Opinion – cdf. Why didn’t they play? National Club Championship finals, Dunedin, 19 - 28 June 2014 Is it the substantial expense, work commitments, or other unknown reasons, why FIVE teams chose not to pursue this year’s Bowls NZ’s National Club titles? One has to question why the defaulting winners entered the regionals, knowing that they would/could not play in the final. Certainly, the runners-up in these events have every reason to feel displeased. One team withdrew from the men’s Fours, and another participant in the women’s singles. Two teams defaulted from the Men’s Triples competition – leaving only four teams and resulting in a one-day, three game competition. Another player withdrew from the Men’s singles due to a subsequent Bowl NZ commitment. These National ‘Club’ finals were abolished a few years ago with Bowls NZ asserting that they were too expensive to maintain. However, insistent and popular demand from Clubs re-introduced the event to the national programme on a ‘user pays’ condition. Next season, Bowls NZ will levy Centre’s $2 for every player’s entry to all Centre Open Events (a 100% increase on the 2013-14 charge -$1 per player, per event). This amount covers the cost to Bowls NZ for running the finals which includes green hire, catering (lunches only) plus accommodation/airfares etc. for Bowls NZ’s tournament controller. This fee does not assist players with accommodation or travel costs. Thankfully, some Centres and Clubs generously contribute to player’s expenses, but some are unable to do so because of their financial position. The five Hawke’s Bay bowlers who competed in last week’s event consider themselves extremely fortunate, as Bowls Hawke’s Bay and player’s clubs generously contributed to accommodation and airfare expenses. Not all bowlers were so privileged. Several of players and their clubs organised fund-raising events to help financially, and because of the large drain on Club and Centre funds, perhaps we should consider this in Hawke’s Bay. A re-scheduled date (16-25 April), and a new venue “to be held on specifically on outdoor greens, at a “venue north of Taupo” (possibly Tauranga) may financially help future Hawke’s Bay contestants, but certainly not bowlers from the South Island, and more importantly, this will add yet another event to an already cluttered summer programme. Surely Wellington, the most central location/on the major air route – therefore the most economical, should have been considered as a new venue… In any one season there are 72 opportunities to win a NZ title – 22 for the recent event, plus 28 National Interclub and Inter-centre, 2 Kittyhawk, 6 Secondary School, and 14 National Open Tournament individual titles. Earlier this year Bowls NZ downgraded ‘five winners’ of the following events – National Interclub Championships, National Inter-Centre Championship, National Mixed Pairs Championship, Super 8, Super-bowls and National Club Championships, to a ‘Silver Star’. These events previously counted towards the ultimate achievement of bowls in New Zealand – ‘The Gold Star’. So, will winning this contest be considered minor now? Undoubtedly, those striving to win will not think so! Bowls New Zealand have made an excellent and long overdue decision as the value of a National Open Championship title far outweighs the remaining 58 opportunities. I wonder if the current National ‘Clubs’ Championships in its present format could be at the end of an era. Can Clubs and Centres afford this substantial outlay of funds? Especially as two new, possibly unbudgeted, expenses to Centres will shortly be introduced, a North Island v South Island fixture, and “Bowls New Zealand ‘Under Eight Years” representative competition, with regional and national finals The latter is an ideal opportunity to ‘blood’ future senior representative players, but the down-side could be the financial drain, plus the prospect of using two or three more weekends of each season’s already over-crowded programme. Opinion - Colleen Ferrick – 28 June 2014
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 02:21:23 +0000
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