BBC BROADCAST AUGUST 5th (Terry Norwood at the desk)
Opening with some titbits to chew on:
- The schedule for bowlers to nominate for the BBC Major Pairs Championship is posted on the notice board awaiting your names. Entries close on Saturday August 8th, so come on gents, get paired up and listed on the schedule.
- And another reminder that nominations for the Men’s Bowling Club Committee are now open. Nomination forms can be found at the Club and can be lodged in the box which is positioned on the table just outside the office door.
- Annual fees are now overdue, so if you know of anyone who has not yet renewed membership and is a likely candidate to continue, please give him a gentle nudge.
- Bowlers are reminded that the AGM of the Men’s Bowling Club will be held at 11am on Sunday September 13th and you are all invited. So that’s one for your diaries gents.
- No date yet, but letting all members know that the AGM of the BBC Ltd, the licensed Club as distinct from the Bowling Club, will be in October. We’ll let you know the date when we have it.
- The management of the greens is now in the hands of vice-president Peter Flight who, with a small team, is learning the ins and outs of green care. Anyone willing to assist can get in touch with Peter.
- And for your info, another coaching guide from coach extraordinaire Robin Staples appears below!
Wednesday Social Bowls
Thirty-eight healthy, raring to go bowlers pulled on their beanies, long-johns, heavy jackets and anything else they could lay their hands on to turn out on a frightfully cold winter afternoon . . . and, of course, Chris was in shorts!! The Match Committee sent out five games of triples and two of pairs. The number included John Stoudt from Shepparton and newcomer Mark Holdsworth, a mate of Steve Day’s.
On rink 7, Arnie Lenczuk, Col ‘Hawaii’ Stone and Viv ‘fifth’ Gear dropped the first two ends against Joel ‘AC/DC’ Hunt, Paul Rubie and the wily Bob Edwards but by the fifth was on even terms. It was then that Bob’s trio won six of the next eight ends to be well on top at 17 – 7. It was then that ‘whack’, Viv’s team slipped into top gear, grabbed a four shotter as well as a juicy SIX and breasted the tape 20 – 17 to the good!! What a come back!!
In the next game, Peter Marshall, Neville ‘the’ Tanner and first time skip Graham Hartnup started slowly against Ted ‘Mr Ed’ McPhee, Russell Dunstan and Terry Norwood to be 1 – 4 after four. However, Peter, Neville and Graham then all started to outpoint their opposite and they charged to a 10 – 5 lead. It was then that team Norwood finally started to come to grips with the conditions and they successfully ground out the back half for a 21 – 12 victory.
On rink 9, Grahame ‘dragon’ Denman, junior Cummins and Joe O’Donnell opened with a triple against Alex Christlo, John Stoudt and Denis ‘rowdy’ Lees but by the fourth had dropped a FIVE and a whopping SIX to be 4 – 11 on the card. They did grab a four shotter of their own but by the eleventh were gasping at 9 – 22. Team Lees continued to show the way, and although they dropped a SIX, they were never in danger of being caught. It ended 34 – 19.
On rink 10, Mark Holdsworth, Richard ‘gazelle’ Denman and Stephen Day dropped a triple on the first against Barry Werfel, Peter ‘champ’ Flight and Ross ‘tiny’ Barber, but by the eighth were in front 7 – 5. And then cyclone Ross struck with a monstrous SEVEN shotter on the next end to have heads all over the green turning when they heard the call! Stephen’s boys hit back immediately with a four, but the back half was all team Barber as they dropped only two ends and finished 27 – 14 to the good.
In the next one, Jill ‘Hollywood’ Harwood, Graham ‘Pisa’ Hunt and Neil ‘rowdy’ Puckeridge grabbed five shots on the first two ends against Terry ‘pep’ Salter, gentleman Don Chapman and the evergreen Gordon Lewis but when they dropped a four shotter on the seventh, they had slipped behind by a shot. The game then moved into a tight battle until a FIVE to Gordon’s trio on the fifteenth had them sitting pretty. And seven in front with four ends to play, they looked safe . . . but . . . Neil’s team had other ideas and ground out the ends to snatch a last gasp draw 21 all! Thrilling for some . . . but frustrating for others Gordon!!
In the first of the pairs matches, Ian ‘smooth’ Duncan and Dave Charlesworth had much the better of the early ends against Mark ‘wheel’ Barrow and Clive ‘dasher’ Neutze to lead 11 – 2 but dropped an earth-shattering SEVEN shotter on the next end to come back to earth with a thud! Ian and Dave then sneaked ahead, but Mark and Clive had square the ledger by the fifteenth, and when they grabbed a mouth-watering SIX on the nineteenth they led by four. However, far from done, Ian and Dave stormed home to snatch a last gasp victory 26 – 24!
In the final match, Mark ‘admiral’ Shelvey and the ebullient Chris Forrester dropped a shot on the first against Shane Harvey and Mick ‘king’ Fisher but then ground out singles of their own to lead 5 – 4 after seven. This became 9 – 4, then 11 – 5 as Shane and Mick struggled in the wind and the cold and the skill of Chris. Things didn’t change in the back half of the game as Chris and Mark continued the get the better of the conditions and the opposition, and when stumps were drawn after twenty ends the scorecard read 21 – 11 in favour of the Mark/Chris combo!
Coach’s Corner No 5
Before looking at the roles of bowlers in a little more detail, here is a suggestion I think is very important.
Every bowl you deliver should have a definite purpose.
I hear everyone saying, “Oh, but I always do that”.
I suspect that that is not true and that many bowls are just aimed at the head in general on a hope and a prayer.
We have all seen the situation when a bowl sits just clear of the jack and the opposing bowler lines up with obvious intent to remove that bowl using some weight. Surprising how often they hit the target. Why, because they have increased their level of concentration by focusing on a target.
So we can improve our bowls by deciding exactly where we will deliver every bowl. Even if drawing to the jack decide if you want your bowl touching in front or behind the jack.