Money makes the bowls roll
THE old adage claims that ‘money makes the world go round’. Well, it certainly does make the bowls roll and those clubs securing sponsorship for high paying tournaments will find themselves on an easier recovery route after the hardships of lockdown.
Such was the case with the Parkhill Bowling Club’s two-day Hollywoodbets Easter Tournament, which attracted 28 fours teams vying to qualify for a share of the R72 000 prize money.
The entrants were drawn into seven sections of four, and three games of 15 ends were played on Saturday – giving each section winner, and the best second-placed team, a spot in the main Cup event.
The next best 10 qualifiers played the Plate event and the teams placed 19th to 28th played for the Bowl prize.
Points were carried forward on Sunday and two rounds were played on a ladder system, after which the top four sides in each event played finals of 15 ends, using the same scoring format that had applied throughout the day – one point per end won and four for a win.
The winners of the main event – Stella Park’s John Connellan and club mates Dougie and Gareth Bashford who teamed up with Hillary bowler Marc Rogers, pocketed R28 000 for their weekend’s slog.
The second and third-placed teams in the main event took home R12 000 and R7 000 respectively.
Prizes for the Plate event totalled R10 000 and the Bowl R7 000. In addition to this, five session prizes of R2 000 were awarded, giving twelve teams a rewarding weekend of bowls along with the camaraderie and good fellowship that prevails at lawn bowls tournaments.
The Port Natal Mixed Pairs entries
have whittled down to the last 16 teams and all eyes will focus on the sponsoring club, Amanzimtoti BC, for the forthcoming two Sundays.
On April 18 the surviving teams will compete for a place in the semi-finals and finals which will take place on Sunday, April 25.
The winners will represent Port Natal Bowls in the Bowls South Africa Mixed Pairs Championship in June.