Bowls New Zealand organisers are still optimistic this season's national bowls championships will finish on schedule, despite the abandonment yesterday of most of the tournament's second day.
Only the fourth round in the men's pairs qualifying and the first round in the women's pairs qualifying were finished yesterday before the
dreadful weather finally had its say. Just about every green in the Auckland region was waterlogged.
That meant a readjustment into the post-section pairs qualifying with the cutoff becoming four, three and two, though not quite as drastic as first intended.
This originally was to have been just four and three winners. But after representations from several affected bowlers, tournament director Kerry Clark said his committee decided to lower this to two.
"We did this in the interests of harmony," Clark said. "We want this to be a happy tournament."
In the women's pairs, rounds four, five and six will be played today - should the weather allow - at their scheduled venues.
Clark still hoped that despite the loss of nearly all of yesterday's play, further disruption would be minimal. There was still a little slack in the programme, and games could be shortened if necessary.
However, the eventual unfolding of the championships depended on improved weather. "If we can get another day or two like this one we'll be in trouble," Clark said.
Among those reprieved by the switch to two winners qualifying were the Canterbury pair of Glen McDonald and Doug Wilson, who will be in the four of defending skip Gary Lawson, the Onehunga club's Peter Thorne and the teenage Jason Lindsay, and Henderson's Mike Farac and Tony Andrews.
But even before the deluges, several leading combinations had assured themselves of qualifying with four straight wins.
In this group were favourites Rowan Brassey and Jamie Hill, Bay of Plenty's Graham Skellern and Merv Gibbons, Wellingtonians Lou Newman and Laurie Guy, Takapuna's Richard Collett and his Waikato partner Blair Barringer, and the Wellington-North Harbour pairing of Rob Ashton and Brent Turner.
In the women's competition, internationals Marlene Castle and Wendy Jensen won well, as did defending singles champion Shona Klimeck and fellow Southlander Adele Greenfield, world champion Sharon Sims and Mary Campbell, Jan and Marina Khan and Norma Stewart and Janis Scott from the strong New Lynn four.
