Shortmat National finals, sun visors provided!!!
The finals of the premium competition in Shortmat bowls and neither the players nor spectators could see the other end of the mat. This is the third year the finals have been held in Richill and the same problems have reared their head each season.
The solution? 15p multi-coloured Sun Visors picked up from the local party shop for the players to wear when playing towards the sunlight. The seating arrangement was very good, but there was enough seats to accommodate 3 finals and those who did come seen great players struggling on poor mats.
Strawberries and cream would have been the real winner if provided in the stands, but at least most left Richill with a good sunburn.
Why hold the finals at an unsuitable venue? In a word sponsorship. Sardonic would advise that next year the IIBA use the sponsor money to invest in a curtain or if that is too expensive (ha) play the mats ACROSS the hall, it’s not rocket science.
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Sardonic, maybe you will sponsor next year's championships!
ReplyDeletewhat great players struggled? surely great players should be able to adapt to whatever the mat is playing like? the results today saw the favourites win every match, no surprises at all so surely the great players showed their quality and got the job done.
ReplyDeleteExact same problem emeged at the Inter Zone final in dungannon,sunlight beaming in.I know as a spectator it was awful i cant say what it was like for a player.why why are the so simple things that could improve the game and possibly move us into the 21st century be realised.No disrespect to anyone on the top table and not being discriminatory bcause of their age but l your number is clalled its time to call it a day.The biggest percentage of the top table called time on their bowling career for a reason and now its time they said their last farewell on the administrative side also.Young blood,new ideas,inclusivity,positivity,equality, are the things that the IIBA are gasping out for.If you see someone short of oxygen you give them oxygen and why when its clear the IIBA needs the equivalent of oxygen as in fresh air why oh why cant it be administered and let the sport breathe andd flourish.The old ideas may have worked and were suited to their time but these old ideas simply dont work in the modern game and will eventually strangle the game until it dies and wont be possible to retrieve it back.Please for th sake of the sport forget about their own egos and think of all bowlers rather than their own little power trip through life.Letting go with dignity and respect isa hell of a lot nicer than being turfed out because people are simply sick sore and tired of negativity towards youth.These youths are much better of playing bowls than on street corners taking drugs and drinking etc so lets try and do the future generation a favour and welcome them with open arms and stop puttng obstacles in youths way.I cam up through the youth ranks personally and i assure you you need a skin as thick as bull and a temperament of an angel to have endured some of the dictitorial,exclusivity,and utter tripe that has emerged fom this inner circle as past 30 years or longer.Its a miracle we still hae a game considering the nonsense and old boys clubs and the old school tie philosopy that has governed.Change is needed,wanted and the sooner it comes the better!!Even the dinosaurs became extinct and they never seen that coming and all i can liken the current situation is to the dinosaurs ruling the earth,the lunatics are running the asylum .I am not bitter about any decisions they made against me simply a realist who can see whats happening and how thgs are starting to crumble!!New ideas to these guys are as welcome as a bacon sandwich at a bar Mitzvah!!
ReplyDeleteThe standard of bowling yesterday was poor compared to previous years and when you have 70% of the spectators trying in vain to see one side of the hall it takes away from the occasion. The bowlers are not being considered when making the decisions, as was mentioned why not turn the spectators and mats 90 degrees
ReplyDeleteThe "top table" does not rule bowls. They are 5/6 association members with the skills and knowledge to carry out the administrative requirements of the association. It is obvious that they have only a small number of votes in any matter but have a wealth of experience in all matters pertaining to bowls. The rest of the executive is made up of 25/26 zone conveners that are selected BY THE PLAYERS AND CLUBS IN THE ZONE.If the players do not attend the zone meetings and ensure that the right people are selected for the job of convener, there is no point in writing some 37 lines of rancorous comment with not one positive suggestion about change. Did he or she take the opportunity to complete the Development Committee's questionairre. Probably not.
ReplyDeletecant believe you counted
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't really hard. I was just interested in seeing how many lines it took to say nothing
ReplyDeleteAnd why not. Wanted to know how many lines it took to say nothing
ReplyDeleteThe development questionaire oh yeah we all filled em in.How many changes will actually come from them.Zero as always with new ideas.To be seen as trying to do something and actually doing something is very different.They might hae a wealth of experience of what worked in bowls 25 years ago.The game has moved foward but the rules and regulations are stuck in the prehistoric period with the dinosaurs.Up and onwards to change and move bowls into the 21st century.Not knocking what the top table did years ago but sitting on yer posterior craving praise and approval from ideas 30 years old is definitely not a pro active organisation willing to change and move foward.When was the last time any of the top table competed in a licenced event???Theres a question.I would personally donate a pound for every year that they have not competed to a charity of their choice and i am sure so would a lot of people if they knew the actual answer to such a question.
ReplyDeleteOne change that has come is that Closed Tournaments are now banned from next year. Hardly think it was as a result of the questionaire but its done, about time.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2.59 At least you have only taken half the number of lines to again say nothing. What part of 21st century bowls is being held back by current rules and regulations
ReplyDeleteEQUALITY FOR PLAYERS AND OFFICIALS RE EXPENSES
ReplyDeleteLICIENCES BEING GRANTED TO CLUBS WHO DONT KNOW HOW TO RUN AND EVENT.NO IDEA HOW TO DO A DRAW SHEET.A MAN GOING ON HIS 4TH GAME PLAYING A GUY WHO IS PLAYING HIS FIRST.A LOT OF TOURNAMENTS ARE NOT RUN THEY SIMPLY MANIFEST THEMSELVES IN THE DISGUISE OF AN EVENET RUN UNDER PROPER RULES.TAPING AT LICENCED EVENTS IS A JOKE,NO HARM TO THE GUYS THAT DO IT AND WE ALL KNOW ITS A HARD JOB BUT GUYS WHO SIMPLY AND THERES NO NICE WAY OF PUTTING IT ARE TOO DAMN OLD TO DO THE JOB.THERE SHOULD BE LOADS MORE UMPIRES COURSES AND NEW COURSES INTRODUCED SO THAT CLUBS WOULD KNOW HOW TO DO DRAW SHEETS ETC.IE KEEPING CLUBS SEPERATE IN DIFFERENT SECTIONS.I SEEN AT AN EVENT THIS YEAR 4 PAIR IN A COMP FROM THE ONE CLUB AND 4 PAIR GOING THROUGH THAT NIGHT AND IN THE LAST GAME THEY ALL PLAYED THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER,THERE WAS 4 SECTIONS WHY PLAY THEM.HOW MANY HALLS IF YOU ASK TO SEE THE DRAW SHEET WHEN YOU PAY YOUR ENTRY WOUKLD YOU GET PERMISSION TO SEE.ABOUT 5% I WOULD GUESS.ALL THE OTHERS ARE SIMPLY MADE UP AS THEY GO ALONG.CLUBS SITTING WITH GREAT FACILITIES AND PEOPLE ORGANISING THEM WITH THE IQ OF A POSTAGE STAMP AND IN SINGLES PEOPLE REFEREEING GAMES WHO DONT EVEN KNOW THE RULES.SHOUTING UP WHO IS LAYING WITHOUT BEING ASKED,WHEN A DRIVE SHOT IS PLAYED AND IT DOESNT HIT THE STICK THEY PERSON DIVES ONTO THE MAT HITS BOWLS WITH THEIR FEET DISTURBS THINGS OR STOPS THE BOWL IN MOTION AND ALL THE TIME THE BOWL NEVER EVEN WAS CLOSE TO MAKING CONTACT WITH THE SPINNER.A NEW RULE BOOK ON DUTIES OF AN UMPIRE OR MARKER IS A BOOK THAT WOULDNT GO AMISS.ITS CHAOS OUT THERE AND SOME OF THE CLAMPETTS WOULD BE BETTER AT HIOME WATCHING CORONATION STREET
You have been burned my friend, or you where watching the state of the marking at the finals in richill
ReplyDeletewhat happened at the marking in richhill?
ReplyDelete10:05
ReplyDeleteWhere and how was the closed tournaments decided!!!!
In the main, it is the more senior members that are prepared to run tournaments and therefore give something back to the game that they enjoy playing. So they make some mistakes. Everyone is not perfect. I noticed at the National Qualifying recently, the controller was frequently calling for markers. Was it the younger players who finally stood up to help them out. No. It was again the senior players who put their hand up. There is a closing entry date on all invitations to events. How many adhere to the closing dates. Very, very few. Players ring up within the last two days or hours before play after the draw is made expecting to be slotted in. If the organiser is working, it give him little time to slot these guys in. Mistakes are inevitably. PLAYERS ARE AS MUCH TO BLAME AS THE ORGANISERS. Perhaps the complainant would let us know when he is running a singles tournament so that we can all go along and have a perfect evening
ReplyDeleteGood question when was the decision about closed tournaments taken,or is not looked at at all.I have no problem with closed or invitational events as long as they are not granted a licence.its not very nice being in the 1/4 finals of the coc maybe having won 12 games to get that length and [playing against someone who won an event on 3 or 4 games.dnt stop the closed events or invitationals call them what you want simply no more licences for them.Any club is 100% entitled to run an invitational event and thats how it should be
ReplyDeleteTend to agree with 16.54. Closed events are minimal and if they dont want me I have no wish to be there. There are enough events who want my money to keep me on the go at least three times a week
ReplyDeleteyes there is plenty of tournments,but would you like to play 9-10 games to win say tullysaran then another 4-5 to get to CoC finals only to play someone who has only played half the number of games against a select opposition
ReplyDeletethats the whole point.let them have closed tournaments but grant no licence,giving licence to someone who wins 14 or 15 matches on the trot deserves to be champion of champions but someone who slides in through the side door winning a few games makes a mockery of the term champion of champions.no licence=way foward=happier bowls family in general(Except for those who want a handy coc appearance they would never have got only for the closed event)i would rather never win a coc than win it by default in a few games instead of doing it the hard and proper way.
ReplyDeletethe natives are getting restless are the IIBA gonn take their head outta the sand yet.Time will tell time will tell!!!Actions speak louder than words
ReplyDeletewhatever happened to honesty and integrity. closed leagues and tournaments have no place in our sport PERIOD.
ReplyDeleteAnd now they have no place
ReplyDeleteyes now they have no place but for how many years fighting didit take to banish them,i know players who stopped playing bowls when they knew about closed events.i know bowlers who didnt no the closed event "Dirty little secret" until it was mentioned to them.these were players not tha heavily involved but still in reasonably serious and they found it very hard to believe that this practice had been going on for years,For the first time in my life if its true that these events are not going to be granted licences then i applaud the IIBA top table for finally making the call.Nobody is saying clubs cannot have invitational events,they are totally entitled to run a closed event or a closed league if they so wish just as long as theres no piece of paper for a handy route to ballybrakes.The people who were being discriminated against by the closed events had no issue with them being closed it was the issue the entry to the coc and licence was given.Run closed events leagues all year round and enjoy your bowling indeed but i promise you its much more fun out mixing with EVERYONE and good for community relations in this country.I neve thought i would praise the IIBA but as they say theres a first time for everything and if indeed its true that they have taken a stand then they have made a positive legacy on the game and well done
ReplyDeleteALL tournaments have to be licensed whether they are closed/invitational or not. If it is a closed/invitational tournament charge a greater licence fee say £50 and not let the winners through to the CoC.
ReplyDeleteI read my green book now 3 times,can anyone i beg please direct me where it states this rule.the exact wording is
ReplyDelete1.All zones,;leagues or clubs running competitions or tournaments EXCEPT those confined to club members and recognised by the IIBA must obtain a licence from the zone convenor.
The problem was not the tournaments themselves the problem was that these events were recognised by the IIBA and as a licence states qualifies the winner for the COC and if the licence is granted then the winner is entitled to attend the COC.Thats what the licence says.If the IIBA doesnt recognise such tournaments then the event organisers do not need to comply with the ruling in the book as stated.Stop blaming the actual events as the root issue of the problem when the nucleus of the problem was the very fact that these events gained recognition.NO reognition=No Licence Required=No Problem Exists if the rules in the book are followed to the letter as they should be.Why bring out a rule book if you aint going to adhere to it and make it up as you go along in parts.I dont blame a single convenor for issuing a licence when that was the orders he had from HQ to recognise the event and licence it.A few words to ponder regarding this matter that i would fee are apt are
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change
Charles Darwin 1809-1882, English biologist and father of the evolution theory
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
ReplyDelete-James Bovard, Civil Libertarian
Anon 1:24
ReplyDeleteThe EXACT wording of Rule 42 is "Clubs, Leagues or Zones running tournaments (except those confined to club members) must obtain a licence."
thank you for clarifying that for me,yes indeed its put in different terms in the actual part subtitled rule 42.thats on page 49 then you move to page 51 and it states 1.All zones,;leagues or clubs running competitions or tournaments EXCEPT those confined to club members and recognised by the IIBA must obtain a licence from the zone convenor.
ReplyDeleteWhy bother printing a green book if such a huge mistake is made in the rules within 2 pages and the mistake is not just in that year book so it cant be blamed on a printers error as so often many mistakes are written of as a printers error.How can an Association get it so wrong in simple clarification of a rule??By mistake or convenience i really do wonder or is it just more a case of the lunatics running the asylum again.I know if in my job i made such an error i would be signing on next week and be rightfully roaded.I really wonder when people will wake up and see the shambolic way the Association is run.Fact is the way its run is a few rules,make a bit up as they go along to suit whatever or whomever and then when they are caught with their pants down so to speak the wagons encircle and protect highlighting of their shortcomings and demonise anyone who dare speak out that anything is wrong,the ostrich sticking its head in the sand all the time doesnt live it suffocates if it doesnt occasionaly come up for air,fresh air at the agm not to pick at the guys in charge but to give the Association any chance of survival.Give me one good reason why any young player would find this Assoc attractive.I have tried to find a reason and yet to find one!!
Anon 22:00 here. I take your point that on page 52 of 2009/10 Yearbook there is no need to include "and recognised by the IIBA" in paragraph 1.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly paragraph 3 states that "Any player taking part in an unlicensed event may be suspended from taking part in all forms of bowling organised ... by the IIBA." so all tournaments have to be licensed whether they are closed/invitational or not. If they are not licensed, then theoretically paragraph 3 comes into force.
yip thats my point,was this coincidentally worded in this manner or a manipulation of the rules.Strange that the rule thats more specfic is in smaller writing an less noticeable.Seems to be of the kind of thing that they seemed to be doing something whilst doing nothing.My mother always advised me to read the small print before you sign or take any piece of information seriously.The fact that in 3 pages one ruling confrontationaly contrasts another surley shows that theres a problem at the helm.This cant be fobbed of as a printers error as its too specfic and deliberate.Anyone with sense would surely not have printed the conflicting rule so close to the real rule.
ReplyDeleteIn the words of abraham llincoln
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time
We may be ahead of the other nations on the mat but as far as organisations its laughable.look at how much younger the english short matt association is
ReplyDeleteIIBA FORMED 1961
ESBA 1984
we have 23 years head stART ON THEM AND ALREADY WE ARE BEHIND THE ASSOCIATION DUE TO POOR MANAGEMENT,SELECTIVITY,EXCLUSIVITY,NARROWMINDED,OVER THE HILL, AND A GENERAL UNWILLINGNESS TO LISTEN TO THE MEMBERS.ASSOCIATION IS BEING RUN LIKE THE CLASSROOM THEORY THAT CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD.
Why let these idiots stay until the 50th to lap up more adulation and self glorification.Out now and stay out before you do anymore damage.Sure yes they did some good things but in my humble opinion the bad outweighed the good.As with some of the dictators in history they all done some good Even Hitler created volkswagen!!!i THINK THAT CLARIFES WHAT I AM POINTING OUT.I REMEMBER PLAYING FOR IRELAND AND ONE OF THE TIMES SOME LATCHICO IN A SUIT TELLING ME TO BE IN BED BY 1O O CLOCK AND CHECKING ON ME.THEY SEEM TO FORGET A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR HERE
1.I WAS THERE OF MY OWN FREE WILL DOING THEM A FAVOUR REPRESENTING THEM
2.I HAD PAID MY WAY AND TAKEN TIME OF WORK TO BE THERE FOR THEM
3.THE GUY ORDERING ME TO BED HADNT PLAYED A COMPETITIVE BOWL IN 20 YEARS.
4.I MANAGED TO STAY AWAKE DURING ALL OF IRELANDS GAMES.
5.I STILL HAD A MORTGAGE TO AND WIFE AND KIDS WHILST TAKING TIME OFF AND THERE WAS SOMEONE ON THE GRAVY TRAIN ORDERING ME AROUND.COME ON GUYS WHERES THE EQUALITY.I HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR THE TOP TABLE
DOES EQUALITY AND YOUTH REALLY SCARE YOU THAT MUCH AND IF IT DOES ITS ABOUT TIME YOU WERE IN BED BY 7.00 WITH YOUR CUP OF COCCOA AND LET PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE RUN THE GAME INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.TAKE OUT THE WEEDS NOW.I WULD NEVER PLAY FOR IRELAND AGAIN
AND BEFORE YOU SAY I WONT BE ASKED YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT BECUASE I DARED TO SPEAK UP.I DONT CARE I AM DUMB BUT ILL ALWAYS SPEAK AGAINST INJUSTICES.
any chance we could find out who ya are anon 13:09 cause i think your well said
ReplyDeleteThe Phantom Philosopher
ReplyDeleteWell said,what exactly do you mean by the terminology "Well said".Can you please explain exactly what you mean.Why would i say who i am and be doomed to never play for my country again?I am not a jihad bowler who is going to commit suicide publically on the short jack line.Who i am is not of any importance the issue are,Come to the AGM In Templepatrick you might just hear me clear my chest in the AOB Section.I think this years AGM will be one of test attended ever!!
"I wud never play for Ireland again" If this is so why hide behind anon. Put your name to your rantings
ReplyDelete"I am not a jihad bowler who is going to commit suicide publically on the short jack line.Who i am is not of any importance the issue are,Come to the AGM In Templepatrick you might just hear me clear my chest in the AOB Section."
ReplyDeleteWell that's exactly what you will be doing if you clear your chest.
Anon 23:42 he would not put his name to it because it wouldn't be PC!