tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30326089765831556262024-03-14T08:45:14.494+00:00Umpy's BlogAllanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-39975213123504547292023-09-14T12:48:00.001+01:002023-09-14T12:48:50.278+01:00World Champs 2023 - DONE!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLP26mQdUA3WcHyNBIrvI7G3NemWW2_FbBuyy4WNF8QT3pwBdnyErlFVXZNPffxOWGaydx3sCoEwlpY8xIKO3Z58hpikrV0mmFxIiPodJt5C8vI_2GsAQ0roAQ-7VTtzovX4Qcq5CZX6Kz3VATkfbRKhiyRp_o3AZkz7CNp-DFrmAQtuRl_6WJ2uonGQ/s505/Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLP26mQdUA3WcHyNBIrvI7G3NemWW2_FbBuyy4WNF8QT3pwBdnyErlFVXZNPffxOWGaydx3sCoEwlpY8xIKO3Z58hpikrV0mmFxIiPodJt5C8vI_2GsAQ0roAQ-7VTtzovX4Qcq5CZX6Kz3VATkfbRKhiyRp_o3AZkz7CNp-DFrmAQtuRl_6WJ2uonGQ/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Back home now and time to wrap up the last few days of a fabulous World Championships.<p></p><p>The focus fell on the Broadbeach Bowls Club where the finals of the second week were being held. I was not required on the Saturday but took the opportunity to spend some time with my adopted Aussie mum and ITO, Pam Hockings, learning the intrigate details of the laser measure and showing her how we do a line bowl with a string. Pam has perfected the Laser measure and my faith has been restored in its use whilst watching her during the second week. Still plenty of things that can go wrong but then there is that risk with any measuring device. The first choice equipment for carrying out a line bowl or jack is the telescopic scope at these events. Unfortunately the TV broadcast rinks prevented their use due to the set being too close to the edge of the bank. This meant we had to use the mirror, or liner siter. Its simple enough to set up and use and actually a little more accurate than the mirrors we used to have in the UK. Personally, I still think that using a string and a set square is a better method but I was not able to convince a number of ITOs that were now watching us and discussing various pros and cons. I love these opportunities for discussion as they are useful for trying to make equipment use consistent around the World at these events.</p><p>The TV broadcast rink on Green 4 at Broadbeach looked impressive and created a great atmosphere for the competitors in these finals. On the Saturday the Mens Fours and Womens Pairs finals were contested along with the Quarter and Semi-finals of the Men's Singles. There were some excellent close contests in both the finals with Scotland narrowly missing out on Gold to Australia in the Fours 10 shots to 12. In the Women's Pairs, Malta were again narrowly defeated by Malaysia 11 shots to 15. </p><p>As I had a bit of spare time I took the opportunity to travel down the coast to Snapper Rocks with my roomie, Daryl Rowley. We just about had time for a spot of lunch at the surf club and a walk around to take some photos. I was due back at Broadbeach for flag duties at the medal ceremonies but had slightly underestimated how long the journey back would take due to the weekend traffic. I made it back just as the final end of the Pairs was being played. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHmw4js5_MlVMXQq8LYuGlUxpXiFKoEovMColDo-N4C0uQCSh-DvkcSK7P9_acyfahJO7GawOAwiBY1Vmso-kapNFQ77VK1OSTiNmetbzqtqRH8Ps854MbDkiG6TEpb4oziVxI4nWX9bhS9vXVNmYS-KmKjifG6NO1cRHUOMRuvEei58nv9fMV5yR_LE/s4032/IMG_9985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHmw4js5_MlVMXQq8LYuGlUxpXiFKoEovMColDo-N4C0uQCSh-DvkcSK7P9_acyfahJO7GawOAwiBY1Vmso-kapNFQ77VK1OSTiNmetbzqtqRH8Ps854MbDkiG6TEpb4oziVxI4nWX9bhS9vXVNmYS-KmKjifG6NO1cRHUOMRuvEei58nv9fMV5yR_LE/s320/IMG_9985.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Snapper Rocks back to Broadbeach</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKDV2RCqu1rFObFoBpT04YUpsfQv5Ho1UYtiRL2-GFLoEuWh4rCfRu1u6zQZFXfm-QD9QE0iSP1-1XfWIW8BzkBi8gSqRUXZcPBT2FWBlHVeIRLkWtIvKs3ISAri7NfhHqzq6r-NzH0MnIqd7mu5Tj9qfO-4Lm-iZzUw-DNl039kQQv0QJz8dNmSJ3ZQ/s4032/IMG_9988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKDV2RCqu1rFObFoBpT04YUpsfQv5Ho1UYtiRL2-GFLoEuWh4rCfRu1u6zQZFXfm-QD9QE0iSP1-1XfWIW8BzkBi8gSqRUXZcPBT2FWBlHVeIRLkWtIvKs3ISAri7NfhHqzq6r-NzH0MnIqd7mu5Tj9qfO-4Lm-iZzUw-DNl039kQQv0QJz8dNmSJ3ZQ/s320/IMG_9988.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frog Rock!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>On Sunday I was scheduled to umpire the Women's Triples Final at 9:00am. It was a fabulous morning again and the atmosphere on the broadcast rink was building early when I arrived. For me the game went without a call and indeed without any issues. It looked like I might get a call to do a ditch measure right in front of me but the players opted to do it themselves with a box measure!. Regardless of whether I was used or not it was a huge honour to officiate at a Final. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uQY1DOhP24iNYFe2vm3HE38qFaxxYA4AUc0bf7YGHqcrQX2xjQba0Gs_8EuMAbg6x9A8AIppjaG8s8l3KnFMaHURi71Ld5c0RZonuiqZASL8srdbcjrcfFoKkWxI5QFE9l1hJ1hR9JlGS-I2JCfMpruJSLHUJQdGLECH1cSldqlzKKDcK1eY3jio6wU/s4032/IMG_9997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uQY1DOhP24iNYFe2vm3HE38qFaxxYA4AUc0bf7YGHqcrQX2xjQba0Gs_8EuMAbg6x9A8AIppjaG8s8l3KnFMaHURi71Ld5c0RZonuiqZASL8srdbcjrcfFoKkWxI5QFE9l1hJ1hR9JlGS-I2JCfMpruJSLHUJQdGLECH1cSldqlzKKDcK1eY3jio6wU/s320/IMG_9997.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The impressive Broadcast Rink<br />before the Women's Triples Final</td></tr></tbody></table><p>After a bit of lunch at the club, I hung around for the Men's singles final between Gary Kelly of Ireland and Ryan Bester of Canada. I marked the final of the singles in 2016 in New Zealand when Ryan won the Silver Medal to NZs Shannon McIlroy. I was quietly rooting for him to go one better this time. After an intense "wham bang thank you ma'am" game with bowls and jack flying everywhere, Ryan eventually came out the winner with a scoreline of 21-16. A fantastic win for a humble and fabulous guy. Well done Ryan.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHoUYmXplq4jJ7dy06TW0M7P3TXTX6jQ7r3uI0gW-dcyUbZLkb9GGPsupX9dxJ55_93QEmXZb5W0JIhwizJyHqLCjbgx2tgNskBqtdGM7f_pZUXBBC-EFoYBYZKB9YOfP7Hb8IR7Hh_G-Y6FNbqdaihz62VZTAj3lpQi_EFEjg-9lNS1hetL2sdzzQxQ/s4032/IMG_9999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHoUYmXplq4jJ7dy06TW0M7P3TXTX6jQ7r3uI0gW-dcyUbZLkb9GGPsupX9dxJ55_93QEmXZb5W0JIhwizJyHqLCjbgx2tgNskBqtdGM7f_pZUXBBC-EFoYBYZKB9YOfP7Hb8IR7Hh_G-Y6FNbqdaihz62VZTAj3lpQi_EFEjg-9lNS1hetL2sdzzQxQ/s320/IMG_9999.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rinkside view of the Singles Final with<br />Bernie Hill on Scoreboard and Dary Rowley as Umpire</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Back to the appartment and some suitcase packing was required as it would be an early start on Monday when everyone was leaving. We returned to the club in the evening for the closing ceremony with snacks and a couple of drinks. It was great to get all the ITOs back in the same room again and it was a great atmosphere. It was also an opportunity to say farewell to some of the players and other officials. A few of us enjoyed our last meal together in town before saying goodbye.</p><p>On Monday I was up early to leave the appartment and head off for a bit of whale watching. The seas were rough and I got soaked but we did see some whales and had an adventurous time. Following this I headed back up to Tamborine Mountain for some lunch and a walk through the forest before heading up to the Glass House Mountains for a spectacular sunset. My flight back to the UK via Hong Kong was at 1am on Tuesday morning so after dropping the rental car at the airport I settled down for the wait and then the overnight flight to HK. This was followed shortly after by a 14 hour trek back to London arriving just after 6pm.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXE2lH13BPBJzwYQxFDvSCKysRfJE3qoCUvcT483cMuSYMY5VLnIynX1Mg_L6Azz0e6xmhopP8PE2EvmoDFx2ZxBj0WL2Vap25xBdTxcnxxug5v6x0ckFIv3Ww8kgLRMzL-nTTw53q-Isx1Q4JQyADxDqyJJkXcX3lBj0-ccyp-1Z0scMvFkBFaaQs-b0/s4032/IMG_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXE2lH13BPBJzwYQxFDvSCKysRfJE3qoCUvcT483cMuSYMY5VLnIynX1Mg_L6Azz0e6xmhopP8PE2EvmoDFx2ZxBj0WL2Vap25xBdTxcnxxug5v6x0ckFIv3Ww8kgLRMzL-nTTw53q-Isx1Q4JQyADxDqyJJkXcX3lBj0-ccyp-1Z0scMvFkBFaaQs-b0/s320/IMG_0018.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for a bit of Whale watching</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1zKrnJw57iaaQXYdnLxhidDJ3LTGCwPIPSQ5Zy08s10woj4idfGARKIbdvFEyb39jf4AdOWe8mPPtDqNaJeklEcRQ4xxV6NvBgXZVKkjiaz3MW-MaqgqkQRFNFHgArn0KBIqtSEQVCsLusln0h3k27GxnlGJLm-_QdYGAU-UDFutI7i819Nw_EClpik/s4032/IMG_0061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1zKrnJw57iaaQXYdnLxhidDJ3LTGCwPIPSQ5Zy08s10woj4idfGARKIbdvFEyb39jf4AdOWe8mPPtDqNaJeklEcRQ4xxV6NvBgXZVKkjiaz3MW-MaqgqkQRFNFHgArn0KBIqtSEQVCsLusln0h3k27GxnlGJLm-_QdYGAU-UDFutI7i819Nw_EClpik/s320/IMG_0061.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incredible trees on Tamborine Mountain</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H3nhML5gtsJnj1SIn6nxXONBDU7Ms8ftQZFbnBKzz5o3oWckpOR8sTkxcTupieBENTzafWZm25Lo1wXttgCRH3bmBdp_8F4LcuOGOcgSVS8YHK9P_DH1p5sXQ_zzQgujSfZL_jMxPOespai3FOLrff0ywB9eY2SbXMnVkiXlNDEYKGd0iKINLpejmxs/s4032/IMG_0069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H3nhML5gtsJnj1SIn6nxXONBDU7Ms8ftQZFbnBKzz5o3oWckpOR8sTkxcTupieBENTzafWZm25Lo1wXttgCRH3bmBdp_8F4LcuOGOcgSVS8YHK9P_DH1p5sXQ_zzQgujSfZL_jMxPOespai3FOLrff0ywB9eY2SbXMnVkiXlNDEYKGd0iKINLpejmxs/s320/IMG_0069.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at the Glass House Mountains</td></tr></tbody></table><p>What a fantastic fortnight of competition, friendship, good food, sun and laughs. I am never pleased to leave Australia, it's a fabulous country. Lots to follow up on from a Laws Advisory Group perspective but also with the various discussions that were had amongst us all over the event.</p><p>Until next time, thank you Australia for another fabulous trip.</p><p>Feel free to drop me any questions but until next time, thank you for reading my nonsense and following my journey. Hope it gave you a bit of an insight into the World Champs from an ITO perspective.</p><p>Right time to sleep off this jetlag and then do some proper work to pay for it all! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICqPrZjNxEhBDKNZdDEaXa_nRP5ceUX84-DoLOHGoimaTYmi5R8-aWN4oXDqWUdh6AfrO_egUilmj_F0lytefjnBB7cGSdcin5lbKbP2YSTNdGZ7UKB-t6GbwXgFWPTCqVHyHfEk6lxKZwyibbhDEZtaFQkyXtImq3-nShgYlPFJt3JOwwnhKF9HLjRE/s1080/IMG_9992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICqPrZjNxEhBDKNZdDEaXa_nRP5ceUX84-DoLOHGoimaTYmi5R8-aWN4oXDqWUdh6AfrO_egUilmj_F0lytefjnBB7cGSdcin5lbKbP2YSTNdGZ7UKB-t6GbwXgFWPTCqVHyHfEk6lxKZwyibbhDEZtaFQkyXtImq3-nShgYlPFJt3JOwwnhKF9HLjRE/w400-h266/IMG_9992.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a great team of ITOs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-9829407636675550492023-09-08T12:47:00.003+01:002023-09-08T12:47:56.390+01:00Week two review and The Trashes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2McjDzhOCWlYnJvITF2PxINQppimF28kzxhng9YiIynb4_0uZJmeA-6rz_TGyHE8tGvbnLDydw9saqDv5PWeI7B9kK4YtSQXbDaMNiEjdM019xgb6BGdBNIUbIchy2Qi-1wW2VZy-Z5tDOUXGLeYK6nk0j1rFr0KbdNeOOuE3PLF7bVLJX3tEH822hrU/s505/Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2McjDzhOCWlYnJvITF2PxINQppimF28kzxhng9YiIynb4_0uZJmeA-6rz_TGyHE8tGvbnLDydw9saqDv5PWeI7B9kK4YtSQXbDaMNiEjdM019xgb6BGdBNIUbIchy2Qi-1wW2VZy-Z5tDOUXGLeYK6nk0j1rFr0KbdNeOOuE3PLF7bVLJX3tEH822hrU/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sorry for the radio silence for the past few days, its been
a busy week.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On Sunday evening all of the ITOs enjoyed a get together at
a local Chinese Restaurant. It was great to see everyone having a relaxing meal
and a good chat after the heavy officiating schedule in the first week.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Monday we all had a day off. I hired a car and collected it
early. Daryl Rowley, Bob Penny, Angie Thompson, Sue Mates and I drove off into
the Mountains. It was cool but clear and we were afforded some stunning views
from various lookouts and waterfalls. In the afternoon we made our way over to
Tamborine Mountain and visited a Glow Worm Cave which was interesting. We
walked a short circuit of a creek and saw some Fruit Bats. The Gold Coast
Hinterland really is a sub-tropical paradise.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We finished the day with a lovely meal at the impressive
Tweed Heads Club just over the border in New South Wales. This club is just
enormous with 4 outdoor greens, an indoor green and 4 restaurants plus a huge
entertainment area. Famous for hosting the Australian Indoor Championships and the Golden Nugget Invitational.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It was back to the 5:30am alarm calls on Tuesday morning as
the start of the second week of competition commenced. The sectional play
rounds of the Men’s Singles and Fours together with the Women’s Triples and
Pairs would see us through to Friday and the knockout rounds.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This week really was eat, sleep, bowl, repeat. With no real
issues to deal with it has been quite a relaxed stress-free few days. I was
again based at the excellent Helensvale Club. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Evenings have been spent eating either at Broadbeach Club or
in town following our debriefs with the CTO and TD. Fatigue is setting in and
the majority of ITOs are getting to bed early. Weather has been glorious with
no rain. The greens at Helensvale have been fast as a result and estimates of
16-17 seconds in the mid afternoon has made for some challenging but high
quality matches.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On Friday, after finishing early with the 2 quarter and
semi-final sessions we held the all important Trashes trophy match at
Broadbeach. The Trashes (a play on the Ashes) started at the Melbourne 2006
Commonwealth games as an Australia versus England single rink challenge match. We
have contested the Trashes at each Commonwealth Games and World Championships
since then. Needless to say the Aussies struggle on our heavier greens and we
struggle on their faster surfaces and so the results have reflected the north v
south hemisphere venues. I won’t share the score, it was too embarrassing!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This is the final weekend of the event. Saturday and Sunday we play the finals of each discipline and then Monday
I have a day spare before commencing the long journey home.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I will review the finals and the overall event when I get
home next week.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtRd6BzTmfeDx5hxlmMN29ThXSBS-TKlS6jSkzvXBvzN89UFmRw7NM0q5AU5ju3_k4ppvZXoJfFcY5UMJiDscaDrOvmjzis0-vM3XeREwu0VzkjKyAv0wZlg1jgWfjEYBQA4dHW3eADINLex4zq9e5jfBfI18uFcqKkeTWgKoL5d__m67uGfcvG-fMX4/s4032/IMG_9934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtRd6BzTmfeDx5hxlmMN29ThXSBS-TKlS6jSkzvXBvzN89UFmRw7NM0q5AU5ju3_k4ppvZXoJfFcY5UMJiDscaDrOvmjzis0-vM3XeREwu0VzkjKyAv0wZlg1jgWfjEYBQA4dHW3eADINLex4zq9e5jfBfI18uFcqKkeTWgKoL5d__m67uGfcvG-fMX4/s320/IMG_9934.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing views from Springbrook National Park</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhRYacSz7Vh2ewFHZyZww18dHG_tXVGrTyWG0iX9xDeat3PXcOzhPHjaZHBXkKMKJ_1ApEO9F725a86R-Zs6evGXPhTSUMiPdPvwiaFZ23OEHh55s4IBhhKMVii3w7_cSnvXabD4h-fZ_cFzKncvX9A1lkcu6uH0fja_1blFd5PGH_D3Pt8tAnXEx2k4/s4032/IMG_9935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhRYacSz7Vh2ewFHZyZww18dHG_tXVGrTyWG0iX9xDeat3PXcOzhPHjaZHBXkKMKJ_1ApEO9F725a86R-Zs6evGXPhTSUMiPdPvwiaFZ23OEHh55s4IBhhKMVii3w7_cSnvXabD4h-fZ_cFzKncvX9A1lkcu6uH0fja_1blFd5PGH_D3Pt8tAnXEx2k4/s320/IMG_9935.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purling Brook Falls</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRnziOVI0QAo17Zu7IiVGNHtonWKoHuinFClvtwImFZraI4i9g09aKPRQC5oyuswD6oCNfz-LswICp-b1y_4S7gFBoFwxjKoU3WVG6TQ1w3MyLktFmwmH7FWvLeax7GnUHfh52tTRQ5zJO3hUk_iVjFM03nBxoUSZFJIiDDwMj7nIRNgzeqVcFiZmRXk/s4032/IMG_9952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRnziOVI0QAo17Zu7IiVGNHtonWKoHuinFClvtwImFZraI4i9g09aKPRQC5oyuswD6oCNfz-LswICp-b1y_4S7gFBoFwxjKoU3WVG6TQ1w3MyLktFmwmH7FWvLeax7GnUHfh52tTRQ5zJO3hUk_iVjFM03nBxoUSZFJIiDDwMj7nIRNgzeqVcFiZmRXk/s320/IMG_9952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ancient trees are amazing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjM7jRci_yNvD6YddSZKv9WtedS4V6QJR8GiLfWr7RRpy_nir2--2hnGlWg4uLhgkvVaTEEOd5jUvI2rRcbA0Zg0ROi_rbIhsS8wfRX0wp_NmQpEpdDix-fHyyB_WhwNlDEqmwbBUug1F9zYhyUzHMyLzAmfCdfZW7cdVCHvKG5XRYEEoloNSqE2RaV4/s4032/IMG_9961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjM7jRci_yNvD6YddSZKv9WtedS4V6QJR8GiLfWr7RRpy_nir2--2hnGlWg4uLhgkvVaTEEOd5jUvI2rRcbA0Zg0ROi_rbIhsS8wfRX0wp_NmQpEpdDix-fHyyB_WhwNlDEqmwbBUug1F9zYhyUzHMyLzAmfCdfZW7cdVCHvKG5XRYEEoloNSqE2RaV4/s320/IMG_9961.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Golden Nugget Trophy at Tweed Heads</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2SQJtkfJXfQVaXWbpRy9z7LwiNEsakSF2-zMdLKpDtMDChL6qw-JOH6UwtoIbDuCgDN-lxtnKmTjf4aqX7H-VLbfhisZVnzg6_uPpKSfM52Jyx104DJHopgQP6dINFcpBmHqTG0e4oDOpgrCxpT3uYTCe6xNRk1URtxR3BgTvsUaSSpBz2MRiJMlZwY/s4032/IMG_9962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2SQJtkfJXfQVaXWbpRy9z7LwiNEsakSF2-zMdLKpDtMDChL6qw-JOH6UwtoIbDuCgDN-lxtnKmTjf4aqX7H-VLbfhisZVnzg6_uPpKSfM52Jyx104DJHopgQP6dINFcpBmHqTG0e4oDOpgrCxpT3uYTCe6xNRk1URtxR3BgTvsUaSSpBz2MRiJMlZwY/s320/IMG_9962.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The impressive Tweed Bowls Club</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk_3aNlKBqAJ5hpkEw647ldAMi53TAkxJpTvw33Z8j29yuFhOx48UJr8TaOLSr2uAwGgKMxoMlqxFHKNwcq-blLPDJ2jOYxrO4Cr9jg_7RO2Jj2LBEYHjIyUcnG8UEYmuw8gAYw-KRWqZ9JYswJPZTr0p5ej88DnpZPiMV-oJEO8EQW8wuXnC1dMVFaI/s4032/IMG_9980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk_3aNlKBqAJ5hpkEw647ldAMi53TAkxJpTvw33Z8j29yuFhOx48UJr8TaOLSr2uAwGgKMxoMlqxFHKNwcq-blLPDJ2jOYxrO4Cr9jg_7RO2Jj2LBEYHjIyUcnG8UEYmuw8gAYw-KRWqZ9JYswJPZTr0p5ej88DnpZPiMV-oJEO8EQW8wuXnC1dMVFaI/s320/IMG_9980.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ITOs waiting for the bus on our last day at Helensvale.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p>
</p>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-39373430837639227642023-09-02T21:19:00.027+01:002023-09-04T12:09:36.889+01:00Final Stage of Week One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFK1np25Ji_K88RgSM1SnVrQvFfAkVZr8zP7KMV2QxKOzs5pRHc-1xrRPJuABGELd3KQlaay8ZcXbhvRi_l_BOIDubELfaP964aEHszKilDJq_UpUYT7f1lsrnWMqNV2VLuOdPsQjoNT8M99ycEQ6c7Fm9P6ikA0Vp8CNzn27UTnjXFtlvNKv6ZV7cPA/s505/Logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFK1np25Ji_K88RgSM1SnVrQvFfAkVZr8zP7KMV2QxKOzs5pRHc-1xrRPJuABGELd3KQlaay8ZcXbhvRi_l_BOIDubELfaP964aEHszKilDJq_UpUYT7f1lsrnWMqNV2VLuOdPsQjoNT8M99ycEQ6c7Fm9P6ikA0Vp8CNzn27UTnjXFtlvNKv6ZV7cPA/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>So here we are at the knockout stages of the Women’s Fours,
Women’s Singles, Men’s Pairs, Men’s Triples and the Para Mixed and Women’s
Pairs. On Friday, all play was at Broadbeach Bowls club and a few of us had
some time off following the heavy schedule on the previous days. It was nice to
have a lay in.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I took a stroll through the park down to the huge Pacific
Fair shopping mall. I needed a new FitBit strap but none of the shops were
opening until 10am which was a bit odd for a Friday. I also couldn’t figure out
why the park and the beach were so busy. Was it “work from home” Friday? I
found out it was a public holiday called Show Day. Despite the aborted shopping
trip it was a pleasant morning walk. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpiGs-fspGleJzRpv3z_P7YLjsnoPRI51RqPmHaIRfx8YWy23-xFfzTO9BV9UnEJfSHBsZ4huUflCuEcGuZSqqnhzErFvOEGCqIZfZRUWcu3zURV1knsNY6IzTxQR_z3TzF6ATitu0xIZH_FYmkQNoWptMlbIOa29omBd1HRYRd-1aPKOTd1hemL0k6h0/s4032/IMG_9873.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpiGs-fspGleJzRpv3z_P7YLjsnoPRI51RqPmHaIRfx8YWy23-xFfzTO9BV9UnEJfSHBsZ4huUflCuEcGuZSqqnhzErFvOEGCqIZfZRUWcu3zURV1knsNY6IzTxQR_z3TzF6ATitu0xIZH_FYmkQNoWptMlbIOa29omBd1HRYRd-1aPKOTd1hemL0k6h0/s320/IMG_9873.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach side park looking amazing in the early morning</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxH7yj5wdQrbmnyNZBQd-ep2a6TuLIvFya0n1-dfAfa4VgQMOzCfcCwk0jwL6pHc7kuYfJw1QxHsoeOKJPTZ3fpPaSzcgs8v8e-O9uTu2WvKcPYe6ZlSPqG_xCpg3RJGOxXJ2EEIBSpTtzQtpjNZDkzAxvTjY8VcYxZIzMv0Ob4jcXxf2mPNd6S3GO4A/s4032/IMG_9876.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxH7yj5wdQrbmnyNZBQd-ep2a6TuLIvFya0n1-dfAfa4VgQMOzCfcCwk0jwL6pHc7kuYfJw1QxHsoeOKJPTZ3fpPaSzcgs8v8e-O9uTu2WvKcPYe6ZlSPqG_xCpg3RJGOxXJ2EEIBSpTtzQtpjNZDkzAxvTjY8VcYxZIzMv0Ob4jcXxf2mPNd6S3GO4A/s320/IMG_9876.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing Pacific Fair Mall</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I headed up to Broadbeach for an afternoon marking duty. It
was my session to be assessed so had to be on my best behaviour. I was marking
again for Ellen Ryan from Australia verses Debbie Colquohoun from Spain. Always
a pleasure marking for the Aussie players and it was an easy enough game to
mark with Ellen coming out the winner.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After a delicious Fish & Chip lunch from the shop across
from the club, the afternoon was spent chatting with ITOs that I hadn’t seen
for a few days. In particular an excellent discussion with Michael Johnson from
New Zealand about umpire development and training. Michael is the Chair of the
Bowls New Zealand Umpires and has some excellent forward thinking ideas and I
hope we can work closer together on some common ground. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just before Michael and I left for a walk back to the
Pacific Fair Mall a big commotion on Green 1 as a thief was apprehended on the
green by New Zealander Andrew Kelly and a chasing police officer. It was all very
dramatic.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SnoySoyg3kfYVDh8hntP7t8-p-bur6TLCnQjr0iPZq1Gyr_o295Qud55a3i2PM2MMAAFi55cY40pdsGTX-cpXMOW7p7_XtfZLy_aBRsPl3w-x4pqtNC8zyPc4Y74b9ITJHoQsK15OgX9EtYahPFZHVt54ksJuqE5wCVWW9zpMjfZUFzBYJzOXBetlgw/s1286/IMG_9905.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="1286" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SnoySoyg3kfYVDh8hntP7t8-p-bur6TLCnQjr0iPZq1Gyr_o295Qud55a3i2PM2MMAAFi55cY40pdsGTX-cpXMOW7p7_XtfZLy_aBRsPl3w-x4pqtNC8zyPc4Y74b9ITJHoQsK15OgX9EtYahPFZHVt54ksJuqE5wCVWW9zpMjfZUFzBYJzOXBetlgw/s320/IMG_9905.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Kelly tackles a criminal (photo: Alis Butten)</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">We found a bar overlooking the ocean. It was a stunning
setting for a cold beer and even saw some breaching Whales not too far from the
shore. A lovely meal at Tepanyaki ended a nice relaxing day.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6_R6uayakqpJx4JL1fbN8ZjwulKjgAgClrxXnqeCc5C4VdLq21oEKPd2Sjoyz8WFtt54sYaxiTacnwcFZ0I1HJ03fJWARUSMe9iyF16m4e1dsWRC3shylVfmL4jXE07f4h09YGqeL3OMBErYAsNMGnJbeEjwER4D8grExgO_OF197EAuVBpnO-6VW90/s4032/IMG_9877.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6_R6uayakqpJx4JL1fbN8ZjwulKjgAgClrxXnqeCc5C4VdLq21oEKPd2Sjoyz8WFtt54sYaxiTacnwcFZ0I1HJ03fJWARUSMe9iyF16m4e1dsWRC3shylVfmL4jXE07f4h09YGqeL3OMBErYAsNMGnJbeEjwER4D8grExgO_OF197EAuVBpnO-6VW90/s320/IMG_9877.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning view from a busy bar </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKx8GIdgnw5sjcLQYAG2bk9B6_WPJUyuFMQ45zl36Q_9biHcjbwFK0hzdo9UzZJptqm1JAlavtbyBAyvq_ii7xFcej6CKKIAuj-P2Gz6BUA0khdVXN1C80xh5NJ4l1P9mfMkqCyIftvzgOJBu1AuFMRLEZAo3eIbftcpG_cg4KplQbahW4rqt_4DhbcCA/s4032/IMG_9889.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKx8GIdgnw5sjcLQYAG2bk9B6_WPJUyuFMQ45zl36Q_9biHcjbwFK0hzdo9UzZJptqm1JAlavtbyBAyvq_ii7xFcej6CKKIAuj-P2Gz6BUA0khdVXN1C80xh5NJ4l1P9mfMkqCyIftvzgOJBu1AuFMRLEZAo3eIbftcpG_cg4KplQbahW4rqt_4DhbcCA/s320/IMG_9889.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, yes that is skippy the Kangaroo, but it was delicious</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWGgTq-YvZdqcXasflxqaCaPOERkqBvRsEZuTq7nQPK44CIz5wzGhYnEfFHIgkSF-IipZPW70r9SAZcwb9qetxIZuymHyM7o6MnR-kpDpwpSC_CWyLpLpT0buAW73f4G2Tch4N8uBA4ke0Vltv7z8JoRupy2zAn25TKV9ZFjM4SDOM9TQrfvNKkF0lCc/s4032/IMG_9890.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWGgTq-YvZdqcXasflxqaCaPOERkqBvRsEZuTq7nQPK44CIz5wzGhYnEfFHIgkSF-IipZPW70r9SAZcwb9qetxIZuymHyM7o6MnR-kpDpwpSC_CWyLpLpT0buAW73f4G2Tch4N8uBA4ke0Vltv7z8JoRupy2zAn25TKV9ZFjM4SDOM9TQrfvNKkF0lCc/s320/IMG_9890.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A thank you from the amazing chef at Tepanyaki</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Alarm set for 5:30 again Saturday for our day at Helensvale.
Back to my familiar territory but with a lot more ITOs than I have been used to
for the previous week. 5 finals were decided, with the additional Women’s
Singles Semi-finals also being played.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The TV crews had arrived early and already set up on Green 3
for the 2 broadcast rinks. It was interesting to see they had placed the
cameras including the huge boom rigs on the rinks on spreader plates. That
would be very unusual in the UK due to the softer greens. It means they can
broadcast from centre rinks and not just rely on end rinks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUnsux-kWhUjPEe5IQqtMiX_CtmDuxp0-fNsg96m5m4LPR7fjVRigjR6ETdpEz_9UKZ4n-Ol_7FmOEBGoKaF_okVKuCwixicC4gYbDRbw8zZd94m4ysmMvbAX_ehQCsIM0v--nzSZvoep-M2mkBPl9xsf5KsRMFqp94hu0WgYqlyNEdbqGq0HPbJBSPk/s4032/IMG_9895.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUnsux-kWhUjPEe5IQqtMiX_CtmDuxp0-fNsg96m5m4LPR7fjVRigjR6ETdpEz_9UKZ4n-Ol_7FmOEBGoKaF_okVKuCwixicC4gYbDRbw8zZd94m4ysmMvbAX_ehQCsIM0v--nzSZvoep-M2mkBPl9xsf5KsRMFqp94hu0WgYqlyNEdbqGq0HPbJBSPk/s320/IMG_9895.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Live broadcast setup for the finals</td></tr></tbody></table><br />First up on the broadcast rink were the Women’s Fours final
between England and Australia in which England were the eventual Gold Medal
winners. At the same time Australian Para mixed pairs were victorious against
South Africa on Green 3. Earlier the Women’s singles semi-finals were being
played on Green 1. England’s Katherine Rednall was extremely unfortunate after
a drive and killed end resulted in a one shot loss on the respot to Canada. On
the other rink New Zealand defeated Australia resulting in a Canada versus New
Zealand final to be played on Sunday.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2Ya1pWGCOyYQMWsl3Hejk_O-zmaSqO_8wxDYEHeHqncVx3LWrqwoTbZsa0qdBT37lglII5yXVxuzruM-r-3qhON6YJy-y7eesgBfKDKfDI6XHdswveeb8FCYdCOKDuEEo6aqbX58BvFPvZ8FNVok_2k-gbnkF87jk_LeaW3p7VPaO9CiZ1ibeko_G4U/s1286/IMG_9897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1286" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2Ya1pWGCOyYQMWsl3Hejk_O-zmaSqO_8wxDYEHeHqncVx3LWrqwoTbZsa0qdBT37lglII5yXVxuzruM-r-3qhON6YJy-y7eesgBfKDKfDI6XHdswveeb8FCYdCOKDuEEo6aqbX58BvFPvZ8FNVok_2k-gbnkF87jk_LeaW3p7VPaO9CiZ1ibeko_G4U/s320/IMG_9897.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">England win the Women's Fours<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The afternoon session had Australia and Northern Irelands Men’s
Pairs being contested with Northern Ireland winning the Gold Medal in
convincing style. At the same time New Zealand took on Scotland in the Para
Women’s Pairs final with the Kiwi’s taking Gold.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the final session of the day a clash of the titans in the
Men’s Triples final saw Scotland take on Australia in the only scheduled match.
The formidable Australia team of Carl Healey, Aaron Sheriff and Corey Wedlock won
Gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next duty, although I’m sure it was not in the job
description was the flag raising. I’m not a great fan of heights and so to be
standing at the top of the stand against the safety rail raising a flag was a
bit of a shaky moment, but I managed to get through the 5 medal ceremonies.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBKCgPmybSlcWOTFf-hfkLr7dBipH2ukWBDzOTgD-ctE5vs3QS6L5gXS-Kb7fct7jYqcZUyJjc2WQO22RhGdwPRFe6PAljD5zgKdlqdPA_ilnFr5cm1Ko4iap-DfXHTbhZMw93pczSsIaxJbC4ZtM6C4y-engZdnAd6CRo_pJrhrBMUt9_CT1kaKJOyU/s2142/IMG_9902.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2142" data-original-width="1607" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBKCgPmybSlcWOTFf-hfkLr7dBipH2ukWBDzOTgD-ctE5vs3QS6L5gXS-Kb7fct7jYqcZUyJjc2WQO22RhGdwPRFe6PAljD5zgKdlqdPA_ilnFr5cm1Ko4iap-DfXHTbhZMw93pczSsIaxJbC4ZtM6C4y-engZdnAd6CRo_pJrhrBMUt9_CT1kaKJOyU/s320/IMG_9902.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flag raising team (including me taking the photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Back to Broadbeach for a bite to eat in the club which had
some live music and a decent atmosphere and then to bed. Another early morning
tomorrow for the Para Mixed Pairs and Women’s Singles finals.<div><br /></div><div>Back at Helenvale on Sunday we hosted the Para Mens Pairs final and the Women's Singles final. </div><div>Both game were tight affairs score wise with just a few shots in it. Australia triumphed in an inspirational Para Men's Pairs final against South Africa. </div><div>In the Women's Singles it came down to 3 shots difference at the end when New Zealands Tayla Bruce, who resigned from her teaching job to get the time off to attend these Championships, defeated Kelly McKerihen to win the Gold Medal. Incredible games.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the ITOs enjoyed a Chinese Meal together on Sunday night before a day off on Monday.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back to the sectional play of the second week on Tuesday so will be back during the week.</div><div> </div><div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-25095750801971589372023-09-02T12:30:00.000+01:002023-09-02T12:30:02.099+01:00The competition hots up<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFK1np25Ji_K88RgSM1SnVrQvFfAkVZr8zP7KMV2QxKOzs5pRHc-1xrRPJuABGELd3KQlaay8ZcXbhvRi_l_BOIDubELfaP964aEHszKilDJq_UpUYT7f1lsrnWMqNV2VLuOdPsQjoNT8M99ycEQ6c7Fm9P6ikA0Vp8CNzn27UTnjXFtlvNKv6ZV7cPA/s505/Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFK1np25Ji_K88RgSM1SnVrQvFfAkVZr8zP7KMV2QxKOzs5pRHc-1xrRPJuABGELd3KQlaay8ZcXbhvRi_l_BOIDubELfaP964aEHszKilDJq_UpUYT7f1lsrnWMqNV2VLuOdPsQjoNT8M99ycEQ6c7Fm9P6ikA0Vp8CNzn27UTnjXFtlvNKv6ZV7cPA/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">After a few rain showers on Tuesday we awoke to a clear
fresh morning and took the stroll to the bus at 6:15am. It takes about 40
minutes to get to Helensvale via Musgrave Hill club where we drop the team
headed by DCTO Michael Johnson from New Zealand. After the usual first day
jitters and finding our feet we arrived on Day 2 and got on with our pre-match
routines like a well oiled machine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were some new faces on my team for Day 2 and its great
for them to move around venues and work with everyone, it’s a great way of
cementing those strong friendships. I had a team of 9 today. They just got on
with their jobs and that’s all you ask of them really. Its great to see
everyone working well together.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngRyTbb1LQT-h1CruTGvbSMYlGAFZUrP9y0viJlZRQp8mXCjKjRdKaNcJewijGoyVZ6BduNNFlc1yII0ioJwmZ42IllmwcMhyJ6N-eKbWq-TXTZK-qCmlSj8NZ7FpD6Gr_73wXxwaUoIENtDKOv-kaxjWa13ZIo6gtPZ-5KqlK_Hr02EplpGiGhFAXio/s4032/IMG_9861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngRyTbb1LQT-h1CruTGvbSMYlGAFZUrP9y0viJlZRQp8mXCjKjRdKaNcJewijGoyVZ6BduNNFlc1yII0ioJwmZ42IllmwcMhyJ6N-eKbWq-TXTZK-qCmlSj8NZ7FpD6Gr_73wXxwaUoIENtDKOv-kaxjWa13ZIo6gtPZ-5KqlK_Hr02EplpGiGhFAXio/s320/IMG_9861.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play underway at Helensvale</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Women’s singles and fours and Men’s pairs were played plus
we had the streaming team onsite. First session I carried out some assessments
of the ITOs, followed by marking a singles match between Ellen Ryan,
Commonwealth Gold medalist and Ineke Spangenberg from the Netherlands. It was a
great match with Ellen coming out victorious. For the final session I was
roving, otherwise known as the spare umpire. This role just helps with covering
calls when the 2 green umpires are occupied or to offer assistance for 2 person
measures. Usually the rover would cover two greens but at Helensvale that is a
challenge due to the construction works on the middle green.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjVcNIRpXZD8CgiEmkfN39XmEtnAwFbjJu5o_12gafNtL7hOpI6-162spVAhEl0uF8rWOORZdSfudKzT6O3nyp_rg5jlx01iGHtZ3x7DcRngCkKg8sXpQ9b3tVpmvmn52AknaaX-Xt4XXwStj0MOcyPkYpsYC-qchzm9TTfJSf_DY4KiyWn5tLWzKx2I/s4032/IMG_9863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjVcNIRpXZD8CgiEmkfN39XmEtnAwFbjJu5o_12gafNtL7hOpI6-162spVAhEl0uF8rWOORZdSfudKzT6O3nyp_rg5jlx01iGHtZ3x7DcRngCkKg8sXpQ9b3tVpmvmn52AknaaX-Xt4XXwStj0MOcyPkYpsYC-qchzm9TTfJSf_DY4KiyWn5tLWzKx2I/s320/IMG_9863.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scorecards ready for collection by the managers</td></tr></tbody></table><br />ITO assessments are an initiative developed by World Bowls
to assess the performance of their ITOs whilst at these major events. It’s a
great tool for identifying areas of improvement but also for noting excellent
performances. They are not a stick for beating the ITO. Each ITO receives 3
assessments as Umpire and 3 as Marker and are conducted by the DCTOs at each
venue. Ratings are provided for several criteria which range from 1, below
standard and 3, above standard. The standards set down by the World Bowls
Officiating Document and selection criteria are used. As I hope you expect
there are very few issues to note but we do have some ITOs attending for the
very first time at a World event and its great to be able to offer constructive
feedback to them. The results from each assessment are entered on to a
Performance Report spreadsheet and a report is generated for each ITO. This is
also a useful tool for World Bowls to use for future event selection.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Scorecards are checked by the Umpire and submitted to the
venue coordinator for entering on the BowlsLink results system which you can
access from the World Championships website. So far we have not had any
discrepancies so fingers crossed for the rest of the event.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, on Day 2 we received official confirmation
that Kenya would not be attending and their games would be forfeited to their
opponents. This means that their opponents will receive byes in those rounds.
Not too sure why they were eventually unable to make the trip but most likely
to do with Visas.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As you are probably aware by now all teams are playing with
Red and Blue bowls and it is expected that the show up with the correct colours
to play the competition. However, on Day -1 we learned that Samoa didn’t have
any bowls let alone the correct colour so the management team were busy running
around various clubs and raiding the merchandise tent for bowls. On Day 2 at
Helensvale just before the start of the second session I was alerted to the
Singapore singles player only having a set of Red bowls with her and she was
due to play in Blue. Thankfully, the lovely Laura from Switzerland agreed to
change back to Blue and the problem was solved. However, you couldn’t make this
up as no sooner had we resolved that, we then discovered that Papua New Guinea
only had a set of Blue and a set of Green! Again, the kind gents from Falkland
Islands agreed to swap back to their Red bowls. All resolved amicably in the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All these things sent to try us!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Few questions about temperatures here on the Gold Coast.
Tuesday at Helensvale we peaked at around 24 degrees. There was an impressive
lightning storm in the evening and the low overnight was 15 degrees. Wednesday
similar daytime temperatures peaking around 27 degrees. Ironically during the
storm in the evening, snow fell just up the road at the Glass House Mountains,
about 70 miles away north of Brisbane.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Back at Broadbeach for our DCTO debrief, we selected the
officials for the various roles for the knockout stages at Helensvale over the
weekend.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Getting to the business end of the first week now and I will
be back with you tomorrow as we hit the knockout rounds. <o:p></o:p></p>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-64599335479514770062023-08-30T12:32:00.000+01:002023-08-30T12:32:17.392+01:00World Championships are underway<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LNgIGZaDrzf_lRsOL9axdVvVs18DLqOqQehctM4vDpRBAoN9PNLKyTcxo0DIBGaYpegssBgAIiC33AcL9y2c0dhTGwFFDIk3DYWNptWU_QrJyoxBN-9nnE5lAJSi_7MbvG9NWWupmgOz_fwlKZ6ji9eKZgeLttkR_b1YyF9xXF4GO0d-halod8WcENU/s505/Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LNgIGZaDrzf_lRsOL9axdVvVs18DLqOqQehctM4vDpRBAoN9PNLKyTcxo0DIBGaYpegssBgAIiC33AcL9y2c0dhTGwFFDIk3DYWNptWU_QrJyoxBN-9nnE5lAJSi_7MbvG9NWWupmgOz_fwlKZ6ji9eKZgeLttkR_b1YyF9xXF4GO0d-halod8WcENU/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />I met up with fellow Brits, Angie Thompson and Bob Penny off
their flight at the arrivals hall after a great deep sleep on Saturday night.
After a leisurely drive down from Brisbane Airport on Sunday morning we dumped
our luggage at the accommodation as we couldn’t check in until 2pm and then
headed off to the Broadbeach Bowls Club to get our bearings.<div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQKgejD_jQTuoAFlLJkSvLqs4_RvUFYsqc41WVXPHyGQKLPbXHPloVbPk2yZtVUBoFemsEu2-iqoTTSS58ryJfkyhq0LgPKN7wV6yO_ph7Lvg4CYdlqJcEinD8FTvzVv9sHxvTeJ7WooKrsvXbOONdcLx9szFGv4f1u2NuiW8DvHadaJQfFGeDkH44DA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQKgejD_jQTuoAFlLJkSvLqs4_RvUFYsqc41WVXPHyGQKLPbXHPloVbPk2yZtVUBoFemsEu2-iqoTTSS58ryJfkyhq0LgPKN7wV6yO_ph7Lvg4CYdlqJcEinD8FTvzVv9sHxvTeJ7WooKrsvXbOONdcLx9szFGv4f1u2NuiW8DvHadaJQfFGeDkH44DA=w320-h240" title="Broadbeach Bowls Club" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the greens at Broadbeach Bowls Club</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sunday was spent relaxing and checking in our apartments and
meeting old and new friends. It was great to be back after 5 years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYSgsUQyHMAHYXDL-A-mCi97AYKdE_pAJPewaSauKEocsQtmVwzksePOrJkfz8Pld0p9Lx8OZSglwDTk6YjQiYMRuKnLUx23Dxd-zUEbwzAF0nKSgsoHigJWZIPQ0ELfcTJ9LcMXBTs1eeh6JdJ1-KQA2RPrsQPtDvRNy2FVmSBgZ3JfkSO26ZSFbDZtg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYSgsUQyHMAHYXDL-A-mCi97AYKdE_pAJPewaSauKEocsQtmVwzksePOrJkfz8Pld0p9Lx8OZSglwDTk6YjQiYMRuKnLUx23Dxd-zUEbwzAF0nKSgsoHigJWZIPQ0ELfcTJ9LcMXBTs1eeh6JdJ1-KQA2RPrsQPtDvRNy2FVmSBgZ3JfkSO26ZSFbDZtg=w199-h265" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ITO Meeting </td></tr></tbody></table>Day -1 on Monday and all the ITOs met at Broadbeach for our
meeting and introduction. We were welcomed by World Bowls President Daryl Clout
and CEO Neil Dalrymple before our detailed introduction from CTO, John Roberts
and TD, Mark Cowan. It was an opportunity for us to run through the finer
details for the event and to ask any questions on the Conditions of Play.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Time for a quick bite of lunch before getting changed into our
new uniforms and returning back to Broadbeach. At this event we are trialling
the use of Laser measures for the first time. They are not in general use yet
and so it was an opportunity for us all to run through their operation form
those that are proficient with them. There were other discussions around
equipment as there always is at these World gatherings. It was then all on the
bus to Helensvale Bowls Club for the Opening Ceremony</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSeMn6XDaRffyWbyzsdjk6bU5Z4NCjvJ_OraygbehRVVVt4i5QndG5IE8XJU-xvm7KTeBZ5FGhGrqIjVoGMSYU6T3Ies6nav4PtKnuAGWyki-htp3uzbOQVtSmkk-Aj_dR3AWRj-d7RzkUCg7Qv_nKKexweHv1d5cenwDVTD4AH3R1xxF0ucEc_nmHy5M" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSeMn6XDaRffyWbyzsdjk6bU5Z4NCjvJ_OraygbehRVVVt4i5QndG5IE8XJU-xvm7KTeBZ5FGhGrqIjVoGMSYU6T3Ies6nav4PtKnuAGWyki-htp3uzbOQVtSmkk-Aj_dR3AWRj-d7RzkUCg7Qv_nKKexweHv1d5cenwDVTD4AH3R1xxF0ucEc_nmHy5M" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of practice with the laser measures<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I said in my previous post, there are 44 countries
represented and it was great to see all the players and officials together and
mingling in one venue. There was a great atmosphere. After the formalities of
the ceremony we were treated to drinks and canapes in the excellent club.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not quite enough food for us growing chaps so a few of us
headed into town when we got back to Broadbeach for a meal and a good old
catchup.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsiWs7N-_SwY3bUuZZdcMRYMr8VpsOFE-roFBd0zanNUN1WkdvwLNAuesgGT6y20GkcICho2InpCa7wQAnY8tnXvL7yqFB9jXO2RkmHZvxBC-USgynxKojYyNdTvSK8MYI9PeJTcwZnqBp9Fqgmy6-3PA2uTwF_EYLY7qlnhlfeohj1Hi7j24fiDsF-A0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsiWs7N-_SwY3bUuZZdcMRYMr8VpsOFE-roFBd0zanNUN1WkdvwLNAuesgGT6y20GkcICho2InpCa7wQAnY8tnXvL7yqFB9jXO2RkmHZvxBC-USgynxKojYyNdTvSK8MYI9PeJTcwZnqBp9Fqgmy6-3PA2uTwF_EYLY7qlnhlfeohj1Hi7j24fiDsF-A0" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">44 Nations at the Opening Ceremony</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Day 1 and here we go. I am based at Helensvale as Deputy CTO
for the duration and with the first session of games starting at 8:30 we had to
leave our accommodation as the sun was rising at 6:15am. Thankfully everyone
made it to the bus on time and after dropping the team at Musgrave Hill we
arrived at Helensvale and got into full organisation mode.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First jobs – check the umpires kits. Ideally, we would have
done this a couple days before and unfortunately there were some items missing
but most ITOs had bought some of their own equipment. Next, on to checking the
rinks and in particular the 25 metre side markers. It is common in Australia
for the minimum length jack to be 21 metres with a 23 metre side marker so we
had to check they were amended. Then on to timing the greens. This is something
we do every morning to record the pace of the green and announce that at the
start of play. It involves 2 ITOs timing the delivery of a bowl to a distance
of 27 metres. Taking the average of 3 timings gives us the pace and they worked
out to be 14 and 15 seconds for Green 1 and 3 respectively.<o:p></o:p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6NAz8DGu-xDffWi5LIPhMcH588xyF5jlQiBJlPqHPofWD9Viw2nUXVnr5Ie3aJYw58mAp7eIBgCJilaornLyqozh-rBp1cb1M4MUgVt_tMUQPDHfKhcVDr2VSqAuqUxgjed44Xh_m3neC71YLISK7R0_1-C5gARIJAuXC63Gq_jdW2_AaPepd9vYKZHo" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6NAz8DGu-xDffWi5LIPhMcH588xyF5jlQiBJlPqHPofWD9Viw2nUXVnr5Ie3aJYw58mAp7eIBgCJilaornLyqozh-rBp1cb1M4MUgVt_tMUQPDHfKhcVDr2VSqAuqUxgjed44Xh_m3neC71YLISK7R0_1-C5gARIJAuXC63Gq_jdW2_AaPepd9vYKZHo" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new canopy at Helensvale Bowls Club<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">Helensvale has 3 greens, the centre one is now a synthetic
surface with an impressive canopy and clubhouse extension being built. It is a
huge investment. Green 1 is nearest the road and green 3 is on a higher level
and surround by seating. Both superb greens as you would expect. From previous
photos I have posted, some have commented on how brown the rinks are and indeed
they do look a bit like chipboard and are really solid. These are tiff dwarf
grass which lays dormant this time of year so don’t need much cutting. They go
a little greener in the summer months but are still rock hard. Also many have
commented on the many lines on the greens. Because the grass doesn’t get cut
very often they can mark the centre lines with chalk and they last for around
3-4 weeks. It’s a quick and simple way of ensuring mat and jack are centred and
certainly speeds up the games. There are no such things as 2 metre sticks here,
they just think that is hilarious, and to be quite honest when you see all the
2 metre positions marked, I can understand why.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Duties for an ITO include, umpires x 2 per green, markers
for singles, rovers which are like spare umpires for the 2 greens and
timekeepers should there be any slow play challenges. As the schedules are so
busy for the first few days of sectional play we are working with just 2
umpires and the markers as we do not have enough ITOs to cover everything. I
covered an umpire duty in the first session followed by a marking duty and then
again umpiring in the last session.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At each venue each day, 3 rounds of the first 3 disciplines
of Women’s Singles, Mens Pairs and Womens Fours are being played. We also have
the Para athletes competing alongside these disciplines. Each session starts
with an announcement to commence trial ends 15 minutes before the game start
time. After completing the trial ends the players wait for the timekeeper to
sound the airhorn for the start of the session – you know its coming but it still
makes you jump!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All sessions in the sectional play are 2 hours and 15 minute
in duration. One of the duties of the umpire is to record the number of ends
played at the half way time. If some are lagging behind the expected number of
ends we have a quiet word to chivvy them along a bit. The majority of games so
far have been completed on time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each ITO is undergoing a working assessment whilst
officiating. 3 x Marker and 3 x Umpire duties are assessment by myself and the
other DCTOs and CTO. It gives us a good indication of their performance and is
used to develop them and guide us on future selection for final stages of
competition and other World events. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">End of day one came along and with sore feet and some burnt
noses we staggered back to the coach to take us back to Broadbeach. The 4 DCTOs
from each venue then met for a short debrief with the CTO and TD – we seem to
have more acronyms than AC12 in Line of Duty!! There were no issues at
Helensvale, a quiet word with a team manager about the number of coaches at the
end of the rink and also a spot of rink possession and that was about it. There
were a couple of issues a one venue that were handled very well by the DCTO.
They also had a flooded green at one point as the heavens opened but it was all
drained withing 20 minutes and play resumed. The great thing about sub-tropical
rains showers is they rarely last long and you are all dried out within the
hour.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bed at 9:30 shattered. Up at 5:30 again for day 2<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stay tuned for more behind the scenes insights. If you get
the chance to take a look at some of the live streaming, follow the Bowls
Australia Facebook page, link below – the only official link so don’t fall foul
of the many scammers out there.<o:p></o:p></p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BowlsAustralia">
https://www.facebook.com/BowlsAustralia</a><div><p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile enjoy some of the photos from the first few days whilst I go and have a cup of tea and a TimTam.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4U4ZDI4wyyGWbb0mdnuIFrHagqZrbq6b_3UuLptj4_BWomNP8JTOouQa0oh0nidr_WBXHHUHJj7sj8OTUAnwJCzxgk6lJhL_P4kIDnOO0BXRs9auVIU0KBCO_O9GYVkKHh6x_q1O5NeAom8d-zyxzKMQ0ssdl-gnis4znXdMT-KyTNwoC3CioF_rPRJI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4U4ZDI4wyyGWbb0mdnuIFrHagqZrbq6b_3UuLptj4_BWomNP8JTOouQa0oh0nidr_WBXHHUHJj7sj8OTUAnwJCzxgk6lJhL_P4kIDnOO0BXRs9auVIU0KBCO_O9GYVkKHh6x_q1O5NeAom8d-zyxzKMQ0ssdl-gnis4znXdMT-KyTNwoC3CioF_rPRJI" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our amazing ITOs from India, Shubhra and Jitenda<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-T3RzVM96wktHFoi9HwGS0wqUx5EwYBNa9Gfl7n-TvtO7gmg-zbOFWscc7cvAAcov0d0Om3xmhEUho62jOBlO8DiStn8oFPJ8TKR0dhavNm4QJuOqpCm5FvrbSCdAUeAogSM5xDZc6cjRkeN5BJDk55B78RPF-afrekT701jzZTR38GU-3Dk0gh2FI8A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-T3RzVM96wktHFoi9HwGS0wqUx5EwYBNa9Gfl7n-TvtO7gmg-zbOFWscc7cvAAcov0d0Om3xmhEUho62jOBlO8DiStn8oFPJ8TKR0dhavNm4QJuOqpCm5FvrbSCdAUeAogSM5xDZc6cjRkeN5BJDk55B78RPF-afrekT701jzZTR38GU-3Dk0gh2FI8A" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rita Shek from Hong Kong attentively Marking</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7QYbEhT1uDE6ne86nNp6GGjP1KTWl_y3rS5oo8I8OCtjFdI8EUbM-MfjfBwzaQML5kcHGiK2WeOZIFdBB2qZrt3CVkQ86IPiMxpMszTKLKhzqeDWuBPCvt5dLJy1KLVwzXb_Y4EvMcIyLYmpbrfkUHUoInLfeT9WYJ7joT6um9jg9K-KQobpLQ5ZzIFo" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7QYbEhT1uDE6ne86nNp6GGjP1KTWl_y3rS5oo8I8OCtjFdI8EUbM-MfjfBwzaQML5kcHGiK2WeOZIFdBB2qZrt3CVkQ86IPiMxpMszTKLKhzqeDWuBPCvt5dLJy1KLVwzXb_Y4EvMcIyLYmpbrfkUHUoInLfeT9WYJ7joT6um9jg9K-KQobpLQ5ZzIFo" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helensvale Bowls Club looking amazing on Day 1</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimUd_FsrijiyudXCk2ZtdIBpoZdjYKCz8MM6fQxwHWyobnF-sttrlDI871RVfegJDeqQlRow5oBEVw9Wdo3hTPvh-OUoyD1vE_W1r4KyD4KpJsKE1cQXNgyPvJgrfABdEj3hIZDwQJZdhEFjH1AsEJc7IcAJaJw2zlGWj81GsS65n3AAc0bO9AIntsxuw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimUd_FsrijiyudXCk2ZtdIBpoZdjYKCz8MM6fQxwHWyobnF-sttrlDI871RVfegJDeqQlRow5oBEVw9Wdo3hTPvh-OUoyD1vE_W1r4KyD4KpJsKE1cQXNgyPvJgrfABdEj3hIZDwQJZdhEFjH1AsEJc7IcAJaJw2zlGWj81GsS65n3AAc0bO9AIntsxuw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broadbeach Bowls Club<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMm7h-3txFZkCmjAmx5OnfUtPR4E8HBgXJcHwaXVfGAa3J9rAWhLUmA2GdowRj98hk9P-cvelAaKRlKTOvbbnYSOuO4DZNE6Uj3mY5f7onhhieVMNBHqw0CTXnW7JAozSJZcww9fqUMao8zil5SfNId_dwz_JbSPWDDl_6lJzXuC5Yu-cuBZQdx_0HSlw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMm7h-3txFZkCmjAmx5OnfUtPR4E8HBgXJcHwaXVfGAa3J9rAWhLUmA2GdowRj98hk9P-cvelAaKRlKTOvbbnYSOuO4DZNE6Uj3mY5f7onhhieVMNBHqw0CTXnW7JAozSJZcww9fqUMao8zil5SfNId_dwz_JbSPWDDl_6lJzXuC5Yu-cuBZQdx_0HSlw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some practice at Broadbeach<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji18PX8fFTh31zmxVFBIei_gIwrlzNFHeMq4vps1Dh_841Ks-Gzn-jVEtNEXXlRCWP6xTBHh188Qri73HjLgPg0gCm03CFPgRHlcTLtJ9Cq-vhq9NNCBUpg9MvuME4HhUvQ3yyBB4K3XpuMlfkzjpb20dQd26pfeshcMvZcMsdbT79OUgPL1GvpIBWocA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji18PX8fFTh31zmxVFBIei_gIwrlzNFHeMq4vps1Dh_841Ks-Gzn-jVEtNEXXlRCWP6xTBHh188Qri73HjLgPg0gCm03CFPgRHlcTLtJ9Cq-vhq9NNCBUpg9MvuME4HhUvQ3yyBB4K3XpuMlfkzjpb20dQd26pfeshcMvZcMsdbT79OUgPL1GvpIBWocA" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trialing Laser measures</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidpQsy4jXngX7MitWtkZ8l0YxcWDVcamqH_atvAcp-ueP50BHsr9RvNXjM0KDuJEKNIgZ8dz8xdw0YeC50WNJ2rvOPeWlPNgj0-LI6kJh3nl_w5r3Ctl9wRPrZ6bjnPUtijVERgAVdlMegW0Enj6MZxej2V2lwKcCEi54njWtvPgXXH_v8nOBAOfPD2f4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1665" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidpQsy4jXngX7MitWtkZ8l0YxcWDVcamqH_atvAcp-ueP50BHsr9RvNXjM0KDuJEKNIgZ8dz8xdw0YeC50WNJ2rvOPeWlPNgj0-LI6kJh3nl_w5r3Ctl9wRPrZ6bjnPUtijVERgAVdlMegW0Enj6MZxej2V2lwKcCEi54njWtvPgXXH_v8nOBAOfPD2f4" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><br /><p></p></div></div>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-36233821674333962652023-08-25T13:00:00.012+01:002023-08-25T13:00:00.138+01:00World Championships 2023 - Some Facts & Figures<p></p><br /><b>The journey to the 2023 World Championships begins.</b> <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieev8LQWiK_HfadhzpNrgzKnN8TQKrJZ5dm0kH4rRi6hGv47crIhrWFsQ3PVQmNisRcYyMJeiIxax2ydSz0IZmEKN9braDhLaZ1lINUf93YWHFrjo0VkH2qm7GCX_usXhX5Kr1rV3uK0rIh--x_6o0-ZFv_ffGWgldSQSAAC4m5nGTsIt0M2OBKjbQBUA/s505/Logo.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="505" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieev8LQWiK_HfadhzpNrgzKnN8TQKrJZ5dm0kH4rRi6hGv47crIhrWFsQ3PVQmNisRcYyMJeiIxax2ydSz0IZmEKN9braDhLaZ1lINUf93YWHFrjo0VkH2qm7GCX_usXhX5Kr1rV3uK0rIh--x_6o0-ZFv_ffGWgldSQSAAC4m5nGTsIt0M2OBKjbQBUA/s320/Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>A civilised lunchtime departure time from London Heathrow sees me on a Cathay Pacific flight to Brisbane via Hong Kong. I will arrive around midnight Aussie time on the 26th August and stay over at an airport hotel before making my way down to the beautiful Gold Coast and our accommodation in Broadbeach.<p></p><p>So whilst, I am soaring at 30,000 feet enjoying a glass of Vino or two, I thought I would give you a little insight into the facts and figures of what are going to be the largest World Bowls Championships ever staged.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am honoured to be one of four Deputy Chief Technical Officials (DCTOs) working alongside Bob Carlson and Sue Hogg from Australia and Michael Johnson from New Zealand.</p><p>Our Chief Technical Official (CTO) is John Roberts and the Technical Delegate (TD), Mark Cowan, both from Australia.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWHN8iNraQOVZOwZlH8F63P-kc0vHCfSrFV2ibXWuJWplJRG_dpI8iQ5eIBNzhwdwBsNuM6dLkLpTU4myG2183uP48bPgo08y49vTuDxD3kZlOK8W2ec2IED2u_p2uKEycUvtz9ETipsDKTw5dtF3xpAi0VfGjssy1ZuNFbVaUt5loZ7KYQIXKwn8jcM/s179/ito.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="179" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWHN8iNraQOVZOwZlH8F63P-kc0vHCfSrFV2ibXWuJWplJRG_dpI8iQ5eIBNzhwdwBsNuM6dLkLpTU4myG2183uP48bPgo08y49vTuDxD3kZlOK8W2ec2IED2u_p2uKEycUvtz9ETipsDKTw5dtF3xpAi0VfGjssy1ZuNFbVaUt5loZ7KYQIXKwn8jcM/w106-h104/ito.png" width="106" /></a></div>There are a total of 50 International Technical Officials (ITOs) from 7 nations appointed to the Championships.<p></p><p>5 superb Gold Coast venues will be in use; Broadbeach Bowling Club, Club Musgrave Hill, Club Helensvale, Mudgeeraba Bowls Club and Paradise Point Bowls Club. Together they will provide 13 championship greens.</p><p>There will be 3 sessions of play per day each of 2 hours and 15 minutes duration. </p><p>Medals will be awarded for 11 disciplines including para-disciplines.</p><p>Week One runs from Tuesday 29th August through Sunday 3rd September. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 2nd and 3rd September at Club Helensvale. The disciplines for the first week will be Womens Singles and Fours, Mens Pairs and Triples, Para Mens and Womens Pairs and Visually Impaired Mixed Pairs.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRXSNf6PybPbTFJ6ZDy8drpoG4LqmbtG5YX9dSOeb6OmSAj9_8tpdQ9qZlYufCJYmPEbQO3HFKY6ZtKkjLq24mnAR8086AYy9wT2E_fQd1hwwLFEfDPZafFf63xn1RE6c6qhM5zLjdodQUmhSvw0Enz5ixqn6532kxuacIeaB2VsJCNVjkeJpqJ6PQpw/s234/globe.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="228" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRXSNf6PybPbTFJ6ZDy8drpoG4LqmbtG5YX9dSOeb6OmSAj9_8tpdQ9qZlYufCJYmPEbQO3HFKY6ZtKkjLq24mnAR8086AYy9wT2E_fQd1hwwLFEfDPZafFf63xn1RE6c6qhM5zLjdodQUmhSvw0Enz5ixqn6532kxuacIeaB2VsJCNVjkeJpqJ6PQpw/w120-h123/globe.png" width="120" /></a></div>We have a day off on Monday 4th September - woohoo! time to explore the Hinterland.<p></p><p></p>Week Two runs from Tuesday 5th September through Sunday 10th September. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on 9th and 10th September at Broadbeach Bowls Club. The disciplines for the second week will be Womens Triples and Pairs and the Mens Fours and Singles.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUwt9f6y9Vbp4sBW15uX0uCQYN51mJmvgB1Kd-nbPKfLHQzwIbox58nlmwOmCoapTiYjHLn4dLyuzEjSJamwjaFQ5plWhpHTjcqMkl1qRvhSLuBG90u9etI-3eEl4mzAECxf3afEiS4XATdePMFtE0LqIA6ZGrypk4ijJYsCMHqhos8Txv4HhgwHCcpw/s337/550.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="336" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUwt9f6y9Vbp4sBW15uX0uCQYN51mJmvgB1Kd-nbPKfLHQzwIbox58nlmwOmCoapTiYjHLn4dLyuzEjSJamwjaFQ5plWhpHTjcqMkl1qRvhSLuBG90u9etI-3eEl4mzAECxf3afEiS4XATdePMFtE0LqIA6ZGrypk4ijJYsCMHqhos8Txv4HhgwHCcpw/w121-h121/550.png" width="121" /></a></div>44 countries and over 550 players, managers and coaches will be represented at the Championships making it one of the largest ever entries.<p></p><p>Live streaming will be available on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BowlsAustralia" target="_blank"><b>Bowls Australia's Facebook page</b></a></p><p>I will try and post updates and experiences along the way so stay tuned. If you have any questions please pop them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.</p><p>Wish us luck, its going to be a busy ride!!</p><br /><p><br /></p><br />Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-84347386450726276182023-05-30T13:13:00.002+01:002023-05-30T13:13:29.889+01:00World Bowls Laws Advisory Group decision on Laws 37.1.3 and 37.1.5.3<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">In August 2022, two new laws 37.1.3
and 37.1.5.3, were introduced to the Laws of the Sport Crystal Mark Fourth
Edition. They were designed to penalise a player who deliberately displaced
their own team’s bowl on its original course or lifted a bowl at rest to allow one
of their own team’s bowls to pass.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Despite a clarification document
published on the World Bowls Website in September 2022, it had become very
clear from communications that the two laws were causing a great deal of
confusion and had resulted in games being forfeited incorrectly following
players innocently stopping bowls from entering the ditch.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, the management of a
side game and the resulting scoring or penalties after a team had been
disqualified also caused a great deal of confusion within Member Nations and
domestic Controlling Bodies. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Concern was expressed about the
severe penalty of forfeiting the game and clarity in the wording of the law
itself. Taking the two clauses in isolation had led to much debate about
scenarios that are quite adequately covered by other displacement laws. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Suggestions to reduce the
severity of the forfeit to penalising with shot deductions were made. This
approach would be inconsistent with any other law and was not felt to be a
suitable solution. Penalties have always existed for the displacement of a bowl
by its own team players but at the time of the 2021 Laws review these penalties
were not felt to be severe enough for what is considered an act of “cheating”. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having considered several options to
improve the wording to express the intent of these two laws, the LAG concluded that
they have created more issues than they were written to solve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The LAG</span> recommended to the Board of World Bowls
to take the unprecedented step to rescind them with immediate effect.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The numbering of Law 37.1.4 will
remain unchanged until the next review of the Laws.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Displacement Law 37.1 still exists
which deals with a player moving, stopping or lifting either their own bowls or
their opponents. Whilst the penalties are not as severe the opponent still has
the option to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>declare a bowl that is
displaced, dead.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Communication has been sent to
all member nations of World Bowls for dissemination to their regions and
umpiring bodies. In addition, the statement from World Bowls has been published
widely on their website and on social media.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><s><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.3 If a bowl in its
original course is deliberately displaced or stopped by a member of the team
that delivered the bowl, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their
opponent.</span></s></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">37.1.4 Displacement of a bowl
in motion.</span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 70.9pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.4.1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If a
bowl in motion is displaced by a player and it has not disturbed the head after
it is displaced, the opposing skip or the opponent in Singles must choose
whether to: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 120.5pt; text-indent: -49.6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.4.1.1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>place
the bowl where the player believes it would have come to rest; or <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 120.5pt; text-indent: -49.6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.4.1.2 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>declare
the end dead. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 78.0pt; text-indent: -49.65pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;">37.1.4.2 </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;">If a
bowl in motion is displaced by a player and it has disturbed the head after it
is displaced, the opposing skip or the opponent in Singles must choose whether
to:</span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 120.5pt; text-indent: -49.6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.4.2.1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>place
the bowl where the player believes it would have come to rest and replace any
part of the head disturbed after the displacement; or <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 120.5pt; text-indent: -49.6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.4.2.2 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>declare
the end dead. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">37.1.5 Displacement of a bowl
at rest.</span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 70.9pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.5.1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If a
bowl at rest or a toucher in the ditch is displaced by a player and it has not
disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opponent must put the bowl back
to its former position. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 70.9pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.5.2 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If a
bowl at rest or a toucher in the ditch is displaced by a player and it has
disturbed the head after it is displaced, the opponent must put the bowl back
to its former position and replace any part of the head disturbed after the
displacement. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-left: 70.9pt; text-indent: -42.55pt;"><s><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">37.1.5.3 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If a
player lifts a bowl at rest on their rink to allow their team’s bowl in its
original course to pass, the defaulting team will forfeit the game to their
opponent. </span></s><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-57143923829563991462023-02-20T17:09:00.001+00:002023-02-20T17:11:08.047+00:00Laws of the Sport of Bowls Crystal Mark Fourth Edition - Summary of Changes.<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefUIBVwyreWFj-nLiMrMNEba9WAJKrNG0ISWy9dsvWpZazZRGrgdgAPI2ZQyUceP-0P8b3TVPAcicqNGbOqKIn0koQgqNklDzp0KoktG0DSWUA5wv_lwbZtHjnVp1muHo4Gj447GUmmDtaAzk0XaesTFJvqRI81kD2nk5xMc9Gb-0Wc4kXUqelL1Y/s1819/WB%20LAW%20BOOK_COVER%20PAGES%202022.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1819" data-original-width="1311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefUIBVwyreWFj-nLiMrMNEba9WAJKrNG0ISWy9dsvWpZazZRGrgdgAPI2ZQyUceP-0P8b3TVPAcicqNGbOqKIn0koQgqNklDzp0KoktG0DSWUA5wv_lwbZtHjnVp1muHo4Gj447GUmmDtaAzk0XaesTFJvqRI81kD2nk5xMc9Gb-0Wc4kXUqelL1Y/s320/WB%20LAW%20BOOK_COVER%20PAGES%202022.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>In 2021, World Bowls started a process to review the Laws of the Sport. Aside from a couple of minor amendments this was the first major review since 2014 during which the Third Edition was born. The new Fourth Edition was approved at a World Bowls Meeting just after the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. In the grand scheme of things there are not that many practical changes that affect the playing of the sport.</div>The Crystal Mark Fourth Edition is now the current Laws of the Sport for Lawn Bowls and can be downloaded from the World Bowls website along with a summary overview of the changes. Most Members National Authorities (MNAs) will adopt the Fourth Edition from 1st April. <br /><br />The Laws allow for MNAs to make Domestic Regulations. Most of these have now been approved by World Bowls and will appear in the Law books.<br /><br /><div>When people think of new laws and regulations, they tend to think the game will change dramatically, but these changes will have minimal impact on the everyday bowling and officiating experience. While there has been almost 70 revisions made, the majority are cosmetic and format changes. Some of the key additions/changes are as follows.</div><div><br />There have been slight adjustments to some of the definitions, in particular the definitions of a Rink and Rink of Play. This change tidies up any confusion on what is included within the boundaries of the rink of play and now includes the end ditches and face of the banks. As a results some further laws have been adjusted to deal with the change of wording. <br /><br />A new definition has been created from existing wording to define “measuring” <br /><br />Another relocation of existing wording has created a new Law stating that in all games players must play with the appropriate number of bowls from the same set. Again this is a cosmetic change to define this in the Play Arrangement section rather that later on in the law book where it was harder to find. <br /><br />A couple of changes have been introduced to allow Controlling Bodies to use their discretion when deciding when trial ends are necessary. In particular, in the event of a game being stopped due to inclement weather and moved from an outdoor green to an indoor green. Similarly, if moving a game from a grass to a synthetic surface or vice versa, trials ends may be permitted. <br /><br />Throughout the Law book, there are many references to skips and decisions they must make especially when it come to displacement scenarios. It was clear that there were some inconsistencies and no mention of singles players in these situations. So, for clarification, several changes have been made to include singles players. <br /><br />In the Third Edition a new penalty was introduced to deal with players that delivered their bowls before their opponents bowl had come to rest. In essence it was identical to a breach of Rink Possession. As such this scenario has now been incorporated into the Laws relating to Rink Possession. The penalty remains the same but it has tidied up a duplication in wording. <br /><br />In respect of players playing their bowls out of turn, the laws have always dealt with the scenario where one bowl has been played out of turn but not two bowls. There is now a new law which states that if each team has played a bowl before it is discovered that one of them has played out of turn the end must continue in that order. <br /><br />A logical approach has been taken when dealing with leaving the green and stopping a game. In the previous edition stopping the game was followed by leaving the green and substitutions. These two laws have now been switched as game stoppages are more likely to occur after a player leaves the green and a substitution may be necessary. <br /><br />There has always been quite a discussion about how the score should be worked out when a player is missing from a side game. The assumption is that one quarter of the total score for the whole game is taken, regardless of whether a substitute is introduced. A wording change now clarifies that a fourth of the shots are deducted in each of the ends where a team is playing one player short. <br /><br />Amongst the list of Marker duties, a new duty to ensure that the mat is on the centre line has been included. Whilst on the subject of Markers and Umpires, the Laws contain a list of equipment that may be used for measuring. As we all know there are many gadgets and items of measuring equipment used all over the World that may not appear on that list. Indeed there are now new technologies that are being used domestically such as lasers. A new Law now allows National bodies to approve types of measuring equipment for carrying out umpiring duties at a domestic level. From a World Bowls perspective the types of equipment generally classed as “First Choice” will be updated shortly. <br /><br />There are a number of additional items listed in Appendix A which deals with Conditions of Play. Some competition rules can be lacking in detail and Appendix A gives guidance on what can be included in Conditions of Play. Guidance on the method for drawing rink numbers and opponents, dealing with players who leave the green on more than one occasion, arrangements for dealing with the scorecard and guidelines for playing in hot and cold weather conditions have all been added. It will be for governing bodies to introduce these into their competition rules should they be necessary. <br /><br />And so to the change that is likely to be the most controversial and raise the most questions. There is a very clear intent in this change and whilst some will just enforce the law as written, we encourage all of you to understand the intent and application and the reasons for introducing this change. None of us like a cheat and cheats never prosper. It was with this in mind that a proposal was submitted to deal more robustly with those individuals that feel it necessary to cheat. To set the scene here are some scenarios to consider. <br /><br />A team is holding 4 shots and the third in the team asks their skip to draw another on the backhand. The bowl is delivered but the third soon realises that it both narrow and heavy and heading straight for the jack. With no back bowls, hitting the jack would be disastrous and so the third steps out in front of the head and stops the skips bowl from disturbing the head. Until now the only resolution for this would be for the opposing skip to declare the bowl dead. Hardly a punishment when that bowl was proving to be too damaging to the head anyway and is probably better off sitting on the bank. <br /><br />How about the skip that moves one of their own short bowls out of the way to allow their thirds bowl to pass as it was on a good line and length. Again the only punishment was for the opponent to replace the bowl that was moved. So a tougher stance has been taken on these blatant acts of cheating with the introduction of two laws that will deal with the above scenarios. In both the penalty being forfeiture of the game. <br /><br />There is clearly some clarification needed here as well. Questions are already being raised about the innocence of stopping one of your bowls from going into the ditch when it has missed the head and is a little heavy, everyone does it. Let’s remember that other displacement laws still apply. There should be no reason or scenario where players have to touch, lift, stop or otherwise interfere with bowls from their own team or their opponents during the game. If they avoid this then they avoid any displacement penalty in the Laws. <br /><br />The Laws Committee have pre-emptied some of these queries and have published clarification on the intent of these new laws. The clarification can be downloaded below:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://7e1f1017-7d5c-455f-9315-2083df04c028.usrfiles.com/ugd/7e1f10_d5b082877ec742d6a90da97c54b58e65.pdf" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://7e1f1017-7d5c-455f-9315-2083df04c028.usrfiles.com/ugd/7e1f10_d5b082877ec742d6a90da97c54b58e65.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3032608976583155626/5714392382956399146#" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="100" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjPXlVfVtI_GvtlcSLqoEdriC3vpmDjVd39vG0P9r-VmbV7sXWWW4MRgHW0cdigMSUhx1ZJThYiPSJpxKsnFjatrTC_WDQI4nM7nOHRPCIBmMsUAsEpJnNjyfxK97TlPtnZPsGX32VdTXunnpFh_gkUCvlZBYcDxH4DZKtczi__cnAIAAtFamcsfe/s1600/WB_Logo-100-100-NEW.png" width="100" /></a></div><br /><br /></b></div><div><b><a href="https://7e1f1017-7d5c-455f-9315-2083df04c028.usrfiles.com/ugd/7e1f10_d5b082877ec742d6a90da97c54b58e65.pdf" target="_blank">World Bowls Laws Committee Clarification on Law 37.1</a></b><br /><p align="center" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 18.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p></div>Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-1712394411214899882018-04-17T10:17:00.004+01:002018-04-17T10:20:35.836+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - The End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s1600/IMG_0795.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s200/IMG_0795.PNG" width="135" /></a></div>
<br />
Apologies for the delay posting this final blog, I have been in the wilderness with little or no WI-FI.<br />
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The last couple of days competition on Thursday and Friday
saw more medal matches being played in the Mens Fours, Womens Triples and Mens
singles disciplines<o:p></o:p></div>
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History was made yet again as the incredible Alex Marshall
became the most decorated Scottish Athlete, in any sport, following a win in
the Fours over Australia. A truly incredible achievement as he surpassed Alan
Wells previous record. 2018 has been the most successful games for Scotland
with a medal tally of 2 Gold, 1 Silver for the Men, a silver and bronze for the
ladies making a total of 5 coming second only to the hosts with 7.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the Women’s Triples, England played in the Bronze medal
match and came out on top 20-12 against Canada. The Gold was won by the
Australian team defeating Scotland 21-12.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The following day, the last of the Lawn Bowls Competition, in
the Womens pairs, Malaysia defeated South Africa by just 1 shot with Scotland
taking the Bronze. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2VLMHJcFePSgnbJhJ5RMTVEwNYyygGtHqaS0KYwm3HP8WbIQfj8_jka53uyueKtBdf6vIMfdcvWnvBSkMJPq8zcRgGyP0mgyt5d-LoyNCtkfVlum-lJtMNLzDwpJk9GsGCWftEVPk5o/s1600/IMG_3520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="640" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2VLMHJcFePSgnbJhJ5RMTVEwNYyygGtHqaS0KYwm3HP8WbIQfj8_jka53uyueKtBdf6vIMfdcvWnvBSkMJPq8zcRgGyP0mgyt5d-LoyNCtkfVlum-lJtMNLzDwpJk9GsGCWftEVPk5o/s200/IMG_3520.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A relaxed introduction before the Men's<br />
Bronze match</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The atmosphere for the finals of the mens singles was
something I have never experienced before. Australias debutant, Aaron Wilson
faced Broadbeach Bulls member and Canadian national, Ryan Bester. I was
honoured to mark the Bronze medal match between Darren Burnett of Scotland and
Robert Paxton of England. The noise from the packed stands was amazing and
created a goose bump atmosphere. Robert was the eventual winner giving England
a further medal. Thank you to my Laws Committee colleagues, Trevor Davies and
Mark Cowan for their support umpiring the final. I did try to get them on the
rink but in the end they were not needed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcqxUm-SwJa0tVSaUAjmOq4G-xw9d10L8YTfZzv9BPhwiK2Z9h5i2wi-1Yp-5MSPNhH9B01G92tWmXQzi-0ZYG53LmILIz1UvWXOd-sqtIVdnokdiiU1p-YO1eflF5KMugKCoq02ictPM/s1600/IMG_3513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1072" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcqxUm-SwJa0tVSaUAjmOq4G-xw9d10L8YTfZzv9BPhwiK2Z9h5i2wi-1Yp-5MSPNhH9B01G92tWmXQzi-0ZYG53LmILIz1UvWXOd-sqtIVdnokdiiU1p-YO1eflF5KMugKCoq02ictPM/s200/IMG_3513.JPG" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At work in the Bronze match</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the close fought final the Australia machine continued to
dominate as Aarron Wilson collected another Gold Medal for the host nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There has been a lot of discussion at the venue and in the
media about the noise and atmosphere. Music was played in the background
constantly for the duration of the games which, in my opinion, was a positive
addition and didn’t seem to affect any players. This coupled with the volume of
the supporting crowd it all helped to produce an incredible atmosphere. Yes
there was some sledging and yes some of the shouts were perhaps a little
inappropriate but there is a fine balance providing a great atmosphere and the
effect of a few beers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0DIKy1EbwVuSd9O1eAoSDYrnpJ__7923NgA3141PUtruVXbhdpTfNh9r2Ndq2tWPQy1VcrSCKpbdJhCyAeQLpiinYg54_qOIg1tRkCnsROSDml_RxcXOGs_-Fy2R0FU6SpEPbfOrGWs/s1600/IMG_3514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0DIKy1EbwVuSd9O1eAoSDYrnpJ__7923NgA3141PUtruVXbhdpTfNh9r2Ndq2tWPQy1VcrSCKpbdJhCyAeQLpiinYg54_qOIg1tRkCnsROSDml_RxcXOGs_-Fy2R0FU6SpEPbfOrGWs/s200/IMG_3514.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2018 Trashers Trophy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Following the last game of the 2018 Lawn Bowls competition
it was time for the most important match of the whole event – The Trashers
Trophy. This has been competed across the past three Commonwealth Games and
World Bowls Championships. A hotly contested fours match between Australia and
England Technical Officials. Only few ends but highly competitive with amble
quantities of banter. It is a great was or us to bond and relax – and this year
we had a new revamped trophy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, with a little bit of match fixing and alleged bowl
tampering, the Aussies came the eventual winners.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-ybckEsvYjRmwtQOqaCGdgJxZgwGWSp6fVcaFxxQm4GtjscfkRuv8GwknAJVJWG0f6AKKJ77Oim-sykD8lL7xUtdSvgyKC8W5c6s-u_b9m9xRhqO7_x_0qkEuKwI9W4hz8z9dcCObKc/s1600/IMG_3530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-ybckEsvYjRmwtQOqaCGdgJxZgwGWSp6fVcaFxxQm4GtjscfkRuv8GwknAJVJWG0f6AKKJ77Oim-sykD8lL7xUtdSvgyKC8W5c6s-u_b9m9xRhqO7_x_0qkEuKwI9W4hz8z9dcCObKc/s200/IMG_3530.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting a Koala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On Saturday we had a free day as competition had finished.
Dan Bluett and myself visited the excellent Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where
we were able to hold a Koala and stroke a Red Kangaroo. It’s an amazing place
doing great work for Australias wildlife. The final evening for all ITO’s was
spend at a lovely restaurant in Broadbeach as we enjoyed a meal and drink
together as a whole team. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been an excellent games with great friendships
rekindled and new friendships made with officials from around the world. I
personally feel this was the best games for camaraderie in the team.
Personally, I am extremely honoured and proud to have represented English
Technical Officials at my fifth consecutive games. I am also very proud of my
English colleagues, Dan, Ray and Angie who have excelled in their
professionalism during these games.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRvp9m-Gt_ghDYAySvqaFUQMYKbTs0w6wAFS69pxzY1-37XjzUJIJ6sU2LKaEJ-FkBpLmSnlNX51XkplhLFTQ8Li38UUN15zcurpTT4ux3qcfUKxYJPslKMb2u4L3KO-cqo0MGi53bbQ/s1600/IMG_3604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRvp9m-Gt_ghDYAySvqaFUQMYKbTs0w6wAFS69pxzY1-37XjzUJIJ6sU2LKaEJ-FkBpLmSnlNX51XkplhLFTQ8Li38UUN15zcurpTT4ux3qcfUKxYJPslKMb2u4L3KO-cqo0MGi53bbQ/s200/IMG_3604.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many falls in<br />
Springbrook National Park</td></tr>
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The majority of officials have now left the Gold Coast
returning to their respective corners of the globe. I am staying on for four
more days visiting the amazing Springbrook National Park and the Glass House
Mountains before returning to blighty on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gold Coast 2018 has been the friendly, inclusive games that
have united the Commonwealth hosted by the most amazing city. I will have
memories that will last for ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks to all of you that have taken the time to read my
waffle and for your kind comments I hope it has given a bit of a closer insight
into the Games. Until next time G’Day!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazing team of ITO's </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-84889816062685812372018-04-10T08:42:00.003+01:002018-04-10T09:41:52.518+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - Half way through<div style="height: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s1600/IMG_0795.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s200/IMG_0795.PNG" width="135" /></a></div>
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The new week heralded the start of new competitions. Two of the disciplines were concluded on Sunday with medals awarded in the Men's Triples, and Women's Singles. Monday also provided some medal matches in the Women's Fours and Men's Pairs.<br />
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In the Women's Fours Australia claimed its first Commonwealth Games gold medal in more than 12 years, with Kelsey Cottrell, Carla Krizanic, Rebecca Van Asch and Natasha Scott triumphant over South Africa.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iyY6haV_uxXmbqYyF8KsLhpkXuI25veyitwStjcSERA8eplz_piagmXbZiOFqJqZ0F55u3HZ91VIAwblwvjEp_NQmjZiQLrvpooDbhtiZUGdGTnU46QX1BoxhqX7xaklvSBiU4n5ZFg/s1600/Australia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="660" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iyY6haV_uxXmbqYyF8KsLhpkXuI25veyitwStjcSERA8eplz_piagmXbZiOFqJqZ0F55u3HZ91VIAwblwvjEp_NQmjZiQLrvpooDbhtiZUGdGTnU46QX1BoxhqX7xaklvSBiU4n5ZFg/s200/Australia.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian Fours Gold Medalists</td></tr>
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In the Men's Pairs the dominant force and defending champions Paul Foster and Alex Marshall were involved in an incredible match against Wales's Daniel Salmon and Marc Wyatt. Salmon and Wyatt were the eventual Commonwealth Champions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfAMo0NB6gQjnXiNUN-vVTON05uI4YwkJh5skvjpyHlRCrBf5UPCq8wrTmxe9PrE-ThQewT0thLK8KYQjeSGudY1KUZ3EgFsQt_EK-8eTNWMU_ztg6X58VLVdxCOpA3yeOJf6KMhj7C0/s1600/wales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="884" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfAMo0NB6gQjnXiNUN-vVTON05uI4YwkJh5skvjpyHlRCrBf5UPCq8wrTmxe9PrE-ThQewT0thLK8KYQjeSGudY1KUZ3EgFsQt_EK-8eTNWMU_ztg6X58VLVdxCOpA3yeOJf6KMhj7C0/s200/wales.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welsh Pair take Gold</td></tr>
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Monday also saw the start of sectional play in the Women's Pairs and Men's Singles and drama unfolded with some shock results.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJXRMRIzDPd0-WTc1ySkVWF0gewWFrwFwdL6XBgTqgi2KrXvTOrrTxsLHNgSBU811bdbHwgt6iO0EilpmXE_o1dBVBw_W_YAlh0GvwSIni-1c8kGTUuaSxthc4i54JAglp3xQEvIeHqU/s1600/30582288_10155626809923506_8322508876618662065_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="746" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJXRMRIzDPd0-WTc1ySkVWF0gewWFrwFwdL6XBgTqgi2KrXvTOrrTxsLHNgSBU811bdbHwgt6iO0EilpmXE_o1dBVBw_W_YAlh0GvwSIni-1c8kGTUuaSxthc4i54JAglp3xQEvIeHqU/s200/30582288_10155626809923506_8322508876618662065_n.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Newell ecstatic to beat<br />
England's Robert Paxton </td></tr>
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It is the fist time that Jamaica has competed in the Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls and in the singles they are being represented by South Londoner and Jamaican national, Andrew Newell.<br />
Andrew has attracted a lot of interest not only in the run up to the games with TV interviews but also on the Gold Coast. It is a truly inspirational "Cool Runnings" story and he has done a great deal to enhance the sport of bowls not only in Jamaica and the Caribbean but also in the UK - it is not very often bowls features on Sky News and BBC Breakfast.<br />
The enormity of his task was evident in his very first Commonwealth match when he unfortunately lost to current World Champion, Shannon Mcilroy 21-0. The second match was not much better and he lost to Kenya 21-2. However, he slept on the experience and then rocked up on Tuesday morning to produce a shock result beating Robert Paxton of England 21-16. He now goes into Wednesday's final sectional match with 2 wins and 2 loses.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXElez51iay-MVnEiTitMnhj6jYXJiQbBilVcc9jqZMdW4lEq41Ww4wOMqCOk9j8NIMnSpt8Yyd8z6iAfT-htxfmHB0zMlu66JACgPPukJE638cAwE8Gyb6mHcEBOiUJ6Er82VUo8P_18/s1600/cookislands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXElez51iay-MVnEiTitMnhj6jYXJiQbBilVcc9jqZMdW4lEq41Ww4wOMqCOk9j8NIMnSpt8Yyd8z6iAfT-htxfmHB0zMlu66JACgPPukJE638cAwE8Gyb6mHcEBOiUJ6Er82VUo8P_18/s200/cookislands.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cook Islands win first ever medal</td></tr>
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Also on Monday, history was made as the Cook Islands won their very first Commonwealth Medal of any colour in the Men's Pairs claiming a Bronze by beating Malta 17-11. Another inspirational story from the Lawn Bowls event.<br />
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From an officiating point of view, I have had a couple of easy rides the last couple of days with Time Keeping and Paddle Holder duties on Monday and a single Marking duty on Tuesday.<br />
I marked for Pairs Gold Medalist, Daniel Salmon from Wales against Taiki Paniani from the Cook Islands. Daniel came out winner 21-17.<br />
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We are now building up to the culmination of the competition on Friday and our duties for the final two days are not yet decided. Tomorrow I have one umpiring duty in the evening session.</div>
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-91782299741008107412018-04-08T23:27:00.000+01:002018-04-08T23:27:05.601+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - The Carnival Continues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s1600/IMG_0795.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzfX0oWFNTU_gbhhal8qQI9BUYketWhetnh6qRcA10SVJmqkAjvj4Efqkb0bzw6v_yDaUiwVR8LlZA0RijMQuagb0BB3HDh9ABbqNlO6FfMd-UaJDQAatx0M2WebjJweNrMAPn0jLoLs/s200/IMG_0795.PNG" width="135" /></a></div>
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The lawn bowls competition at Gold Coast 2018 is hotting up both on and off the rinks as the games continue through Friday and Saturday.<br />
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On Friday I had two umpiring sessions back to back on green 2. The temperature increased during the day and copious amounts of suncream was doing little to prevent red legs developing.</div>
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The crowds have been increasing gradually with Saturday seeing an almost sell out crowd of over 2500 enthusiastic supporters.</div>
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Meanwhile, back home in Blighty it would appear that the tension is rising with our beloved national broadcaster for the lack of bowls coverage during the games broadcasts. Fans are taking to social media to vent their frustrations, various phone numbers and email links to people in power at Aunty Beeb are being posted and complaints submitted. It is a real shame as these games are showing the very best of this sport with young talent on therinks and enthusiastic celebratory crowds in the stands.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iJ0CkDGcZAS3TnwOiFkxYs9NjRC_BjKUPGGZj2LGQcwrRuAe6KyIZ3RlscdOq2F8wgPtDIaWeYqcd_q1a-USD7RLvoQl0d23NYLQAskmAHShU_pAYmv0G2hbKPAJ76Da60TDJq56La4/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iJ0CkDGcZAS3TnwOiFkxYs9NjRC_BjKUPGGZj2LGQcwrRuAe6KyIZ3RlscdOq2F8wgPtDIaWeYqcd_q1a-USD7RLvoQl0d23NYLQAskmAHShU_pAYmv0G2hbKPAJ76Da60TDJq56La4/s200/IMG_0819.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scotland's Gold Medalists</td></tr>
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The business end of the Mens Triples and Ladies Singles culminated in the finals on Sunday. </div>
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In the men’s triples the gold medal match was contested by Scotland and Australia and in a tight battle Scotland were triumphant. The tiny island of Norfolk Islands took the Bronze medal from Canada.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM89kMXEQ88ED_9r5FISepiOBjmVxJUKvQdMfcYMGbWaKXHeNgYIHjua4CHKjBmYzwNBlmyItafMkSrK3jURtZx64Yc2lLMxEYi6OcvEh3SpvPcGb2XvwwSBKsEC6QYcZTVk_eYoaBkkM/s1600/IMG_0818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM89kMXEQ88ED_9r5FISepiOBjmVxJUKvQdMfcYMGbWaKXHeNgYIHjua4CHKjBmYzwNBlmyItafMkSrK3jURtZx64Yc2lLMxEYi6OcvEh3SpvPcGb2XvwwSBKsEC6QYcZTVk_eYoaBkkM/s200/IMG_0818.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jo Edwards, Gold Medal.<br />Photo: Alis Butten <br />Sporting highlights</td></tr>
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In the ladies singles, there was a shock exit for Australia’s Karen Murphyin the quarter finals, Karen has consistently represented her country in medal matches in both commonwealth and world championships. She was beaten by Colleen Piketh of South Africa who then proceeded to beat Canada to take the bronze medal. The gold medal was taken by Jo Edwards of New Zealand with Wales’s Laura Daniels taking the silver.<br />
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On Sunday the English ITOs had a free day and so we rented a car and took a trip into the stunning Springbrook National Park. We followed this by a visit to one of the finest bowls complexes in the country, Tweed Heads. It is sinply vast with 4 outdoor greens and an indoor green plus 4 restaurants and numerous lounges and gaming areas. We had an incredible meal at the club before returning refreshed for another day of action on Monday.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7FDRK3cB7SN-DWbDCUzbVhJEFD56aaawclz6lhpMOXHcvKNrY6xJEhpinetne-MNcyjgu-3Bl8zcdMOWn9rto1Mwv4gyXgpAQ_Cl6oCsa8t592GKkwI_-X2SKDiKcDAUmuB6fgsRTQg/s1600/IMG_0816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7FDRK3cB7SN-DWbDCUzbVhJEFD56aaawclz6lhpMOXHcvKNrY6xJEhpinetne-MNcyjgu-3Bl8zcdMOWn9rto1Mwv4gyXgpAQ_Cl6oCsa8t592GKkwI_-X2SKDiKcDAUmuB6fgsRTQg/s200/IMG_0816.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natural Bridge<br />Springbrook National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhEhdgfW5PfnRB7r62CIURwqt6rtVkE1jwnaRUBOowKMOAj4q3b_-n1riNcnwYJ80jyDRtVjhDd7QBHNG4Txffi7smXyrsLcohseZExaODf9fUIAdBNVksfMFxN1pHY9xVRzBxuzK7tU/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhEhdgfW5PfnRB7r62CIURwqt6rtVkE1jwnaRUBOowKMOAj4q3b_-n1riNcnwYJ80jyDRtVjhDd7QBHNG4Txffi7smXyrsLcohseZExaODf9fUIAdBNVksfMFxN1pHY9xVRzBxuzK7tU/s200/IMG_0817.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purling Brook Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdS6mKTno9pX96UNTA2yAca3-L1VOnAnWzBCnktXBhyQdJQiSS1WYiMOLFAdZ7JL10JEfcG5xjG3wbrDOOXt9bcJ0AWhYgCasTdYJ2tJZdfXmF5jmG2WO3cHmhL9gz4HNmjQS6Dew0_U/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdS6mKTno9pX96UNTA2yAca3-L1VOnAnWzBCnktXBhyQdJQiSS1WYiMOLFAdZ7JL10JEfcG5xjG3wbrDOOXt9bcJ0AWhYgCasTdYJ2tJZdfXmF5jmG2WO3cHmhL9gz4HNmjQS6Dew0_U/s320/IMG_0814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing Tweed Heads Bowls Clubs<br />looking like something out of Tron</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiquKv__kBeqg01ceYMYygBRrzIVDnkvVEkYXQclJ9O6cqtCDNDXyDlPaHw8DVDlCOA1jt6Gqy4zD0tnfKnl_xTP_p-mmr-g7XGJ6j9hwEhIG_ASb2nIplSPQbDGLB5w94M-wIAXvdTd8U/s1600/IMG_0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiquKv__kBeqg01ceYMYygBRrzIVDnkvVEkYXQclJ9O6cqtCDNDXyDlPaHw8DVDlCOA1jt6Gqy4zD0tnfKnl_xTP_p-mmr-g7XGJ6j9hwEhIG_ASb2nIplSPQbDGLB5w94M-wIAXvdTd8U/s320/IMG_0813.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-27492337435632438442018-04-06T08:05:00.001+01:002018-04-06T08:15:09.959+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - Day 4 - Competition Starts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And so it begins, The greatest showcase of the sport of Lawn Bowls on the biggest stage - The XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia.<br />
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After a late night at the Opening Ceremony of the games and barely 5 hours sleep, we are up a raring to go on the first day of competition. We arrive at the venue at 7:30 am and once the greens are prepared by the amazing team of greenkeepers it is up to the ITO's to go out and time the 4 competition greens. All were running around the 14 second mark on this first morning. This slower pace is hardly surprising with the amount of rain that has fallen in the Gold Coast in the past weeks. Hopefully the pace will pick up if we get a run of dry weather. The pace of the rinks is measured by delivering bowls to a distance of 27 metres from the mat and timing how long that takes. Confusingly, the quicker the rink the longer it takes the bowl to reach the jack and so an 18 second green will be faster than a 14 second green.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7XYfyrbZTU7zix_PjkSrWfdMk9AW3ZixAPqKhF0Ro9x9IvHFKrvVsFt-6aQI9Q7n02naQt7FtghTEN4wCeFBON3Y5v-Do1L0598Fvgp36hEgP1nsicTmK1VXWW9KsQJ57g2t-3TNsFVc/s1600/IMG_3405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7XYfyrbZTU7zix_PjkSrWfdMk9AW3ZixAPqKhF0Ro9x9IvHFKrvVsFt-6aQI9Q7n02naQt7FtghTEN4wCeFBON3Y5v-Do1L0598Fvgp36hEgP1nsicTmK1VXWW9KsQJ57g2t-3TNsFVc/s320/IMG_3405.JPG" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marking on the TV Rink, IRL v RSA<br />
Photo courtesy of <br />
Alis Butten Sporting Highlights</td></tr>
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On Thursday 5th the competition kicked off with the Men's Triples sectional play and the womens singles sectional play. My first duty at 9 am was as Umpire on green 4. There was a mix of games being played on this green including the Womens singles match between Laura Daniels of Wales and Lucy Beere of Guernsey and the Mens triples which saw England play Papua New Guinea.<br />
The next session I was Marking on the TV rink 12. An excellent match between Colleen Piketh from South Africa against Catherine Beattie of Northern Ireland. It started as a pretty uneventful match which was evenly balanced with Catherine just going ahead towards the half way stage. The wind started to pick up a bit and the clouds moved in. We had rink side advertising hoardings being blown across the rinks followed by the most incredible downpour which resulted in play being suspended for about 40 minutes. I have never seen rain like it, at one stage we couldn't see the other end of the rink as it was so heavy. We all got soaked. Incredibly the greens, despite being severely flooded, drained very quickly and we were back on playing soon after the rain stopped. Unfortunately for Catherine the rain delay affected her game and she failed to take advantage of her initial lead and Colleen went on to dominate the second half coming out with a 21 - 13 win.<br />
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After a session break and an attempt to dry off, I was back out for the final session of the day as a "Paddle Holder" on green 4. Paddle holders are basically on the rinks to show the shots during the ends of team games. I was allocated an interesting a closely fought game between Canada and Guernsey in the Men's Triples.<br />
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With a late finish of around 9:30pm and still a little soggy from the morning drenching, it was back to our accommodation to dry off. We are provided with a lunch ticket if we are working certain in the morning and a dinner ticket if working in the afternoon, unfortunately all we are provided with is a sandwich or a roll!! Our next door neighbour invited us for a snack when we got back which was a welcome gesture. He had cooked an amazing curry dish and 5 of us enjoyed his cuisine over a glass of red.<br />
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<br />Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-26348966179710580892018-04-06T07:07:00.002+01:002018-04-06T07:07:31.993+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - Day 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wednesday 4th April marked the official start of the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.<br />
For us ITO's it was a bit of a lazy day in preparation for the opening ceremony in the evening.<br />
We did have some jobs to do at the venue and we made out way down from our accommodation for around 10:30. There were a few questions from the ITO meeting that needed answering and a clarification of a World Bowls ITO Procedure, so we all met up and had a meeting.<br />
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Once that was out the way we had a final check of some of the equipment and then the day was ours.<br />
After lunch in our favourite cafe we relaxed with a couple of small beers and a good old chat.<br />
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Many of us have not received our full uniforms, either working uniform of the form dress for the opening ceremony. There had been a glitch at the suppliers and delays in obtaining the working uniform were inevitably going to cause problems on our first working day.<br />
Whilst not required, it is nice to be able to dress up for the opening ceremony but we were unable to and instead most of us wore our casual wear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The English ITO's: From left to right: myself,<br />Angie Thompson, Dan Bluett and Ray Keen</td></tr>
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We met back at the venue at 5 pm to collect our tickets and a snack voucher. It was then a short walk to the Media Transport Mall to catch the bus to take us to the Carrara Stadium. After security checks we made our way to our seats. All Technical Officials were located in one stand so it was a good time to meet other sport officials. Our snack was a bit disappointing, a few crackers and cheese and a chocolate brownie - good job we opted for a cooked lunch!<br />
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There was some entertainment in the stadium in the run up to the official programme start and just before the start the heavens opened and we had a torrential downpour. Our plastic ponchos barely coped with the onslaught but on the whole we did manage to stay reasonably dry. Ironically the rain stopped just as the countdown reached zero and the show started.<br />
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Opening Ceremonies generally follow the same pattern each games and this was no exception. The show was enjoyable but it is always great to see the athletes parade into the arena - it's also a real geography lesson. The official part of the opening of the games sees the raising of the flags, the reading of the Queens message and the athletes oath. This year the sport of Lawn Bowls was honoured with the great Australian Karen Murphy reciting the oath together with member of the workforce and a Technical Official.<br />
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The Queen has handed to the duties of opening the game to the Prince of Wales and he delivered the Queens message to the millions watching. The message is delivered in the Queens Baton which had visited all of the Commonwealth countries in a 388 day journey.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan enjoyed his midnight BigMac</td></tr>
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After the ceremony we had to battle through the crowds to return to the coach park, unfortunately we were directed to the wrong place and had to battle our way back which split our group up. It was all a bit chaotic but eventually we were returned to the Broadbeach drop off point to walk back to our accommodation. as we only had a snack a few of us stopped at Macdonalds for a quick burger.<br />
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It was a late night and we had a 6:30 am alarm call ready for the first day of competition at the Lawn Bowls event.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-49166220774083923092018-04-04T00:58:00.003+01:002018-04-04T00:58:43.800+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a great nights sleep we are now fully refreshed and familiar with the timezone we find ourselves in.<br />
Our second day on the Gold Coast and today we had a meeting at the venue and our first look inside the impressive site.<br />
The ITO meeting was an opportunity to discuss the operational aspects of our role at these specific games. We all received a very nice welcome bag containing some merchandise, we also received our Technical Officials medal which all TOs in the games receive and a certificate.<br />
There are some ITO's attending their first games and all are excited to get going. There were the inevitable questions about the finer details.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbSbJiOG2ofPla4bneJUvCB1CGzpl0pFvELviZrs7u-UUYXEGeOgJ5855SB6R0jXXh3TpLjicIKOuRN1GwbV2R4alyW_xF7bCWazX4f9-AFeLy6pPioSYydDhrTC0HIhBsUimyjI-2pE/s1600/IMG_3347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbSbJiOG2ofPla4bneJUvCB1CGzpl0pFvELviZrs7u-UUYXEGeOgJ5855SB6R0jXXh3TpLjicIKOuRN1GwbV2R4alyW_xF7bCWazX4f9-AFeLy6pPioSYydDhrTC0HIhBsUimyjI-2pE/s200/IMG_3347.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The venue looks impressive</td></tr>
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After the meeting we took a familiarisation tour of the venue including the umpires kits and the ITO lounge where we would be based for the next 10 days. There are 4 competition greens which look superb. 2 rinks are dedicated to TV broadcast. It is certainly an impressive complex and we are all looking forward to working there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrhnaMqU_l_F5ZauJ9nT57KIIlc71nGpmbyW1gY-zXOleDLH7hRTm7uxDDPdHpoCR1-S377r58VeR6VRgm9bMu8OsZ9AE9mfELoL9gQv-jaTo-Fyhsg_WcaxtMLDGSMWvUPbH7XRWDlw/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrhnaMqU_l_F5ZauJ9nT57KIIlc71nGpmbyW1gY-zXOleDLH7hRTm7uxDDPdHpoCR1-S377r58VeR6VRgm9bMu8OsZ9AE9mfELoL9gQv-jaTo-Fyhsg_WcaxtMLDGSMWvUPbH7XRWDlw/s200/IMG_3346.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A discussion about something!!</td></tr>
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There are 4 sessions per day on most days and we received our initial rota of duties which have been shared out equally and fairly.<br />
There are 5 types of duties:<br />
<ul>
<li>Umpire, 2 per green</li>
<li>Marker, for singles</li>
<li>Time Keeper, should slow play regulations be enforced</li>
<li>Paddle Holder, basically lollipops for team games, and</li>
<li>Rover, spare officials to cover any requirements for measures and collection of scorecards.</li>
</ul>
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Our first sessions start at 8:45am on Thursday. I will be umpiring on green 4 and then straight on to Mark a singles tie on rink 12. We all have a day off and mine is Sunday.</div>
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After the tour it was time for a bit of lunch which we had at a local cafe. Ray, Angie, Dan and I then traveled down to Burleigh Heads to collect some Bowls Shoes from Aero. Initially we were going to attempt public transport as our accreditation gives us free travel. Unfortunately we couldn't figure it out so we called a taxi instead. On the way back we got stuck in some heavy traffic due to the Queens Baton Relay coming through Broadbeach. We opted to jump out of the taxi and walk the rest and it gave us the opportunity to see the Baton come past.</div>
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The Queens Baton travels to all the commonwealth nations and contains the Queens opening ceremony speech and her message to the commonwealth. It is a true honour to carry the Baton.</div>
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After a couple of beers back at the Cafe we ventured out for some dinner.</div>
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Wednesday is the official start of the games with the Opening Ceremony in the evening which we will all be attending hopefully in our dress uniform if it arrives in time.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktOQWQdiJ7zm-p6Zaapcu6UYiS9ExvalcM8prnIo3tChXauhJfXUf6Wo58q1cVVR00l0wVDrTVV7r5hbh8tcASxrBIcBBDvqmz76q-BHEvF25HOLXAUydgiPssoKQrmNUt2EvNaFGDUU/s1600/IMG_3367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktOQWQdiJ7zm-p6Zaapcu6UYiS9ExvalcM8prnIo3tChXauhJfXUf6Wo58q1cVVR00l0wVDrTVV7r5hbh8tcASxrBIcBBDvqmz76q-BHEvF25HOLXAUydgiPssoKQrmNUt2EvNaFGDUU/s320/IMG_3367.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the Games Mascot, Borobi.<br />we bumped into Sandra McLeish</td></tr>
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<br />Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-79848915222212112172018-04-02T12:42:00.002+01:002018-04-02T23:48:57.902+01:00Gold Coast 2018 - arrival day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGDUZrHNCHbXZ-JUsGfNS0DsioI78-g9mtXXRzyBYktS9rJuR6Hyl6GAydK_O6zZNxlEEsY8UNG-3fsTjr7iBWS1JPckaox6KjToW1VydtQa2PFfyZo_oiIbGqgNy7H92w6P1L_LkOIs/s1600/IMG_0795.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGDUZrHNCHbXZ-JUsGfNS0DsioI78-g9mtXXRzyBYktS9rJuR6Hyl6GAydK_O6zZNxlEEsY8UNG-3fsTjr7iBWS1JPckaox6KjToW1VydtQa2PFfyZo_oiIbGqgNy7H92w6P1L_LkOIs/s200/IMG_0795.PNG" width="135" /></a></div>
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The XXI Commonwealth Games 2018 are almost here and the International Technical Officials arrived today from around the globe.<br />
After a long flight from Blighty, Ray Keen, Angie Thompson, Dan Bluett and I arrived into Brisbane. The passport, customs and baggage process was extremely slick and we were out waiting for our transport in no time.<br />
We were transported the 90 minute journey to the Gold Coast and checked in to our service apartments located right opposite the lawn bowls venue.<br />
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Today was spent trying to remain awake, collecting what little uniform was available due to a delay in shipments and greeting each other like long lost friends.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcvRHTQlVP7jEALLi6ufmBIEazX75W8hDqmdBj1A8cB9iIe6Twt2sxP0FdbEyE4NM62Rd8WOAatSTQjYECJNLne4luU1cnbrG_WviI1D4waY96wDaGoTe_GWDe2hARmqlY-ssfwdA1yY/s1600/IMG_3333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcvRHTQlVP7jEALLi6ufmBIEazX75W8hDqmdBj1A8cB9iIe6Twt2sxP0FdbEyE4NM62Rd8WOAatSTQjYECJNLne4luU1cnbrG_WviI1D4waY96wDaGoTe_GWDe2hARmqlY-ssfwdA1yY/s200/IMG_3333.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Broadbeach Bowls Venue from<br />our balcony</td></tr>
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Our validation passes have been checked and laminated and these now allow us entry to the lawn bowls venue at Broadbeach. The venue looks incredible from above and tomorrow we will get the chance to explore inside.<br />
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We have had a stroll into town to get some provisions for our rooms - I am sharing with WBT colleague Dan Bluett.<br />
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I will endeavour to update this blog as much as I can during the event so please come back and read the next edition and feel free to share on social media.<br />
Early night tonight to try and beat the jet lag so over and out from Broadbeach Queensland for now.<br />
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<br />Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-66654780848459414562017-01-11T17:30:00.003+00:002017-01-11T17:31:11.236+00:00World Indoor Bowls 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Just World Indoor Bowls Championships commence tomorrow (Thursday 12th January) at the Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk.<br />
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I will be officiating at the event from Saturday 21st for the final week of play leading up to the Open Singles Final on Sunday 29th. We have an excellent team of Officials working the 18 day tournament two of which are making their World Championship debut; Dan McManus from Scotland and Tony Hatch from England. The usual old faces of myself and Mike Davies will also be joined by Francis Fletcher and Dan Bluett from England and Tom Weir from Scotland (the Shot Clock Guru!)<br />
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All of the matches played on the famous Portable Rink will be streamed live from the afternoon of Friday 13th January on the <a href="http://www.worldbowlstour.tv/" target="_blank">World Bowls Tour Website</a>. Then from Monday 23rd our good friends from the BBC will be broadcasting live throughout the week.<br />
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So enjoy the matches, I will see you on the rink on the second week. In the meantime take a look at the <a href="http://www.pottersbowls.com/blog/bowls-umpire-allan-thornhill-on-the-best-match-hes-ever-umpired-players-holding-grudges-and-more/" target="_blank">Potters Bowls Blog</a> for a short interview article where I answer questions on the best match i've ever umpired, players holding grudges and more.
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-50665544060582368832016-12-14T09:31:00.001+00:002016-12-14T15:13:38.896+00:00World Bowls 2016 - Monday 12th December<div class="MsoNormal">
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It’s all over. A fantastic World Bowl 2016 tournament
concluded on Sunday with the Men’s singles final followed by the medal
presentations and the closing ceremony.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Friday I had an easy afternoon session as a scoreboard
attendant, keeping the scoreboard up to date on the South Africa v Australia
Women’s Triples which was an entertaining game going the full distance with an
extra end. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christchurch Botanical Gardens</td></tr>
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Saturday, I had a day off but attended a Laws Committee meeting
in the morning. The World Bowls Laws Committee is responsible for maintaining
the Laws and development aspects of the world governing body and we had a
number of topics to discuss at the meeting. We will now go away and work in
more detail on some of those topics. In the afternoon I took the bus into the
city with my umpiring colleague Angie Thompson. It gave us a chance to see
again the devastation caused by the 2011 earthquake and to visit bits that I
did not see the first time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"185 Chairs" Memorial to those that lost their lives in 2011</td></tr>
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And so to Sunday. There was torrential rain over night and
the morning team awoke to find the greens at the Burnside Club underwater. Play
was suspended for 45 minutes whilst the greens team worked hard to clear the
water and prepare the TV rink for play. I had a leisurely morning, relaxed, had
a late breakfast and made my way to the venue at 11:00 in preparation for the
1pm singles final.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The final itself was a great game between Shannon McIlroy
from New Zealand and Ryan Bester of Canada. It was not too taxing as neither
played asked too many questions. I felt I performed well and indeed comments
from my colleagues and World Bowls officials were very positive. Shannon can
out the winner and the World Champion which also put the New Zealand Team ahead
in the Team Championship.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunday evening we enjoyed mingling with the many players and
officials and volunteers at a cocktail evening. Good laugh and a great chance
to wind down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homeward bound from Auckland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The long journey home started Monday afternoon leaving the accommodation
at College House at 2pm. I will arrive back home to my family at midday on
Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been a great tournament and I have been pleased with
my duties and the way I have worked with the team.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you are interested, the video of the final and other
matches can be found on the World Bowls 2016 You Tube channel<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc5BRBpERro">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc5BRBpERro</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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My next event will be the World Indoor Championships at
Potters Leisure Resort at the end of January. Until next time, many thanks for
reading my blog and for your kind comments.<o:p></o:p></div>
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-1698365834798379922016-12-08T09:13:00.000+00:002016-12-08T09:13:07.589+00:00World Bowls 2016 - Thursday 8th December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Southern Alps</td></tr>
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Into week two of the World Championships here in
Christchurch. On Monday there was no play and so 4 of us had booked an escorted
tour of the Southern Alps in and around Arthurs Pass. We traveled by train
through the Canterbury plains before climbing into the stunning alpine terrain.
We were then taken on short hikes in the mountains before returning by car to
Christchurch. It was an incredible day and we witnessed some amazing scenery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christchurch Cathedral destroyed<br />in the 2011 Earthquake</td></tr>
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Vic Perry and I had the chance to wander around Christchurch
at the weekend and we were both astounded at the level of destruction caused by
the 2011 earthquake. However, the city is rebuilding and there are many new and
restored buildings being completed. There is still a lot that has been
flattened and converted to car parking. It does seem that spirits are high in
the city and there is a commitment to rebuild. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aussie colleague Mark Cowen. The smug look<br />was soon wiped off his place in the Trashers Match</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also at the weekend, we played the Trashers Match; Australia ITOs versus English ITOs. Just a bit of fun on the championship rinks which started way back in 2006 in Melbourne. I am pleased to say that the 4 English ITO's beat the Aussies at their own game on their own speed greens, a great achievement which has earned them a good deal of stick from their fellow country folk!</div>
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The competition restarted on Tuesday with the sectional play
for Men’s Fours and Singles and Women’s pairs and Triples. Back to early alarm
calls we are again working 3 sessions of 3 hours per day. Unfortunately it
seems whenever we are on the rink the weather takes a turn for the worse and
the temperature drops. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were grey overcast and
windy with intermittent drizzle – I thought it was supposed to be summertime in
the southern hemisphere!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have had a fair share of umpiring, marking and time
keeping duties the past three days. The time keeping job is a bit like a
session off but keeping an eye on progress at the same time. It is also a
session where we look after our colleagues with Tea and Coffee about half time.
In the conditions of play for this tournament there is a Slow Play regulation
which basically controls the movement of players to avoid undue delays during
the game. We monitor the progress of the game to ensure that they reach the
half way point after 90 minutes. Any that are falling behind because they are
playing a little slower are reminded gently to pick up the pace. The time
keeper is available should a team opt to complain about their opponents should
they be playing so slowly that they will not finish the game in the allotted 3
hour period. The regulations are quite complex in this regard and it is our job
as time keepers to keep a close eye on the players and penalise should they be
taking far too long.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As we approach this weekend, we are coming to the
Semi-Finals and finals of the Men’s and Women’s disciplines mentioned earlier.
Officials have now been allocated duties for the remaining 3 days. I am truly honoured
to have been chosen to Mark the Men’s Singles final on Sunday afternoon; an
occasion that will be up there with Marking the Commonwealth Games Final in
2002.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Monday it will all be over and I start making the long
trek back home to my lovely family, who I have missed but have managed to keep
in contact with via FaceTime and Phone. My last blog from the games will be Monday
12<sup>th</sup> as I recap on the finals weekend and prepare for the journey
home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always if you have any questions please get in touch and
I will endeavor to answer them.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDe7679Ly5dxWQedU5OWX8SNu7o-oeWl4h234Kp8UuIqQ091pWprMrc0a6GILmU757DxQIIN5bE92B117GVP-Ya11IHrcGQlKCfWL_UNsMlmyGoWDaysECDqwlyhxJ8VI-g3DSY31ZHg/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDe7679Ly5dxWQedU5OWX8SNu7o-oeWl4h234Kp8UuIqQ091pWprMrc0a6GILmU757DxQIIN5bE92B117GVP-Ya11IHrcGQlKCfWL_UNsMlmyGoWDaysECDqwlyhxJ8VI-g3DSY31ZHg/s320/IMG_2133.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 of the 6 members of the World Bowls Laws Committee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-56415911248115025642016-12-03T09:56:00.002+00:002016-12-03T09:56:17.357+00:00World Bowls 2016 - Saturday 3rd December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhKLdiPfAKqOYryt_F_oTH3Aps5WDSe_yJmBk-OGqIfA3VGGIn0ygDruQP7v25fsfHyNm07O2xlcbfqvjbpfQvyEHMDSOq41Gr8OifMRWAkjxtqmU-iB2-xfm7QhGonlQ5I0N6dPGbLQ/s1600/EzyTicket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhKLdiPfAKqOYryt_F_oTH3Aps5WDSe_yJmBk-OGqIfA3VGGIn0ygDruQP7v25fsfHyNm07O2xlcbfqvjbpfQvyEHMDSOq41Gr8OifMRWAkjxtqmU-iB2-xfm7QhGonlQ5I0N6dPGbLQ/s320/EzyTicket.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Week one of competition concludes this weekend with the
finals of the Women’s Fours, Women’s singles, Men’s Pairs and Men’s Triples.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXW3XmAj2LL8C7ZIUMXU7No7J5zzjU7GHizXbEt4NPRFUanz_a3ypcTK60tgSLb-i5MrN7JSiwzO6iRL6fIwqxh78KvIzQOK9YkdO-xxFg6szVuuTEUbtVSI7JeQhhvebxWTsBPplxqTA/s1600/IMG_1864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXW3XmAj2LL8C7ZIUMXU7No7J5zzjU7GHizXbEt4NPRFUanz_a3ypcTK60tgSLb-i5MrN7JSiwzO6iRL6fIwqxh78KvIzQOK9YkdO-xxFg6szVuuTEUbtVSI7JeQhhvebxWTsBPplxqTA/s320/IMG_1864.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the team at Papanui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On Wednesday I was based at the Papanui Bowls Club venue
where I umpired the first session in the morning and Marked two singles ties in
the afternoon. The weather decided to take a turn for the worse and it was overcast
and drizzly. I had the pleasure of marking an excellent match between Karen
Murphy of Australia and Laura Daniels of Wales. I have marked for both players
many time before on the World Bowls Tour events. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our days are long. An alarm at 6:00am followed by breakfast
ready for a bus collection from the accommodation at 6:45am, sets us up for a
day approaching 10 hours at the bowls venues. In the evenings we are finding
local restaurants which have proved to be very nice. There is a great selection
of dining options just down the road from our accommodation. We are staying at
the University of Canterbury College <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAM8sY6fBFbkTDhAtW6kaHYnxkiJz6oYrVDDa0IL9TYp9k38-q-r_8kOjtffeSVFW3rwUsJ3uqosD_kF6lZCID6OYbVo-qs2iU4HnxHzcVNwomLg1YrUgWPfprT_cW-BkYRmggnpKwgk/s1600/IMG_1858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAM8sY6fBFbkTDhAtW6kaHYnxkiJz6oYrVDDa0IL9TYp9k38-q-r_8kOjtffeSVFW3rwUsJ3uqosD_kF6lZCID6OYbVo-qs2iU4HnxHzcVNwomLg1YrUgWPfprT_cW-BkYRmggnpKwgk/s320/IMG_1858.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our accommodation blocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
House which is basic but comfortable. We
are staying in dorms of 5 rooms with shared bathroom facilities which means we
are planning our early morning showers with military precision. There is a
common room where we can relax, watch TV, eat, drink and socialise. Also on
Campus are the Bowls New Zealand team and the Hong Kong China team.<br />
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On Thursday and Friday the temperature plummeted and the
rain continued, there were a couple of sessions where I has as cold as I ever
can remember on a bowls green. The games on Friday reached the first knockout
stages. In the morning I was a scoreboard attendant for the Australia v
Scotland Womens Fours match which was an excellent game despite the wet
conditions. There was a bit of confusion in the afternoon session as I should
have been a shot indicator for the Men’s Pairs but I got bumped and so had the afternoon
free. It was all fine with me as it took me most of the afternoon to thaw out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The greens are fast here at the three venues. One of our
roles in the mornings is to time the greens but delivery bowls to a distance of
27metres and seeing how long it takes. This is called the pace of the green and
stated in seconds. It gives the players a general idea how quick things are
running. Most of the greens are timed at 16 to 18 seconds with 17 being about
the average. To put that into perspective, it’s a similar pace to a fast indoor
rink in the UK but with the added complication of the wind playing havoc. On
Wednesday it was particularly windy and we even had jacks being moved by the
wind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oJBwnWarVe-gbpeziW3IJpdimBWQtKnx50YnlYWWqniWPIVaLflduwFpXRzu1Z_KmdBOCIFfBcQN0ylVF103ZHCho1GUCvZn4cq1TLY0xhn55uXBoARhivITx6SmGQkrJfClE8NwLY0/s1600/IMG_1901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oJBwnWarVe-gbpeziW3IJpdimBWQtKnx50YnlYWWqniWPIVaLflduwFpXRzu1Z_KmdBOCIFfBcQN0ylVF103ZHCho1GUCvZn4cq1TLY0xhn55uXBoARhivITx6SmGQkrJfClE8NwLY0/s320/IMG_1901.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Akaroa bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Today (Saturday) many of us had a free day as only a few
officials were needed for the two finals. It was an ideal opportunity to go out
and see some of New Zealand. Four of us opted to hire a car and take a
fantastic scenic drive to a small coastal village called Akaroa. It was a brilliant
day especially as the sun made an appearance. Sunday, I am again off and not involved in the remaining two
finals of this week. We are planning on going into Christchurch to learn more
about how the city is recovering from the devastating Earthquake.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am back in action for the start of the second week of the
competition on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If you have any questions of comments
about the championships then please enter them below and I will be happy to
answer them whilst at the event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">You can follow all the latest news
and results at <a href="http://www.worldbowls2016.com/"><span style="color: #7d181e; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.worldbowls2016.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-21283898954196811942016-11-29T08:45:00.003+00:002016-11-29T08:45:29.910+00:00World Bowls 2016 - Tuesday 29th November<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Tpb1FzhE8SbOG_bplcA6Cv5bXXYjdxv7dL6KoZ98klnqRRbbZ94NqJAuwuU3ZOOscQoejJdInwHlhDP_Lk5cIhyQmw8ZgcevwuEDMaoDomQT6ucgrFnxvJiA9l6QR6h4p1UEpPRH4Y/s1600/EzyTicket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Tpb1FzhE8SbOG_bplcA6Cv5bXXYjdxv7dL6KoZ98klnqRRbbZ94NqJAuwuU3ZOOscQoejJdInwHlhDP_Lk5cIhyQmw8ZgcevwuEDMaoDomQT6ucgrFnxvJiA9l6QR6h4p1UEpPRH4Y/s320/EzyTicket.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I can officially announce that New Zealand is a long way
from England!! I left cold damp Gatwick on Friday evening arriving in
Christchurch New Zealand at 3pm on Sunday afternoon a short 29 hour flight to
the other side of the planet. Jet Lag has not been a great issue, which is a
bit of a results as we were straight into work on Sunday afternoon with a tour
of the 3 main bowling venues for this World Championship. It has been great
meeting up with friends from Australia and New Zealand and other countries and
we all enjoyed a Chinese meal before calling it a day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33D3_z9et8NDRkOtG50vr7kipKCyd8DIDVF8lUseioKYprySe8qL_nicIe2ZRW90F1wJmXNyj6WD2bPk1GEWqnnoJYxRIR0EbdYLplF_Tbf2-xUFq3tAp6unppL5Ud8gnJMJv33a5bfQ/s1600/IMG_1814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33D3_z9et8NDRkOtG50vr7kipKCyd8DIDVF8lUseioKYprySe8qL_nicIe2ZRW90F1wJmXNyj6WD2bPk1GEWqnnoJYxRIR0EbdYLplF_Tbf2-xUFq3tAp6unppL5Ud8gnJMJv33a5bfQ/s320/IMG_1814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for a Bus - Some of my ITO Colleagues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On Monday morning after breakfast we held a meeting of all
the ITO’s. After the meeting we departed to the various venues to carry out the
final Bowl Registrations and check the umpires kits.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday afternoon was the opening ceremony. All the players
and officials were taken into the city centre where we marched behind a brass
band a short distance to the City Council Chambers. There we were entertained
by a traditional Maori welcome and some speeches. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday was the start of the competition itself. It’s an
early start for us officials as we are collected by minibus from our
accommodation at 6:45am and taken to our allocated venues. There are 3 venues
being used for these games; the main centre being Burnside Bowling Club with 3
impressive greens, Fendalton Bowls Club with 2 greens and a separate green a
short walk away called Canterbury Bowls Club and finally a delightfully named
Papanui Bowls Club with 2 greens.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLS9ZYJPvzWmXWuyQpBV1LctO3Lq3tA1_Zy-uAEnPXu9xHN2V0gxr6hys5ZlHJqtaoyg76codj1Wq0BjBXhMdIKl5Sb-ajEy7Qb-ny0kldvr_ZFjxJsS99Ho2enIkw9Umpa5JkrMieno/s1600/IMG_1857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLS9ZYJPvzWmXWuyQpBV1LctO3Lq3tA1_Zy-uAEnPXu9xHN2V0gxr6hys5ZlHJqtaoyg76codj1Wq0BjBXhMdIKl5Sb-ajEy7Qb-ny0kldvr_ZFjxJsS99Ho2enIkw9Umpa5JkrMieno/s320/IMG_1857.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing the TV rinks at Burnside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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During the early sectional play stages we are all working 3
sessions per day up until Thursday. The sessions start at 8:15, 12:15 and 15:45
and all games are played to a 3 hour time limit. There are 34 Officials
representing 7 countries working at this 2 week event. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I started today at the Fendalton Club at 8:15 with a session
as a time keeper, more on that later in the week, followed by a marking session
at 12:15 and then an umpiring session to end the day. This afternoon I marked
for two delightful ladies from Kenya and Fiji and this was followed by an
umpiring session with the Mens’ Pairs. The late afternoon session was
particularly challenging for the players as the wind was strong and with a very
slick green it made controlling the bowls very different. There was some World
Class players on the rink and the conditions were making them look like
amateurs which was proving very frustrating for them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefh7oildsJfjZyN309YXDIwhMHq0awKWo5PKb-R7OqVJI9NlZW4SIMfXtbWpIV8BFk1AyTlphhCKuSHtlwBKdSX4bqNORo8BVP_xKhvofx3HVOOsd5ydteK3wy9rCrIRHj7oqoLfKbK4/s1600/IMG_1816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefh7oildsJfjZyN309YXDIwhMHq0awKWo5PKb-R7OqVJI9NlZW4SIMfXtbWpIV8BFk1AyTlphhCKuSHtlwBKdSX4bqNORo8BVP_xKhvofx3HVOOsd5ydteK3wy9rCrIRHj7oqoLfKbK4/s320/IMG_1816.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ITO Uniform modeled by<br />Vic Perry from England</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will be officiating at Papanui Bowls Club for the 3 sessions. <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you have any questions of comments about the championships then please enter them below and I will be happy to answer them whilst at the event.</div>
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You can follow all the latest news and results at <a href="http://www.worldbowls2016.com/">www.worldbowls2016.com</a></div>
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Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-69875356834561723052016-09-30T20:39:00.001+01:002016-09-30T20:39:39.785+01:00World Bowls 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvz-I9a7m4d2ptm35NKynUXqKiNElT1_kPTbyGHi_8X8EZUxOOfLz_PsTU9ZFkV2kMzhdPRnuJWB3b-frd2KiWwCwlyPlVQ7J7sylNKKxU_ehYaI3HG_XNvqhEM_wH_k6DLxoiCb4Jqc/s1600/World+Bowls+Horizontal+Logo.highres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvz-I9a7m4d2ptm35NKynUXqKiNElT1_kPTbyGHi_8X8EZUxOOfLz_PsTU9ZFkV2kMzhdPRnuJWB3b-frd2KiWwCwlyPlVQ7J7sylNKKxU_ehYaI3HG_XNvqhEM_wH_k6DLxoiCb4Jqc/s320/World+Bowls+Horizontal+Logo.highres.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
On November 25th I depart Gatwick Airport and embark on a 29 hour trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to officiate for the first time at a World Bowls Championships (Outdoor).<br />
<br />
I will be joining my English colleagues, Angie Watkins, Graham Gibbins and Vic Perry as well as 30 other International Technical Officials. It will also be the first time that I will be working with my 5 colleagues from the World Bowls Laws Committee.<br />
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I hope to be able to post some updates during the tournament and share some of the amazing experience of this four yearly World class jamboree of Bowls.<br />
<br />
Join be at the end of November for the latest from World Bowls 2016<br />
<br />Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-81326590237267243612014-08-02T10:29:00.002+01:002014-08-02T10:29:39.492+01:00Glasgow 2014 - Days 9 and 10<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMjltcpVYYqiyqaBHN8t_KwbiDpD0lS51rRJvOMR8b-GqQbcWIv1_b4F1UprueOJZtYAtT9AcJc51gwINvwHmyvkJEH4bTcNjL8kmWEhSRu0alc8-CeciZMpli090yfCgg5MYOrXMihw/s1600/IMG_5005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMjltcpVYYqiyqaBHN8t_KwbiDpD0lS51rRJvOMR8b-GqQbcWIv1_b4F1UprueOJZtYAtT9AcJc51gwINvwHmyvkJEH4bTcNjL8kmWEhSRu0alc8-CeciZMpli090yfCgg5MYOrXMihw/s1600/IMG_5005.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of culture in the Kelvingrove Museum </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday was the culmination of 9 days of hard work and good
fun. There were 3 medal matches played through the day. Having already
officiated in a Gold Medal match, when I did the Pairs, I was not needed for the
final day. We had a nice relaxing morning and then took a leisurely walk down
through the parks to the venue at Kelvingrove. Spent a little time in the
Kelvingrove Art Museum and listened to an organ recital whilst enjoying a
coffee and a sticky bun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Myself, Daryl & Graham decided we would watch the two
medal matches in the afternoon. We took our places in the centre of the main
stand which was reserved for technical officials and other accredited people.
We were right at the front and could see both the Fours Gold medal match
between England and Scotland and the Bronze medal match between Australia and
India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyC_kuQSHpZvf6P9l55qUse0Cjlre52oyZlmf6fllrFqGyFjZnW_EYkyD4-OK-p3SbUx2_J4um8B766EpIrzPt9F1tVPMYmDkr2unE4BbOLTGaDq2znMPIS7vI4BR36p6moGG_cq8y9zI/s1600/IMG_5051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyC_kuQSHpZvf6P9l55qUse0Cjlre52oyZlmf6fllrFqGyFjZnW_EYkyD4-OK-p3SbUx2_J4um8B766EpIrzPt9F1tVPMYmDkr2unE4BbOLTGaDq2znMPIS7vI4BR36p6moGG_cq8y9zI/s1600/IMG_5051.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australia took Bronze, James Irwin Umpiring.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">India had performed superbly during the games especially as
a developing bowls nation and to find themselves leading Australia for a medal
showed their dedication of level of improvement. Unfortunately for them they
didn’t have the experience to finish the game off and Australia claimed the
Bronze medal after playing an extra end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the Gold medal match, the machine that is Scotland
dominated. The formidable force of Alex Marshall, Paul Foster, Neil Speirs and David
Peacock was just too powerful for the English quartet. I managed to get some
decent photos from my vantage point. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6DSc1ljT3pWP3iXxTg2VO9qshFhGFwif4GTCfhpmsLd70BY4_9WbtTliUtw0NRCBnJpgoKZlMzJ6tUqwornpnv_UKkp0fkRCyi1e09Anwig4-_pPKARx4mI1hbCw1JZZIG6m7s5izio/s1600/IMG_5049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6DSc1ljT3pWP3iXxTg2VO9qshFhGFwif4GTCfhpmsLd70BY4_9WbtTliUtw0NRCBnJpgoKZlMzJ6tUqwornpnv_UKkp0fkRCyi1e09Anwig4-_pPKARx4mI1hbCw1JZZIG6m7s5izio/s1600/IMG_5049.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prince Edward is a great supporter of Bowls.</td></tr>
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About half way through the game there was
some random applause from the crowd and when I looked to see what it was about,
Prince Edward was entering the stands. He sat just two rows back from me. I
managed to get a couple of photos and a pretty poor attempt at a selfie. At the
end of the match, Graham called up to his assistants and gave them one of our
umpires badges for which he was grateful and chatted to us for a short while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The evening game was the Men’s Singles final with Scotland’s
Darren Burnett playing against Ryan Bester from Canada. We were disappointed for
our mate Graham for not getting the opportunity to Mark the match but he was an
umpire for the game. It is the highest accolade a Lawn Bowls Umpire can get to
Mark a Commonwealth or World Final and I was proud to have achieved that in
Manchester in 2002. Scotland yet again dominated the match and beat Ryan quite
comfortably with a 21-9 scoreline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHZjukl7lwdMtIeJIst5PUNKrMjHfFSvMhL4NRGYlY9bgLRruTOYdNf7aEfo2QeLx-LcWPQAc8F1VKqUy_I1GGbsKdgj-LXlRM4-o8SVVXfJuACvOocKuUZkr62oRuWLaBiUomxyP_04/s1600/IMG_5081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHZjukl7lwdMtIeJIst5PUNKrMjHfFSvMhL4NRGYlY9bgLRruTOYdNf7aEfo2QeLx-LcWPQAc8F1VKqUy_I1GGbsKdgj-LXlRM4-o8SVVXfJuACvOocKuUZkr62oRuWLaBiUomxyP_04/s1600/IMG_5081.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team England can be proud of their achievements</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">England can hold their heads high with their success from
these games. Every one of the 11 men and women in the squad walks away with a
medal bettering their performance 4 years ago in Delhi. Overall in the Lawn
Bowls competition England finished third in the medal table behind South Africa
and Scotland. We finished with a Gold, 3 Silvers and 2 Bronze medals. Our total
medal count was just 1 less than South Africa so we finished second in that
respect but with 5 Golds’ the South African team finished top of the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday was a spare day in case competition was delayed by
rain or other factors. We have all been very surprised by the weather, indeed
we have had some very warm days which have even caught the Scots off guard. So
a lazy day was in order on Saturday and typically the only day we don’t have to
worry about going to the venue and can please ourselves and it throws it down
with rain all day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKIZhgzPni7G8DvAlIk2wOK3RIDD03PhMo0CJksSzqi4yOi7sGaQdQ10WB5sfRicVsbq0Jvs9H87Hnikwbg5xstBQ4ofXaP7WxPdI11gN4AIGlAffJWhysmFQPzakDdrXWuj0nLeeSSY/s1600/IMG_5063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKIZhgzPni7G8DvAlIk2wOK3RIDD03PhMo0CJksSzqi4yOi7sGaQdQ10WB5sfRicVsbq0Jvs9H87Hnikwbg5xstBQ4ofXaP7WxPdI11gN4AIGlAffJWhysmFQPzakDdrXWuj0nLeeSSY/s1600/IMG_5063.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best buddies - the International ITO's</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So as I write this final blog from the XX Commonwealth Games
in Glasgow on a wet Saturday, I look back at the great memories and the great
friendships and team spirit that Team ITO have had. Naturally, groups of people
bond with those they know best but overall the team, has bonded very well
throughout and it has been a pleasure working and living with some fantastic
people for the last 2 weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Can’t wait to get home to my family now and will be
travelling home Sunday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Glasgow 2014 has been one of the best and another fantastic
experience. I hope you have enjoyed my blogs and have found them of interest.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8L49mF40MsEnNfYZWYW5JY5OZ4wvmGWYyezooM9EDQCWvuFC-SItTqsPSvGECvudBG7EYK2_3goqRFJno4m8UDzS7y7Eg-l9wthI9-enVB2J3GgoOioozVTXbXQcGvbMPUYbUdZD_NY/s1600/00000000ND00514_Technical_O.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8L49mF40MsEnNfYZWYW5JY5OZ4wvmGWYyezooM9EDQCWvuFC-SItTqsPSvGECvudBG7EYK2_3goqRFJno4m8UDzS7y7Eg-l9wthI9-enVB2J3GgoOioozVTXbXQcGvbMPUYbUdZD_NY/s1600/00000000ND00514_Technical_O.JPG" height="255" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye from Glasgow 2014</td></tr>
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Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-87849974780527603562014-07-31T23:02:00.002+01:002014-07-31T23:02:45.383+01:00Glasgow 2014 - Days 7 and 8<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And so we reach the last couple of days of a fantastic bowls
tournament. All of the usual stereotypic media coverage has been blown out of
the water despite some attempts by some hacks to keep plugging away at the “old
age” storylines. It is reassuring to witness some of the young talent that has
been on display not only from the home countries and developed bowls nations
but also the up and coming nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n6U0AJu69MFUejTYmpljtQiIvA4nWodeLaBbAzHVQsTS_4CChAsY-wlLgt6vppr0PnQ6By0Lydcs29Q_EXqZzvxMmUguuvk8PaXoOsdfrJYFKYFt1BFD2HNRqxQBWVSA4SIgdc6-mu4/s1600/IMG_4931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n6U0AJu69MFUejTYmpljtQiIvA4nWodeLaBbAzHVQsTS_4CChAsY-wlLgt6vppr0PnQ6By0Lydcs29Q_EXqZzvxMmUguuvk8PaXoOsdfrJYFKYFt1BFD2HNRqxQBWVSA4SIgdc6-mu4/s1600/IMG_4931.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The River Kelvin</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Wednesday I was not working until the afternoon session
and so I had a bit of a chance to pop back into the City and do some last
minute gift purchasing for loving family who I have missed these last two
weeks. I went into town with Graham and we had a leisurely stroll around and a
coffee for the morning. We then took a walk back to the TO Village through the
park and botanical gardens along the beautiful River Kelvin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The afternoon session started and 3:45 and I was umpiring on
the back green out of the way of the hustle and bustle. There were quite a few
measures that I had to deal with which kept me busy. There was also some
altercation between two players as there was an accusation of “riding bowls” –
willing your opponents bowl to miss or be unsuccessful. Definitely not
etiquette. I didn’t need to get involved as it was sorted out with the players
and managers in the end. There is also very little I could have done in terms
of the laws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8 of us enjoyed a fantastic meal in an Italian restaurant in
a back street somewhere close to the village. Mark Cowan, one of our Aussie
colleagues had his daughter over travelling and spending a few days at the
games and she joined us for the meal. I am not really sure what she made of us
mad Poms but we did have a good laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Up early again for what was to be my final session of the
games on Thursday. I was allocated a marking duty in a Quarter Final of the Men’s
Singles between Darren Burnett of Scotland and Martin McHugh of Northern
Ireland. It promised on paper to be a fantastic tussle and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The crowd were standing 4 deep around the back of the green and the stand was
packed. It was a great atmosphere. The match went to the wire with the scores
level at 20 – 20 before Darren scored the final shot to earn a place in the
Semi-Final. Marty was naturally extremely disappointed not to win the game. He
is a true gentleman n and off the rink and it was an absolute pleasure to mark
for them both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the afternoon we three English Umpires played against our
three Australian colleagues in what has not become a regular fixture when we
meet called the “trashers match”. It was a great opportunity for us to relax,
unwind and try out the commonwealth greens, albeit the practice green. It was a
great laugh and to be honest the standard of bowling was shocking but we had
fun. We were even blessed with a very special spectator for some of the match –
Prince Edward stood and watched a few bowls being delivered but clearly was not
impressed and so left with a wave. We thrashed the Aussies by the way!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u42uH03_MfqKCMSTgNc9ehVXKMmDEwiMDPYGV09qyuDNzAR3PF6qcDu-WNqf0YAWYDpa73yWGuPdw7yh8jOwvHwP_fk0BRp6UnDwvDi6yXDho2-Pym-f_s0n_pcoTy0DwjRb-ALEGtc/s1600/IMG_4979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u42uH03_MfqKCMSTgNc9ehVXKMmDEwiMDPYGV09qyuDNzAR3PF6qcDu-WNqf0YAWYDpa73yWGuPdw7yh8jOwvHwP_fk0BRp6UnDwvDi6yXDho2-Pym-f_s0n_pcoTy0DwjRb-ALEGtc/s1600/IMG_4979.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aussie and English Umpires</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPmpIxyjMmm23YkV3PE5g3USoUMIs6k-aTE32xqAnZkoCll93kcmCSUdTaGsk9h9lYG_ZZz1ysCl40KOTunL-rOCOd3140Bl5RiFGDfl0Qdi4YoAYhY7aBWqDCpOvLBM9CfxtNK7_zgg/s1600/IMG_4962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPmpIxyjMmm23YkV3PE5g3USoUMIs6k-aTE32xqAnZkoCll93kcmCSUdTaGsk9h9lYG_ZZz1ysCl40KOTunL-rOCOd3140Bl5RiFGDfl0Qdi4YoAYhY7aBWqDCpOvLBM9CfxtNK7_zgg/s1600/IMG_4962.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Action in the Trashers Match</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were some important deciding matches played in the
afternoon session. The English Men’s four qualified for the Fours Final beating
India in the semi-final, they will play Scotland in the final on Friday.
Natalie Melmore and Jamie Lee Winch qualified for the final of the Ladies pairs
and will play South Africa on Friday. But the best new from today was the English
Ladies Triple of Sian Honnor, Ellen Faulkner and Sophie Tolchard winning the
Gold Medal by thumping the Australian girls 22 shots to 4. An amazing result
for England who had very little funding to support the elite squad in the build
up to these games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7L4Xgsaz9tTD2YwBcq2b6P6InIJtSfFQe3Qh9He0zxo1wF_hkcw2Bg_vC1D0x8vlWPVM0bGjWUhwg3XwAyn2GSHC11Gqtm7vE1OVOxwWt48CE-_rvmJrHK_HLLURyk7pNhkaFrYaAY_s/s1600/10339310_766993793364006_1923261184624928935_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7L4Xgsaz9tTD2YwBcq2b6P6InIJtSfFQe3Qh9He0zxo1wF_hkcw2Bg_vC1D0x8vlWPVM0bGjWUhwg3XwAyn2GSHC11Gqtm7vE1OVOxwWt48CE-_rvmJrHK_HLLURyk7pNhkaFrYaAY_s/s1600/10339310_766993793364006_1923261184624928935_o.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our proud Gold Medalists from L to R: Sophie Tolchard, Sian Honnor & Ellen Faulkner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The big game on Friday is the Gold Medal final of the Men’s
Singles and will be contested by Ryan Bester of Canada and Scotland’s Darren
Burnett. The stands will be packed and it will be noisy – a great showcase for
our sport. Let’s just hope that it gets some airtime on the main TV channels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As for me, my games is now over. I can relax and enjoy
Friday and the men’s final. It has been a very enjoyable games for me. I
managed to get through all the sessions without any major mistakes which is
always a bonus. My final report of the games will come on Sunday whilst on my
way home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please tune in Friday afternoon and support this fabulous
sport – one of only a few core Commonwealth Games sports.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-63344889709536174112014-07-30T09:08:00.002+01:002014-07-30T09:09:14.532+01:00Glasgow 2014 - Days 5 and 6<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KpmXc7VhKGzGFtie_YZc4DgJfyiCrP5v5kYZvVXJW5HHrB9WWPt1DhIseyoLKXLIsWpc8AdCO74o8kaYjsjsdi8Ewf9spVq6p5RpffcTg2atjrlBawBf0zqg_wb_PJP-xgVV1Ixwc4w/s1600/20140728_151525_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KpmXc7VhKGzGFtie_YZc4DgJfyiCrP5v5kYZvVXJW5HHrB9WWPt1DhIseyoLKXLIsWpc8AdCO74o8kaYjsjsdi8Ewf9spVq6p5RpffcTg2atjrlBawBf0zqg_wb_PJP-xgVV1Ixwc4w/s1600/20140728_151525_resized.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scotland win the Pairs with England taking the Bronze</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are in to the final week of the games now and on Monday
my only session of the day was the afternoon Men’s Pairs Gold Medal match. I
was one of the two umpires for this match between Scottish legends, Paul Foster
and Alex Marshall and Malaysia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The atmosphere at the venue was incredible with the main
stand and the rink side stand being completely full I had to pick my spot to
stand carefully to avoid abuse for blocking anybody’s view of the game. I think
it was predictable that Scotland would dominate this match but I don’t think
anyone could have predicted just how much they did dominate. It was not until
the 12<sup>th</sup> end of 18 that the Malaysians were able to add a score to
the board making it 19 – 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a couple of measures to do during the game one of
which needed assistance from my colleague and a long string. One of the leaning
bowls was wedged by the Malaysian lead using a cloth which must have looked
really good on TV!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Malaysians waved the white flag at 15 ends with a final
score of 20 shots to 3 at Alex and Paul added yet another medal to their
impressive haul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntgryvcRqhuo6uySkv9Uoz_a8YwBLQwg7tzpsjkqh-gusuBU3Fx5aBuWFQlBIGAjcrc9WMTQMptCMSJsM7W36xlZvT8lOLStshuwqmSPx8osWQVmHi_jlNgvYUrFzS1wZQ_YON5eZhCI/s1600/20140728_153205_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntgryvcRqhuo6uySkv9Uoz_a8YwBLQwg7tzpsjkqh-gusuBU3Fx5aBuWFQlBIGAjcrc9WMTQMptCMSJsM7W36xlZvT8lOLStshuwqmSPx8osWQVmHi_jlNgvYUrFzS1wZQ_YON5eZhCI/s1600/20140728_153205_resized.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew and Sam claim the Bronze medal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">England's pairing of Andrew Knapper and Sam Tolchard came away with the Bronze medal with is a fabulous achievement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We decided to walk home from the venue again and were joined
by local Alastair Douglas who is acting as deputy head ITO at the games. He
took us through the University which overlook the greens at Kelvingrove. What
an impressive building, stunning architecture and so much history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Tuesday it was another early start with breakfast at 6:30am
ready for the first bus to the venue at 6:55am. It was grey and overcast and
slightly drizzly so we didn’t hang about setting the greens and timing them
before a nice warm coffee. My first session was umpiring 2 rinks of Para-sport
Open Triples. Officiating for players with disabilities is an incredibly humbling
experience and you have to admire the players abilities. The Para-sport Open Triples
is open to mixed or single sex teams of 3 players with category B6, B7 and B8
disabilities. Some players are wheelchair bound and some have prosthetic limbs
or limbs missing. They play with two bowls each over 15 ends and can have
assistance on the green for wheelchair movement and placing the mat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqBal2erZwxKBEaVyqk_FTPu5z8gF9LPYr9aJ3GLbyDkRdb5RgyGV7knHmrrF2A3N8Z6DMw5kQjQuq5-3L-0rgFQ4ctxVfHC6GpBBh_xxBZ94BPYNqxUPVktTFyc_W43TK1cz4oklpNA/s1600/bob+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqBal2erZwxKBEaVyqk_FTPu5z8gF9LPYr9aJ3GLbyDkRdb5RgyGV7knHmrrF2A3N8Z6DMw5kQjQuq5-3L-0rgFQ4ctxVfHC6GpBBh_xxBZ94BPYNqxUPVktTFyc_W43TK1cz4oklpNA/s1600/bob+love.jpg" height="200" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Love from England</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On one rink 3 wheelchair bound Welsh athletes took on
Scotland and on the other 3 English players took on Malaysia. Probably the most
impressive display came from the English lead Bob Love. Bob has no arms and
bowls barefoot by placing the bowl on a specially constructed overshoe on his
right foot. It is incredible to watch the accuracy and skill that he displays.
There were quite a few measures during the session as the players very much
depend on umpires to carry out all the measures for them. England beat Malaysia
19 shots to 9 and Scotland beat Wales 16 shots to 8. It was a great morning and
a brilliant experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CGSv4BB-MddlFSp3vtHFfSYvINflw_AHFGgoA7Er8tZRLSlKbu4nBzg2g4MflhTFxYropNZ6DP0gBHRxAVvv_lGKGqSfbA1O4xbuEP5tausoFTf4hF_GYEtFPvjVjUUCj3xDSdKBmUc/s1600/Facebook-20140729-074940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CGSv4BB-MddlFSp3vtHFfSYvINflw_AHFGgoA7Er8tZRLSlKbu4nBzg2g4MflhTFxYropNZ6DP0gBHRxAVvv_lGKGqSfbA1O4xbuEP5tausoFTf4hF_GYEtFPvjVjUUCj3xDSdKBmUc/s1600/Facebook-20140729-074940.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off to Specsavers today!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">My next session was in the afternoon and I was
honoured to mark for Darren Burnett, Scotlands Singles representative against
Matt Le Ber from Guernsey on the TV rink. I know both players and have marked
for Darren many times on the World Bowls Tour events. It was a brilliant game
to mark and the standard of bowling was excellent considering the rink was
particularly tricky. It does seem a bit strange that rinks with tricky lines
are used for TV games as it does not so the best standard of bowls. I was
reasonably happy with the way the game went from my point of view but I was off
to a shaky start by calling only one shot to Darren which turned out on a
measure to be easily Matt’s. I was just getting my eyes warmed up and in the
following end I apologised to Darren and promised that I would be straight down
to Specsavers. Darren came out the winner with a 21 – 12 score line The crowd
were noisy and the atmosphere electric and it was a great game to mark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 107%;">We
are entering the final stages of competition now with the Men’s Singles
sectional play well underway leading to the Gold medal match on Friday. Our
sessions are very much decided on the day and mostly we are only getting one
session per day now. A chance to try and battle our way through the crowds in
the city centre and get the last minute gifts</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16550631971990459883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032608976583155626.post-1951975818801619332014-07-28T09:27:00.001+01:002014-07-28T09:27:22.357+01:00Glasgow 2014 Gallery<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="quickgallery-25096" width="550" height="400"><param name="movie" value="https://dxspaojr9hk6.cloudfront.net/swf/Art.swf" /><param name="flashVars" 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