Hanging Out In Oshawa On The Victoria Day Weekend

Victoria Day Weekend - A great holiday weekend of bowls . . kicked off by the MacMillan Trebles in Oshawa.

 

Gentlemen from points east of Toronto plus a few T.O. teams gathered in Oshawa Saturday (May 22) for the 2010 renewal of the Gord MacMillan Memorial Men’s Trebles. They came from Whitby, Peterborough, Coburg, Belleville, Pickering, Cannington, Port Perry, Oakville, Toronto . . .  and lets not forget the strong contingent from the host Oshawa club. Those outsiders looking for an easy 1^st game against a weak home team need not apply in Oshawa. They have so many good teams you have to be up to the test right from bowl number one.

 

The scheduling of this event on the same day as another premier tournament in Burlington resulted in the absence of a few regular attendees . . . but that void opened the door for a few teams that may not normally have made the entry list as vacated spots were quickly snatched up by local teams. The weathermen had been saying all week ”watch out for rain on Saturday” . . .  but the bowling Gods had the final say as 5 minutes of misty drizzle was all that materialized.

 

Good weather . . . great greens. . players anxious to show their stuff after hibernating all winter . . . resulted in a great day of bowls. As usual when conditions are good the cream rises to the top and the 3 game winners were all teams who are no strangers to the winners circle.

3^rd place to Norm Smith of Peterborough, 2^nd place to Fred Thompson of Oshawa with Gord Terwilligar & Keith Olan, (I can’t remember many tournaments I’ve been to where Gord didn’t cash in).

 

Winners on the day: Wayne Wallwork of Cannington with Al Purcell and Roger Buck. (Roger’s patented yells of “YES SIR” & “OH BABY” could be heard from rink 1 to 16 several times during the day).

 

Yikes . .my teams own satisfaction of managing to walk away with a prize was greatly tempered by the fact that we lost game 2 by a score of 18-17 . . . .  by giving up 7 points in the last end!  Well . . already forgotten  . .  moving on to the next game.

BB in the GTA

IN TOUCH WITH BOWLS IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA

Something new and something blew - your socks off. . Bob Bates has his finger on the pulse of bowls in his area and he has agreed to share his observations. He will report specifically from a GTA perspective but he has been known to wander afield occasionally and there are no limits on his parameters. This blog doesn't operate on any hard deadlines so this Bob can roll his copy when ready. Set, Go with  BB in the GTA.

Will keep you updated on anything interesting that crosses my radar in the GTA. Other than the Provincials and the odd trip to Burlington or Peterborough most of my playing is done locally . . so I don't know the scoop on other areas . . other than there seems to be good bowlers who are hard to beat everywhere I go!

 

Winners of the trophies at AGINCOURT [ WF/F Sun. May 26 ] were the Wayne Wallwork team (same team as 2008: Al Purcell, Gord Terwilligar, Al Handlechener) and Doreen Semple (Willowdale) took the Ladies event. Only other 3 game winner on the day was Dave Johnson of Willowdale.

 

Most of the Men's teams present (Skips: Larry Wales, Allan Steffan, Rodger Thompson, Wayne Wallwork) had the same line ups as last year and did well. Guess familiarity is a plus as a couple of good made up teams with bowlers from different clubs looked strong but didn't get the prize. Note: Was also good to see Frank Zazzara there watching and looking as good as ever.

 

Team / District Changes:

After winning all 3 events in Dist 15 last year Peter Wong is going to play in Dist 10 this year. He is playing with Albert Wu (who is moving from Dist 12). Andy & Mike Watson (newer players out of Agincourt) are playing the front end.

 

It will make the Dist playdowns a little tougher in Dist 10. We don't really need the added competition in my District but look forward to playing Peter as we’ve had several great games in  past playdowns. On my team Eric Brands & I just changed positions and I am leading, he is skipping. I find it a much more sociable game at Lead . .and I seem to play better when I don't have to worry about all the other bowls in the way!

 

Ladies have some new combinations.

Last years Ont champs Pauline Hill & Pat Gemmell are back for another go at it with a new front end.

Helen Wright is moving back to District 12 after playing out of Dist 11 for a few years. Her normal teammate Jeanne Christie will be touring Europe and is not playing. Helen has Jackie Hogan, Joyce Kruss & Shirley Ko with her. This also means Vince Donohue has to find a new Mixed Prs partner to carry him (lol) after medaling the last 2 yrs with Jackie Hogan.

 

Helen will find it tougher in District 12. If the Doreen Semple team (with Gloria Chueng, Brooke Reid, sorry didn’t see who the 4^th was ) is playing the Districts they looked pretty good.

 

Auriel Daniel is moving to Dist 10 (from 14) to play with Debbie McCourt, Maureen & Jan Ferguson.

 

Laila Hassan & Chrystal Shephard are hoping to duplicate their trip to the Canadians in the Pairs so are once again not entering the Fours. I played with Laila, Chyrstal & Jeff Harding in one of the N.Falls Fours events. Got a first hand view as to how they manage to win so many games. Wish I had their confidence in being able to make the right shot at the right time.

 

Played at my club last night. Not too bad a turn out with about 36 players on a mid May evening. We have a photo gallary on the wall of all the Ont Champions from Cosburn since about 1980. About a dozen photos of Women’s teams and only 1 of Men! Seems we continue to have a much better contingent of Ladies at Cosburn then men. With Laila & Chrystal, Nanci Myers (last yrs. Ladies Singles Bronze) and now Cathy Haskins (Sorry . . Cathy Larking after she got married to Ron on the weekend) it looks like the trend in the photos on the wall will continue!

 

Ps – Just got back from Mens Pairs at Agincourt: [ P Wed May 19 ] Winners today were the Jim Butler/Gord Terwillegar team. Other 3 game winning skips: Martin Foxhall & Remi Canuel. (who won all 3 despite only outscoring his opposition 36-33 during the day).

 

Big weekend schedule coming up: Oshawa Tebles / Leaside MT / Coburg OF. Hope my boss doesn’t find out I’m doing all this bowling . .usually when I take off work to bowl I tell him I’m going to the race track or casino . .he understands that better!.

 

 BB in the GTA

May Your Colours Be Bright In Bowls 2010 By "IZ"

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Down By The River

The Ontario Bowl's season really started this weekend.
Oh, we had the X(ceptional)  Games in Niagara Falls and James Gardens with that dandy artificial carpet offered a preview performance but the Open Gates were prevalent from Barrie in the north to Leamington in the south.
I made the trip to the St Marys Classic Open Fours. A beautiful town on the Thames River filled with limestone buildings.
So did a strong field of competitors , many using this event to ready for the upcoming Provincial Fours play downs. Steve McKerihen, David Anderson, John Devonshire and Fred Wallbank captured the tournament and the $400 first prize. They were but a few of  National Team caliber bowlers out for a dry day and a dry run to the Districts. A calculated guess makes that number to be 20 of the 64 players on hand to be either current or former wearers of the Canadian uniform.
I had a first hand view of  why the McKerihen rink is a consistent Provincial winner. They don't take one bowl off. Every shot is important, they are on the same page in strategy and they don't give up big ends. They are serious but they enjoy playing a competitive game in each others company. Did I mentioned they are all skilled bowlers.
Malcolm Whyte, Trevor Whyte, Dave Ball and Dave Falconer from Burlington were the other 3 game winners showing early season finesse.
The tournament format was an interesting change. It is not surprising that creative thinking emits from the McLellans, Larry and James, of 'The Stone Town'. They are always thinking of a different way to approach the game and experiment to see if it makes it better.
I like the altered format.
It is a form of preliminary play to establish the playoff teams. The concept is to group like ability teams together for a competitive finale. Thus every team has an opportunity to win a prize in the last round of the day.
I believe I have grasped how it was run. We will see if I can explain it so you understand.
The McLellan Matrix
Sixteen teams and the usual draw for your opponent. After the first round the 8 winners are ranked - one to eight with the opponent draw being 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5  in the 2nd game. The same procedure for the 8 losing teams in the 1st round.
After the 2nd game the teams are now ranked again and placed in 4 groups of 4 teams. 'A' group is the 2 win 0 loss teams ranked by the win plus system - ie #1 Team X 2W +28, #2 Team Y 2W + 27 et cetera.
Follow the same process for establishing Group 'B' and Group 'C' the 1W 1L teams and Group 'D' the 0W 2L teams. This time #1 will play #4 and #2 vs #3 in game three. There is a reward for being a higher ranked team by theoretically getting an 'easier' opponent.
The prize money was distributed to the top two teams in Group 'A' and the top team in the other 3 groups.
Opportunity right to the last game and equitable opponents seems to me to be a solid base of operation.

Larry also announced at the start of the day a time schedule to keep the day moving at a good pace.
The next round would start 20 minutes after the last teams finished their game.
Boy, do I ever agree with this. People often tell me they don't play golf because it takes too long.
Well we won't get them at a bowls tournament either then. Mind you I relish the day with the the interaction with fellow participants, but we still can do that and finish prior to 5 PM. If I noted the time correctly this tournament with a start time of 9:30 AM, 3 X 14 ends finished shortly after 4:00 PM. You can get on your way if need be or sit back and catch up with the talk of the greens.
Speaking of noteworthy news, Chris Johnson has attended 26 Blue Rodeo Concerts. Wouldn't you think he would change the colour of his bowls?
We are really on our 2010 way.

Coming up, Our expatriates are winging their way home.

SPRING TRAINING - I See Clearly Now

Brent Beacroft and Peter Clarke

Appreciate the efforts of all that allow us to participate in an activity we enjoy

WORLD JUNIOR CUP Results

Thursday, April 29
A Bronze medal for Vince Mai. He lost his semi-final match to the eventual Gold medalist, Leif Selby of Australia.

Tuesday, April 27
It is official. No playoff in the Junior Division. The medals are based on the final Round Robin Standings.
Sam Shannahan claims Gold with her final round win over Kelly McKerihen . Genevieve Baildon switches medals with Shannahan from last year due in part to Kelly beating the defending Baildon in the RR in a classic match. Sharmeen Lim of Singapore won the Bronze based on a "countback" , ( Kelly and Lim tied with 5 win-3 loss records so "counting back" to the next determining stat, Lim's win-loss set record of 10.5 - 5.5 to Kelly's 7.0-9.0) Kelly McKerihen finishes fourth in the 2010 World Junior Cup.
Dylan Jacobs will be disappointed with his final match loss to India and his overall 3W-9L record. But records don't tell the whole story. Let's "countback". His set record was 10-0-14.0, Dylan lost 4 games in a tiebreaker and he gathered invaluable experience at an international event. You always 'win' when you learn something new about yourself and your pursuit that helps you grow as a person and a player.
I was reading an interview about the firing of CBC's Barbara Budd, As It Happens, and she said her best advice to get over the disappointment was on a bumper sticker on a car," Remember Who You Wanted To
Be."
Setbacks shape us, they don't defeat us.
Vince Mai has qualified for the Semi-Finals in the Men's Indoor. He plays Australia's Leif Selby again which should be another close encounter. Selby won their RR contest in a tiebreaker 12-3, 6-10, 3-1.

Monday, April 26
Unofficial
It will be play for a World medal for Kelly McKerihen. Kelly won her 'must win' game against South Africa before dropping her final Round Robin game against the top finishing Samantha Shannahan from Australia.
Kelly's final placement was 4th position based on 5 wins 3 losses, 7.0 sets W/ 9.0 sets L, 111 points for/ 122 points against. Shermeen Lim from Singapore finished with the same win- loss record, 5-3/ 10.5-5.5/ 133-101,  as Kelly but is placed in 3rd based on the tiebreaking rules.
I have been unable to confirm how many teams will be in the medal round but it must include the top four players.After Australia in 1st, Genevieve Baildon from New Zealand finished 2nd to round out the top four.
I had a visit with Kelly's dad Steve in Niagara Falls on Sunday and he was telling me that Kelly felt that her back and forth, extremely close, tiebreaker ( 7-7, 7-7, 3-1) win over Baildon might have been been her best game ever. She had to draw within 4 inches of the jack on her last bowl to win the game. Now measure 4" with your fingers and take a look so you will be able to do the same this summer.Just like her dad.
Although after the Niagara Falls opener was cancelled I was on a team( and match scorekeeper )that defeated the McKerihen foursome. I think I now take Steve's place at the National Team Selection Camp in BC.
Dylan Jacob's record may be declining but his experience is rising. It is interesting that Dylan generally comes out strong in the first set, losses the second and hasn't wrestled the tiebreaker from the opponent.
Kelly is just the opposite. Lose the first, stretch and shift gears and grab the fleeing goose by the tail.
Is a win and a loss a skinny difference? You bet! Check Dylan's losses to the Cook Islands and Brunei.
On the adult side and indoors Vincent Mai from the Pacific Indoor Club has finished 2nd in his section. My read of the conditions indicates that the first place finishers of each of the 3 sections qualify for the semi-finals and the three 2nd place finishers have a 3 way playoff  to decide the final semi competitor.

Sunday, April 25
Kelly McKerihen is becoming the master of tiebreakers. Four of her six games have been decided in that fashion and she has won three. Her latest was a 5-9, 11-3,2-1 win over Hong Kong China which continued Kelly's steady climb to a medal playoff berth. That doesn't mean it will be easy with an important match against South Africa ( 3-3 ) and her final Round Robin game against  Australia.
Out the door of her classroom directly onto the World stage is not an easy lesson plan. I surmise that Kelly is now dreaming of what has to be done to complete this bowls unit.
Dylan Jacobs started with 3 straight wins, lost the next 4 in a run of games against the tournament's top dogs and now has a chance to tilt his record back to the plus side.With a hefty schedule of 12 round robin games Dylan still has the playoffs within his grasp.
This blog has its focus in Ontario but I am keeping an eye on the parallel indoor adult competition.
Vincent Mai from British Columbia is showing his skill by making a run for a top position in his section. Vincent has a 'must win' game against Fiji and ' can't lose' contest vs Norfolk Island and he will be ready to do some serious playoff work.
Marie Taylor has a 0-5 record but 3 of her defeats have been in tiebreakers. 'Close but no cigar'. How did that saying come about?
Both Vincent and Marie are members of the Pacific Indoor Lawn Bowling Club in Vancouver.
I suspect that James MacGowan, from Ontario,  desired opportunity to work in a new environment but his excitement  really peaked when he stepped on the greens at the Pacific Club.


Awake at 5:30 AM so no staying in bed because our bowlers are playing against the world.
Scoured the official site, you know, enter , leave, refresh, back again,  but not seeing anything posted officially.  I believe they are playing 3 games on Day One so official results perhaps coming by noon.
So grandma Noreen is up and down in the middle of the night keeping in touch with daughter Tracey and the computer operator, grandson Jordan to bring us breaking news.
They have been kind enough to attach me to the bowls news from Warilla.

OFFICIAL

Round 1
Dylan Jacobs 14-3, 7-6 over Singapore
Kelly McKerihen Lost to Singapore 4-9, 2-9

Round 2
Dylan Jacobs 12-3, 10-6 over South Africa
Kelly McKerihen 7-7,7-7, 3-1 over New Zealand
Great start for the 2-0 Dylan and a sterling win for Kelly over the defending champion Genevieve Baildon.

Round 3 April 23, 10AM ( Apr 22, 8PM EST)
Kelly McKerihen  BYE
Dylan Jacobs 18-1,19-1 over United Arab Emirates
Dylan retains his overall first place standings with a win over a newcomer to World Bowls.

Round 4 April 23, 2PM ( Apr 23, 12AM EST )
Kelly McKerihen lost to Ainie Knight , Philippines, 10-3, 4-11, 1-2
Dylan Jacobs lost to Kenta Hasebe, Japan 5-9, 3-12
Kelly had another close match this time being edged in a tight tiebreaker.
Dylan dropped his first of the tournament.He is still near the top of the standings at 3 wins 1 loss.

Round 5
A challenging day coming up for Dylan. Kelly has strong opportunity to pick up a pair of wins.
Dylan Jacobs lost to Salahdin Razili,  Malaysia, 8-6, 5-11, 1-3
Malaysia now producing some of the top bowlers in the world.A close match with the Malaysian bowler edging Dylan in a tiebreaker.
Kelly McKerihen win over Rupa Rani Tirkey India 9-6, 9-7

Round 6
Kelly McKerihen win over Emma Firyana Saroji Malaysia, 6-9, 16-4, 3-0
A dandy win over one of the pre-tournament title chasers.Kelly is moving up the ladder.
Dylan Jacobs lost to Brendan Aquilina Malta 5-7, 0-24
Many bowlers of Maltese heritage moved to and developed their skills in Australia.
A battle against the undefeated Aquilina in the first set, I'll have to check with Dylan to see if his foot is sore after getting stomped in the second.

Round 7
Kelly McKerihen over Vaness Ng Hong Kong China 5-9, 11-3, 2-1
Dylan Jacobs  BYE

Round 8
Dylan Jacobs lost to Mathew Pietersen Australia 6-11, 6-12
Kelly McKerihen beat Brunhilda Roussow, South Africa 4-7, 11-6, 2-1

Round 9
Kelly McKerihen lost to Samantha Shannahan Australia 3-16, 3-9
Dylan Jacobs lost to Anthony N Ahfo Jnr Cook Islands 7-6, 6-7, 1-3

Round 10
Dylan Jacobs lost to Md Zainurin Brunei 11-4, 8-9, 1-2

Round 11
Dylan Jacobs lost to Andrew Kelly New Zealand 5-11, 2-12

Round12
Dylan Jacobs lost to Alex Kwok, Hong Kong China 6-5, 7-8, 0-4

Round 13
Dylan Jacobs lost to Chandan Singh, India 2-11, 2-11

WORLD JUNIOR CUP WOMEN 2010

Final Placing
1	AUSTRALIA	Samantha Shannahan
2	NEW ZEALAND	Genevieve Baildon
3	SINGAPORE	Shermeen Lim
4	CANADA	Kelly mcKerihen
5	MALAYSIA	Emma Firyana Saroji
6	PHILIPPINES	Ainie Knight
7	SOUTH AFRICA	Brunhilda Roussow
8	INDIA	Rupa Rani Tirkey
9	HONG KONG CHINA	Vaness Ng

WORLD JUNIOR CUP MEN 2010

Final Placing 1 NEW ZEALAND Andrew Kelly 2 MALTA Brendan Aquilina 3 AUSTRALIA Mathew Pietersen 4 MALAYSIA Salahudin Razili 5 SOUTH AFRICA Pierre Breitenbach 6 JAPAN Kenta Hasebe 7 HONG KONG CHINA Alex Kwok 8 INDIA Chandan Singh 9 BRUNEI Md Zainurin 10 CANADA Dylan Jacobs 11 COOK ISLANDS Anthony N Ahfo Jnr 12 SINGAPORE Hiu Kai Wong 13 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Iqbal Hassan

A PREVIEW OF 2010 COMMONWEALTH PLAYING CONDITIONS

This event was held on the greens that the Commonwealth Games will be played on in October.


From the Bowls New Zealand website

"Trials and Tribulations At India's 8-Nations Event

Almost a day after leaving Delhi and the first 8-Nations Invitational Lawn Bowls Event, the tired, tested but successful New Zealand team landed in Auckland Airport last Thursday and rolled their weary way through the gates. They struggled with intense heat (over 40 degrees at times), excessively slow greens, debilitating stomach troubles, and the best bowlers the sport has to offer, but returned victorious with four medals (a gold, two silver and a bronze medal) and a feeling of confidence about their place in this year's Commonwealth Games.
Gold medalists in the Men's Pairs, Dan Delany (skip) and Richard Collett are in good spirits,  despite the long journey home, and have managed to avoid the gut-wrenching effects of 'Delhi Belly' that brought down the likes of Women's Pairs player Jan Shirley and played havoc with Genevieve Baildon's game in the Fours. “The men weren't touched, but the women copped it,” explains Delany, unsure as to the reason. Collett suggests his penchant for hot curries may have warded off the worst of it and then shakes his head in wonder as he talks about the other trying conditions during the tournament: “I didn't think carpet [greens] could be that slow, and it was about 50 degrees out on the green. It was especially hot on your feet.” As for the rival players, he admits it was “always going to be a tough competition. But we beat the Aussies, which is the main thing.”"