american lawn b()wls ass()ciatl()n - United States Lawn Bowls ...

american SPRING 1988
lawn b()wls
ass()ciatl()n
The 1988 United States World Bovvls Team

Each councilor has the duty to first
present the position of the division he
represents, but he needs input from 'the
members of his division in order to do
the job right. I would like all members to
advise his councilor of any suggestibn
that may improve ALBA. The names of
your councilors can be found inside the
cover of your Bowls Magazine. Remember,
you don't need to be a champion
bowler to have suggestions, so flood
your councilor's mail with suggestions.
6th WORLD BOWLS
CHAMPIONSHIPS
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
By Alexander Oakers
1st Vice President, ALBA
I have just returned from the above
Championships and although I have no
medals to report for the U.S. Team, I
would like to record the excellent hospi-
. tallty extended to all of the American
. contingent by Hillsboro Lawn Bowling
Club, our Host Club for the duration of
out stay. I was fortunate to also attend ·
the 5th World Bowls in Aberdeen in :
1984, and I can bear witness to the fact,
that the U.S. has been particularly fortunate
in the allocation of Host Clubs
whatever success enjoyed on the greens:
Abergeldie Bowling Club in Aberdeen
set a standard for hospitality that was
second to none, and there was no doubt
in any of our minds that our treatment in
Hillsboro was equally outstanding and .
no effort was spared to ensure that our
visit would be a memorable one. Every
member of their club seemed to feel
that each of them had a singular res pons-
A SECOND OPINION
By Stan Palmer
While rooting for the U.S. Team to finish
in the top half, its No. 17 ranking is
. an accurate reflection of the status of
BOWLS here. Each team of the 23
earned its final position with no excuses.
The media keeps pounding that we
are No. 1 in baseball, football; we may
be NO.8 in Winter Olympics, No. 14 in
Table Tennis, No. 17 in BOWLS. So,
what else is new? We sent the five best
players, they gave their best, are not to
be faulted.
We will never be competitive with top
internationals until we can duplicate their
inducements, outlook to young players
who can aspire to fame, endorsements
and some bucks. Just look closely at
the records of top players at Auckland
and still active from past World Bowls,
T.V. invitationals, etc.
About New Zealand 1988 and cotula
grassl Reporters excelled relaying words
of wisdom from the athletes. The N.Z . .
Team was miffed, not being allowed
enough advance practice time on the
World Bowls greens (to better their cot- ·
ula advantage). They had been visiting .
ibility for our comfort and enjoyment.
Pictured is the Florida contingent leaving
for the airport in their private bus to
enjoy a further trip to Australia. We were
afforded the freedom of their beautiful
greens and clubhouse and the numerous
social evenings and sing-a-Iongs
were much enjoyed by all. The special
highlight of our trip was a day outing to
visit a Deer Farm owned by a Club
member and his brother.
A special bus, provided by our hosts,
and a few members with their cars, took
us out into the country to Twin Lakes
Farm and after driving all around the
area on a hayride (two tractors pulling
trailers with hay bales as seats (see picture).
we stopped at one of the lakes on
the farm and enjoyed an excellent steak
barbecue. One or two of our group had
a swim and the location and atmosphere
was a special experience. We
clubs for ' weeks helping to drum up
ticket sales and attendance. Their deliberate
preparation was of critical importance
as they knocked off four 'or five
probably better teams to Twin GOLD in
the initial week's Pairs and Triples. Other
top teams honed their ski lls and were
ready for the locals in the Singles and
Fours. Australia complained that it should
have been funded for more advance
practice than the typical four or five
days. David Bryant and other stars had
experience on cotula from .previous visits,
were not hurting at all. The inexperienced,
however, needed 30 days of
stringent practice and tournament com- .
petition on cotula to prepare them for
the big games.
Visiting New Zealand in 1981 for my
first attempt, learned that Henselite made
special bowls for cotula play. It was
'yardstick' bowling at best. This year I
was determined to try once more, while
visiting friends and attending some
games. In several regular club games,
. again no practice allowed, the same
poor effect-yardstick was par. No birdies.
Some say, "If it is 18 seconds in
Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, etc., it '
saw numerous herds of deer and were
shown the facilities and process of branding
and were fully aware that we were
enjoying an experience privileged to
few. After leaving the farm , our hosts
took us to Helensville Bowling Club
where it had been arranged to allow us
to bowl and to our great surprise, we
were treated to another steak barbecue.
A memorable occasion for all of us, and
typical of the wonderful hospitality continuously
provided.
I have written special thank you letters
to a number of the officials and
members who provided special favors,
but my purpose in this report is to sincerely
thank all of the members of Hillsboro,
rather than to single out individuals.
Thank you sincerely Hillsboro Lawn
Bowling Club and best wishes for many
successful and happy years in the future.
is all the same greenspeed." Yes-your
timer may read the same, but the path is
different. My picture has been a parabola.
I could not adjust in the brief opportunity
to an arc, part of a cirlce. (Don 't
call, guys, math was never my best
subject).
Arculli for example, won 'GOLD' at
Scotland four years ago. He is no less a
great player today. By the time another
World Bowls reaches New Zealand in
Year 2004 or so, who will be around with
cotula experience? Nobody.
Former Na Team member
Skip Arculli pictured with
Israel Team 'Captain, Cecil
Bransky at LAX after deplaning
from World Bowls at
Auckland, NZ.
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