Following on from my discussion last week about increasing club membership, there appears to be a mood for change in the local region.
Delegates to the Western Division met last Friday and decided a debate should take place over the present centre playing programme. A discussion paper is now being sent to all clubs and decisions will be made at the annual meeting on May 18.
In his covering letter, Western Division president Malcolm Kidd said "as we watch affiliated membership of Bowls Bay of Plenty steadily decline at 10 per cent, we are aware this can only lead to closure of some clubs - and even to the demise of our sport as we know it".
Interestingly, the centre presently takes up 35 weekend playing days in the season for its events, leaving less time for club play.
Kidd, a former national president, said one of the main comments from the recent Bowls New Zealand road show was that "we place too much emphasis on 10 per cent of our members at the expense of the other 90 per cent".
The delegates agreed that the successful Saturday inter-club should be promoted as one of the main events in the playing programming and extended throughout the season, with finals played in May.
The centre champion of champions should lead to the regional and New Zealand Club championships, and the open events programmed later in the season as there's no reason to clutter the calendar any earlier.
The Baywide national interclub should be played closer to the regional qualifying date.
Both the centre and clubs need to accept the reality that casual fee paying players are vital to survival and should make provision in their programmes for weekend participation.
The champion of champions should be played on a one-life system, with longer games limited to no more than three per day - thus saving time.
Last weekend the women had two full days of the champion of champions pairs but they couldn't complete the event.
The final at the Tauranga South club between Taupo and Ngongotaha was called off halfway through because it got too dark for the players.
Taupo's Robyn Martin and Glenys Hodgson led Ngongotaha's Huia Ratana and Lilly Mohi 7-6 after nine ends, and the match will be concluded at a later date.
Again, another event was extended. The competitors had ample time to get through four games of 16 ends in a day, and one way of improving the game for spectators is to speed up play, particularly between matches and when players are changing ends.
Taupo took the first life from Tauranga South's Mary Campbell and Janet Alexander in a cliffhanger in the sixth round. Taupo led 14-8 after 13 ends, and then four down Campbell ran the kitty into the ditch for four shots.
South picked another three shots to go into the final end 15-14 ahead. But Taupo picked up a single and then another to win 16-15 on an extra end. Campbell had drawn the shot but the experienced Martin ran it out with her last bowl of the dramatic game.
While Taupo sat out with the bye, Ngongotaha finished strongly against South in the next round. Behind 6-8 after nine ends, Ngongotaha picked up a three and four singles to lead 15-8 and finally won 17-10.
Rotorua's Stu Robertson and Chris Stanley remained unbeaten and wrapped up the men's champion of champions pairs at the Ngongotaha club in seven rounds. Robertson and Stanley, still alive in the uncompleted champion of champions triples and fours, beat the well-performed Mount Maunganui pair of Steve Beel and Ray Wilson 15-12 in the final. Mount had earlier stopped a strong run by Tauranga's Ross Roycroft and Geoff Tuckey, who has just moved up from Wellington.