Bowls: Embarrassing curve for a straight-ahead bowler

By BOB PEARCE

Leo Leonard is mightily embarrassed at bringing controversy to bowls, which he considers "a gentleman's game."

The bowls used by the 60-year-old from Timaru in the early stages of the national championships in Auckland were challenged and were found to be illegal in an official test in Australia.

His participation in the championships ended yesterday when he was beaten in the quarter-finals of the singles, using borrowed bowls.

But he faces an inquiry by Bowls New Zealand today and the repercussions of one of the first incidents of its kind at this level in this country are expected to be widespread.

"I bought them in Australia second-hand seven years ago," Leonard said yesterday.

"It appears they must have been shaved to alter the bias."

He had not used them until two months ago when he began to prepare for this tournament and he was told they would be ideal for the Auckland greens.

"Nobody questioned them, and if I had any doubt I would have had no hesitation in not using them.

"I'm embarrassed because I consider bowls a gentleman's game and I consider myself the unofficial bowls policeman in my area."

Ironically, Leonard played exceptionally well with borrowed bowls, and said they felt little different to those that failed the Australian test.

Until comparatively recently, bowls were tested on local greens by launching the bowl from a test chute and comparing it with a reference bowl.

The minimum bias in New Zealand at that stage was 4ft 9in (144.8cm) of curve on a 90ft (27.4m) distance.

Illegal bowls were those which had a lesser curve, reducing the margin of error and taking some of the skill out of the game by making it more like skittles.

One of the difficulties was that the testing was not always consistent,

As well, Australia insisted on a 4ft 11in (149.9cm) curve, and Britain preferred 4ft 6in (137.2cm)

The World Bowls Board has in recent years standardised the minimum curve at 4ft 7in (139.7cm) and instituted stricter controls under which reference bowls are issued only to accredited testers.

New Zealand has no bowls manufacturers, and the nearest accredited testing facilities are in Australia.

There, bowls are tested on a calibrated testing table about the size of two billiard tables with a reference bowl used as a standard.

The bias of bowls is caused by their shape, not their weight, and to reduce the bias illegally they are shaved on the opposite side to the bias.

The chief executive officer of Bowls New Zealand, Kerry Clark, said last night that the Leonard case was the first to his knowledge in this country, though he believed there had been several in Australia.

Bowls New Zealand had acted as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.

It was important that the bowls be tested in Australia because the most up-to-date reference bowl was there.

The game has gone professional worldwide and prize money in Australia and Britain is significant.

But nobody gets rich at the New Zealand nationals. The winners of the singles, pairs and fours receive $1200.

As a quarter-finalist in the singles, Leonard won $100.