July 1999 Volume 80 Number 7 "serving the protectors"
BOWLS
By Peter Baehnk

Hard Court Bowls

When is a game of lawn bowls not a game of lawn bowls? When it's being played on a hard court.

This is the game of hard court bowls, where the bowling green is a hi-tech, hard-court surface. For this game, the biased bowl is replaced by a rubber compound-covered, full-size bowl, the action of which is exactly like the biased lawn bowl.

Good draw bowlers can excel at hard court bowls. The game involves accurate draw bowling; running shots or "full-blooded" drives are not permitted. The bowls are equivalent in accuracy to Henselite lawn bowls, and the player requires all the skills of traditional lawn bowls to master the sport.

The game - a world first for this State - is completely South Australian owned and developed. The only venue currently available is the Mars multi-sport, leisure and health centre on Lower Portrush Road, Marden. The first season of competitive bowling began on June 16.

Hard court bowls can be played on any hard-court surface. It has certain advantages over the traditional game during the winter months. But when competitive lawn bowls is in recess, hard court bowls seems to be an excellent adjunct to competitive bowlers' games. The absence of wind, rain and sunburn is a real bonus.

Gold Coast Action

Those not happy to hibernate in South Australia for the winter should pack their bowls and try their luck on the Gold Coast, or at Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, where the winter bowls carnivals are in full swing.

Queensland's power supplier, Energex, has provided the major sponsorship for the $26,000 1999 Energex open mixed singles, to be held from July 5 to July 8 at the Tweed Heads Bowling Club.

The tournament has developed into the nation's great one-stop chance for fame and fortune for the career-minded bowler who has aspirations to move up the ranks. Or, it can simply be for those keen for a fling among the game's elite.

Over 6,500 entry forms were mailed out.

Also open to competitors is the 1999 Gold Coast 50th Annual Winter Bowls Carnival, which begins on July 10. Prize money for lucky singles, pairs, triples and fours winners amounts to thousands of dollars.

This carnival is complemented by over 35 "satellite" bowls tournaments at Gold Coast-Tweed clubs which boast total prize money in excess of $200,000. This is shared by either lucky or capable bowlers prepared to spend time in Queensland's beautiful winter weather.

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