More teams needed to revive historic Burton Cup tournament

Gisborne Bowling Club president Carol Hawes is hoping late entries ensure the Burton Cup is contested this weekend. Gisborne Herald picture

ORGANISERS are hoping for late entries to ensure Gisborne bowling’s premier event for over 100 years, the Burton Cup, is contested this weekend.

Entries were to close at 4pm today and, at 10am today, the tournament was two teams shy of a viable field.

Last year the Burton Cup was shelved for lack of interest. The trophy, donated by Mr E. W. Burton and first contested in 1910, was given to Gisborne Bowling Club for safe-keeping.

Mr Burton was a member of the club and had entrusted its committee with the conduct of the competition.

Traditionally, the Burton has been an Easter tournament.

Last year Bowls Gisborne East Coast president Robin Jefferson said the Burton had struggled to get an entry of 14 teams in recent years, despite its being opened up to women in 2013 and the format being changed from fours to triples.

Eastland Network agreed to sponsor the competition this year, in recognition of longstanding Gisborne Bowling Club member Bruce Easton, who retired from the workforce of Eastland Network in 2017 after 37 years of service.

In an effort to encourage more entries, the club shifted the competition from Easter to January and brought in a new format — fours playing two-bowl triples.

Easter not popular“Easter wasn’t popular so we thought we would try this weekend,” Gisborne Bowling Club president Carol Hawes said.

“That’s a problem for some people, with the end of the school holidays approaching.

“Even so, with 10 teams we could have a tournament worth running. So far we have eight.

“As far as we know, this would be the first tournament in New Zealand to use this format . . . fours playing triples, with teams being able to substitute a player and change the playing order at the end of each end. All four team members must play at least three ends in each 90-minute game.

“It’s an Australian concept that’s proved very popular over there so we’ve adopted it to try to create a bit of interest.”

Hawes said organisers had spread the word to clubs in Tauranga, Rotorua, Ohope and Hawke’s Bay, and had also had information put on the Bowls New Zealand website, but the response had been disappointing.

Prize money would depend on the number of entries but without some late entries, the tournament would not go ahead.

“With two more teams we could make a go of it,” she said.

For most of its history, the Burton Cup was a male-only fours competition that started on Good Friday and sometimes did not finish until Tuesday afternoon.

Entries of over 70 teams were a feature of the Burton in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Every Easter, Gisborne would host a sizeable influx of visiting bowlers.

The Burton Cup was an annual fixture, going through two world wars without missing a beat. Weather stopped two Burton tournaments before they started — in 1982 and 2012.

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Burton entries fell away, until the decision not to hold the 2017 tournament — due to lack of interest — was made at the annual meeting of Bowls East Coast.

The fate of this year’s tournament plans should be known tomorrow.