 13^th October  2014.

Northern Vs Paraparaumu.

Saturday the 11^th saw the annual competition between Paraparaumu and the Northern Bowling clubs take place.

The weather gods co-operated and turned on a cracker day.

It was a very close tournament with Northern coming out on top - just!

The scores were

-          Northern       18 wins 2 draws and 38 points.

-          Paraparumu 18 wins 2 draws and 38 points.

-          Diff - Paraparaumu -47 Northern +47 points.

It was a great day enjoyed by all.

Below are a couple of pictures taken on the day. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Update 9^th October  2014.

Welcome to a new season.

Comment on Bowls   by Denis Duffy.

Despite the seasonal blasts of vicious Spring gales and squalls, there have been confirmed reports of bowlers emerging to tackle the new season, and doing so with optimism! Gloomy reflections on vanished participants have been outweighed by the arrival of a shrewd and energetic new Centre President, and a Men’s Selector whose presence must make Manawatu the object of envy from other Centres. Tony Woodley, now playing out of Terrace End, has taken up the presidential reins with energy and enthusiasm, though I have been told that his carefully aimed first bowl of the season at Johnston Park veered dramatically and mysteriously off course! The appointment of Sharon Sims as Men’s Selector is a masterstroke, and Sharon is to be thanked and congratulated for taking up this challenging role. To have in the position a person of such mana, which will easily earn the respect of all prospective representatives, is a huge plus for our Centre.

The representative season has already got off to an outstanding start. Unfortunately new Women’s selector, Eric Watson, despite casting his eye widely and trawling membership lists, was unable to come up with a viable squad to contest the annual season-opening Under 5 years fixture. However, Sharon Sims was able to conduct an excellent build-up programme for the Men, which bore fruit in a rare runner-up placing at Wanganui last weekend. Taranaki currently has an exceptional array of talent at this level, and they made no race of grabbing their second consecutive title. The Manawatu squad couldn’t get seriously close to them, but to run second in an event which demands the constant changing around of team combinations and disciplines, as well as coping with a scrambled draw and a tricky artificial playing surface, is no mean feat. Our Centre President doubled as Manager, and he has counselled me against mention of individuals, but I am about to defy orders, because this was a really notable effort. 

Graham Black somehow pulled off a magical Singles comeback to down a fancied Wellington player 25-24 after trailing 11-23. Graham has previously impressed as a player with exceptional qualities of skill and temperament for a novice bowler. Pat Simms is the standout among the smallish group of school-age players in action in the area. Son of the well performed Grant Simms, Pat already has significant experience in the game and is developing into a very able exponent of all the shots. John Osborne from Takaro  has long experience of intense high level Table Tennis competition, frequently in tandem with the redoutable Barry Wynks, and is well used to the stresses of rep. play. Bevan Burt and Michael Bowey both Impressed during last year’s Centre Open Pairs competition  - Bevan with his aggression and confidence, and Michael who quietly progressed to the latter stages, playing with his visiting father and on a diet of minimal play owing to work commitments. It must be stressed again though that this was a fine team effort, and one in which Alan Burton (a veteran of the event),Craven Teua, Steve O’Connell, Ron Sandiland and Todd O’Carroll all played a vital part.

Looking forward, it’s time for all bowlers to check out the list of upcoming club and Centre tournaments and to resolve to support as many events as possible. In particular, the Pathways Mixed 2-4-2 Pairs over Labour Weekend is rapidly looming. This is one which is usually well supported and surely will be again. A little further ahead, but an exciting prospect, is an Inter-School competition which is well overdue and now has the full backing in organisation of Sport Manawatu. Finally, it’s rumoured that the eagerly listened to voice across the early Saturday airwaves this season will belong to Steve Toms. Steve is now Centre Vice-President, and, as one of our most decorated bowlers is just the man to tell us what’s going on around the greens.

Thanks Denis.

Update 7^th August  2014.

Comment on Bowls   by Denis Duffy.

Heading into a new season, Manawatu bowlers could take a moment to reflect on two outstanding efforts by our players in recent times. The Games silver medal won by Mark Noble and Barry Wynks was a simply superb effort, and a well deserved one given the many hours of hours of hard work they put into their preparation. They were very competitive in every match played, and their only loss in the final was the result of a shaky start, with the game following a very similar pattern to a certain recent Rugby final in Sydney. Barry and Mark will surely acknowledge the huge part played by armless lead Lynda Bennett, who refused to let her formidable wheelchaired South African opponent get on top of her. Earlier on came the stellar performance by the inimitable Bev Budd on the carpet in Dunedin, where she missed a National Club Singles title by the narrowest of margins. Bev’s opponent, Tayla Bruce, was her junior by roughly six decades or more and had starred at the most recent Nationals. These were two Silver Medal results to be very proud of.

The overall performance of our teams at Glasgow though demands closer analysis than the vague pass mark given to them by the media. The results from the Mens’ team was mediocre, and, when put in the context of the last five Commonwealth Games the picture that emerges is frankly woeful. The challenge posed by the greens is real but no excuse, given the extensive preparations that were funded and provided this time, including travel by a full squad for practice at the Kelvingrove complex some months previously. Ali Forsyth has the record to warrant retention, but his choice of the correct time to drive at the head must be more judicious. Shannon McIlroy is also worth further opportunities, although his loss of momentum at the crucial stages was very disappointing. The rest of the squad have to go, and in searching for replacements future selectors need to make a case to the all-powerful funding bodies that the best bowlers don’t always fit in the more youthful bracket. Michael Kernoghan, Rowan Brassey and, (dare I say it?) Gary Lawson, would form the basis of a much stronger side. On the Women’s side, the picture is somewhat more encouraging. Jo Edwards is probably our best ever female bowler and her status is beyond question, while Val Smith disappointed this time but has the track record. Rumours are swirling though that the two Nelson maestros may be close to calling it a day. The youthful image of the other three players and their taste of success will have delighted the grandees of Bowls New Zealand, but again there are players around who may be a little longer in the tooth but who deserve more of a chance. As I see it, the position of selection kingpin Dave Edwards must also be very shaky.

On the local scene, outgoing Manawatu President Phil Skoglund can’t be allowed to depart the scene without addition to his many existing accolades. Let’s just reflect that we have here a member of the Bowls Hall of Fame who was so highly regarded thirty years back that a publishing company previously devoted exclusively to Rugby was prepared to publish his biography. This was one of only three bios of bowlers to have appeared in this country so far. That Phil was prepared to step up to the plate as President so much later when he saw his sport in need is a measure of the man. It was obvious from the newspaper column which he wrote previously that he had a clear view of the desired path ahead, and although not everyone was ever going to agree with him, nobody doubted the astuteness of his thinking. Thank you, Phil, from every bowler in the Manawatu! The Centre’s AGM threw up the scary prospect of it being simply too expensive for our sides to compete at the top level this season, but again it was Phil Skoglund who argued for a stay of execution until all possibilities of funding are exhausted. We in the Manawatu can only wonder why our centrally located venues have now been abandoned in favour of Christchurch where accommodation is notoriously expensive. It was a little disappointing too to see another of Phil’s positive initiatives disappear under the weight of parochialism. This was the idea of combining our Interclub with Wanganui, which recognised the fact that the number of high class competitive players across both Centres is probably fewer than many bigger Centres, and the travel involved was reasonable. In this case at least the negativity came primarily from the River City, where several leading players boycotted the concept before it really had a chance.

Manawatu bowlers will have been saddened by the recent death of popular Terrace End identity, Peter Gosley, who passed away suddenly in Fiji.

Thanks Denis.

Update 1st August 2014.

SILVER SMILES: The New Zealand para-bowls triple of (from left) Mark Noble, Barry Wynks and Lynda Bennett show off their silver medals.
Well done team.
It was a great game to watch.

You can read a report on the game here.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/commonwealth-games/other-events/10335337/Para-bowls-silver-medal-for-New-Zealand-triple