From Mornngside to Bedforview: a national bowls tourney journey
Bowlers met in Morningside, where pairs vied to qualify for the next stages of national bowls tournament.
The South African men’s bowls nationals have been underway, with pairs games gracing the Morningside Country Club greens in Sandton between May 4 and 5.
The bowlers were competing for the honour and privilege of winning the opportunity to represent South Africa at international tournaments.
Johannesburg Bowls Association president Rob Zimmermann praises this year’s men’s open nationals tournament for having drawn an increased scale of participation.
“From a history point of view, we have a record entry,” said Zimmermann. “We’re 30% up from last year, and 50% up from the year before: this is our biggest tournament entry over the past 10 years.”
Players participating in this tournament can choose their own discipline (singles, pairs, and fours) disciplines over the tournament, towards determining who would advance to the knock-out stages.
Zimmerman foresaw a busy week for Johannesburg’s male bowlers.
“We have to finish it by Sunday (May 12), so it’s a bit of a madhouse,” Zimmermann said. “The fours start on May 6, and the singles play-offs start on May 8. These games culminate into the finals over the May 12 weekend, to be played in Bedfordview and Balgravia.
“We’ll have some chaos to sort out on the admin side from May 9, as some guys might qualify for more than one event,” Zimmermann concluded. “We have to make sure that they all can play. The winners from this tournament qualify for the international tournaments. We send them over to play in Champion of Champions.”
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