We had the experience today of playing bowls when the wind was the dominate factor on how things went.
It was Rotary this afternoon, played at Levin RSA and at Foxton Beach. On our return from the latter green, we were told by the players who had been at RSA that it had been windy, but I am sure it was nothing like what we experienced on the exposed green at Foxton Beach.
The first problem all teams had was that on the cards prepared by Joe, the event organiser, it showed what rinks we were to play on – 1 to 6. We went out to the green but found that the only rinks numbered were from 2 to 7! Following discussion ,we were told that if our card told us to play on Rink 2, we had to play on 3 instead, and this system was to be followed by all teams. Strange, but it worked OK.
So off we went and played our two games, expecting the normal challenges that bowls gives us. But today, the wind was the major factor. We played with and then against it, a gale really, and bowls were sent on their way but often ended up nowhere near the target.
It really was important for the lead to get close and get the shot for the team before the head became difficult to reach because of short or wide bowls sitting in the path. Often, it was more necessary for the Skip to keep away from the head if his team already had the shot. There was no point knocking up or in, the opponent’s bowls that were lying in wait.
Frustrating but fun really, a chance for all players to see how well they could cope with the conditions.
Our club at the end of the rounds played today – 2 wins and 2 losses at RSA and at Foxton Beach we had 3 wins and 1 loss. Not too bad, Joe.