BOWLS - Crackerjack season in store - bring it on

With Garry Houlahan
It is time for the summer season of bowls to start and the official Centre opening was held at Arapohue on September 13. New Centre president Diane Stewart welcomed everybody to her home club and the formalities were completed and the season declared open. This season is very full and bowlers will be kept busy throughout but I know we are all looking forward to it. Bring it on!
* Pennants fly flag
No sooner had the season been declared open than the Pennants competitions were on us and last weekend there were two days of competition. For those who do not play winter bowls, there were plenty of sore muscles on Monday. Form was erratic as players searched for consistency but this will come with more play. Results from the first two days will be available next week.
* Rolling on regardless
The first of the Centre Championships will be held this week with the 2x4x2 Mixed Pairs played on artificial surfaces. Many grass greens are still very soft. The draw is:
At Hikurangi - S. Nelson, M. Parker, P. Warth, B. Moore, D. Stewart, C. Crawford, P. Cross, J. Wilson, J. Thorburn, R. Bowmar, G. Lawrence, S. Smith, D. Domigan, K. Sidwell. At Onerahi - G. Parker, W. Edgar, N. Lett, A. Muir, E. Pierce, G. Herbert, M. Haslam, S. Mitchell, B. Arbon, D. Collett, A. Booth, G. Wardell, E. Smitten, M. Attwood. At Ngunguru - J. Dunn, M. Timoti, R. Yanko, L. Reader, N. Yovich, B. Horscroft, R. Sowerby, F. Kirk, P. Wightman, J. P. Van Haaften, E. Pattillo, A. Carson, A. Wintle, K. Smith. Play starts at 9am and post-section play will be at Maungakaramea on Sunday, also at 9am.
* Get-together eyed
An interesting point from Centre minutes this month. A sub-committee will be set up to look into the possibility of Far North and Northland Centres coming together for administration purposes. There is no suggestion at this stage that competitions or representative teams be combined, which makes it appear somewhat of a Claytons amalgamation. I have upset plenty of people with my views on the pointlessness of the Far North/Northland split and it is ironic that some are now trying to move the centres closer together. * Paralympics pair helped
The bowls fraternity can claim some kudos for the success of Paraplegic Olympians Cameron Leslie and Fiona Southern. The Kittyhawks Bowling Club held a fundraising tourney for Cameron Leslie at Waipu some years ago which raised $1500 and followed up with additional grants for both following the annual meeting this year. All told, $2500 was made available to the dedicated pair. It was pleasing to see them do well in Beijing. Just one example of the fine work done by the Kittyhawks.