Bowls: Fortune favours the bowled

By CHRIS RATTUE

Marlene Castle faced her first blocking bowl before she had taken up the sport.

The wife and mother of two, approaching 40, was raring to go at the Bucklands Beach Bowling Club in eastern Auckland - yet they put her on a membership waiting list.

Neighbours had suggested that Castle and her husband try bowls, but bowls obviously wasn't quite ready. Castle had to wait a year.

That wasn't the only obstacle. Under the rules then, club prospects were restricted to no more than 65 ends before forking out their fees.

So, did Castle sneak in a 66th end during her year in waiting?

"It was an honesty system ... I'm sure I only had 65," says the 58-year-old.

"It seems crazy looking back, all those rules.

"Bowls has come a long way. They welcome you with open arms now."

Which is easy to believe, sitting in the Onehunga clubrooms on a gloomy Tuesday afternoon.

Sherlock Holmes with a laser beam would not find a waiting list here.

You can stare out the window at a few million dollars worth of perfectly flat freehold land that only gets busy when Auckland Bowls bestows an event on Onehunga.

In the clubhouse, an old character clasps a cigarette-holder, gives a warm welcome and swirls smoke around the lonely bar and entertainment area, complete with piano and decor straight from the 1970s.

Compare that scene with this. The St Johns Park Bowling Club in Sydney, where New Zealand team member Paul Girdler is based, has had a $32 million renovation, and the club pays each of its four national representatives $2000 every day they play for Australia.

Castle is not complaining - far from it - but she and her Onehunga club operate in a different world and at the moment this world is decidedly empty.

The diminutive Castle, at just under 1.52m (5ft), doesn't exactly fill up the space either.

Her tiny frame was hardly built for sporting success, which makes her story just that more unlikely.

She used to hit the ball straight but short at the Howick Golf Club. But sporting representative honours had never entered her head or that of a selector until bowls came along.

Castle had the touch, though. In her first year at Bucklands Beach a club stalwart predicted she would play for New Zealand.

"I didn't even dream it would be the case," says Castle, who first represented her country in her sixth and final junior year.

The catalyst for selection was a practice match against Millie Khan before Khan played at the 1988 world championships.

"I might have won," Castle admits shyly, "and I suppose the selectors heard about it."

By 1989 she was pulling on the New Zealand uniform and winning medals at the Asia Pacific championships in Fiji.

"Having a New Zealand blazer ... amazing," she says.

"Getting on the dais, hearing our national anthem - most New Zealanders dream about that."

Castle's trophy cabinet now includes four national and seven Superbowls titles, world bowls silver and bronze medals, five Asia Pacific golds, a fours silver from the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, and a fours bronze from Canada four years later.

Pride of place goes to the world indoor singles title she won two years ago in Belfast, which came with £500 ($1590) - compared with the men's £25,000 ($79,500).

She has played singles for New Zealand five times, but Manchester will be her first solo event in four Commonwealth Games. And she is training like the athlete she never thought she'd be.

Castle, who has just joined the workforce, rises at 5.15am for an hour in the gym before going to work promoting bowls sponsors Tower Insurance.

She also puts in up to 15 hours a week on the greens.

She has forsaken fast greens and thus prizemoney chances in Australia.

Instead, like many in the Games team, Castle has trained on a specially laid green at East Tamaki with coarse grass to mimic the slow Manchester greens. Adjustments are vital on slower surfaces that eliminate the draw shot as a weapon.

The team will deal with longer greens, change from heavy to medium-weight bowls that are less likely to catch deviations, and they will deliver with a body action rather than just an arm.

And while the odds favour the home bowlers, Castle might just be able to add a Games gold medal to her stash.

"Representing New Zealand has cost me a bit, but it doesn't matter," she says.

"I'm proud to be one of the few chosen. It makes you feel goosey."

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

Commonwealth Games info and related links