Page 10 - Winter 2012

Ladies Success 2:Layout 1 07/01/2013 09:09 Page 1

10 I don’t want them to be content as leads or seconds
but to be thirds and skips at the top level. One argu-
ment I have heard several times is that men are to blame
and prevent them getting higher by discriminating where se-
lection is concerned but I return time and time again to the
English nationals, as entry is not by selection as they are open
to all and ladies solo records are simply absent.
If I’m told right, in the Irish Championships, which have
been going for decades, I think only two ladies have made the
singles final, a great feat but sadly neither of them won.
Looking at the recent British Isles championships, covered in this issue, of
the 48 players who represented the four home nations in the team event,
just 4 were ladies.
I have watched ladies bowling since 1985 and have listened to the comments of many
watchers as they compared the bowling differences between men and women and for me I be-
lieve its a state of mind and Bronagh has a similar view. She posed the question “how many
ladies who trialled for the Ladies team also trialled for the full England team”. A good question
and I beleive the answer is none!
For those ladies who genuinely want to compete at the top level, I believe they need to re-
think their game be very assertive and play more positively and perhaps a little less friendly. I’m
not saying be rude or anything like it, so don’t misunderstand.
That is not to suggest they should be unfriendly but stop marking their opponentis touchers
and when someone is partly up the side mat and in their eyeline ask them to move, most men
would but that didn’t happen in Armagh. You are much quieter than men and there is also a
tendency to continually drawing when a man would be more attacking when and were needed.
I’m not suggesting this should be done all the times not that ladies completely change
their way of play but I think ladies tactics should be more adaptable. I think that ladies are faced
with a choice, stay as they are and be less successful or think about changing their game to try
and push their way into the top ranks, it is long overdue.
I am not advocating that all ladies should change their game as it’s up to them how they
play but I would like to see coaching sessions for those ladies that really do want to change
and start on the road to being more successful, something I would certainly like to take a crack
at as we need more bowlers capable of playing at the top level but however it’s done, we surely
need to do it.
Your genuine and considered thoughts on the matter would make a
good discussion topic but please don’t go on about any local success nor
invent any discrimination on mine or anyone else’s part. I’m talking about a
general lack of success at the very top level, which is where I would like to
see many more ladies pushing some average men to one side!
Recently, I witnessed a situation where a lady skip, probably the best bowler in the club
was demoted to a lead in a pair whilst a man, who didn’t even play league bowls was put in as
skip. She did not openly protest at this although she was somewhat stunned and very unhappy.
However, I cannot think of any man that would have put up with this situation and would have
either protested vehemently on the spot or even refused to play and I would have done the
latter.
This convinced me even more that Ladies should be more assertive and stand their
ground. Not easy ladies but let’s see you take the right approach and push you way forward!
By the way, the gentleman skip bowled out 30 bowls in the game and at least 12 either hit the
centre block or went off the side of the mat.