AMF Australian Masters overview

[lgt]

The number of bowlers are well up on last year, the Australian Masters a great success.
Some international bowlers finished with Webber Cup in England 16th October - travelling to Sydney and then bowling to qualify for masters. Not having squads available was an issue that was dealt with.

The inclusion of the internationals, with support from main equipment companies, was the icing on the cake for the National Masters.
And a great opportunity to advertise the sport, demonstrate to the WTBA that Australia is capable to run future world events - the start to put our sport in Australia back on the international map.
The number of kids that came to watch the internationals, and all spectators and bowlers to these events, brought a great atmosphere.

Facilities that other overseas events have - media room, airport pickups, tour options - will be something TBA can look into.
More support in the tournament room, accommodation packages and local information to assist interstate / intrastate bowlers is also important.

So GREAT EVENT- some things to look at to encourage more internationals (who have to travel long distances), assist australian members and support the tournament team.
AND the rest of us can remember the word volunteer.

Cheers
Leanne

 

[peter56]

well said leanne it would be great to have the internationals here in australia more often im sure it would also be good to have the masters in vic/sa/and also qld as well as nsw i dont mind travelling to other states in aus but would be great to have it here one year

 

[becka_girl]

The best thing about bowling the likes of adult nationals, president shield and youth is that you get to travel!
I believe all of these should be moved around to different states. Youth needs to get out of Werribee, even though it is a great venue, it gives non of the victorians a chance to bowl somewhere else for a change. And although rooty hill is a great location, adult nationals should also be moved around!

 

[lgt]

The great sponsorship from AMF will naturally dictate the venue - maybe Robina in Queensland, new centre for Panthers at Penrith ??

And I also believe the moving of Youth Nationals would only benefit the promotion of this age group, even though we all love Werribee.

Leanne

 

[jason_doust]

The best thing about bowling the likes of adult nationals, president shield and youth is that you get to travel!
I believe all of these should be moved around to different states. Youth needs to get out of Werribee, even though it is a great venue, it gives non of the victorians a chance to bowl somewhere else for a change. And although rooty hill is a great location, adult nationals should also be moved around!

This is a difficult one. There is no other venue in Australia that has the bowl and the hotel / restaurant / dinner function and conference venues all in a short walk of each other. Saves a lot of teams and groups a lot of mucking about with buses, etc. I agree it should move around, but this proximity to facilities makes it a much more attractive venue for teams, people attending more than the event and international players.

So Club Med Rooty Hill holds the upper hand for now. Even with it's long queues for 2 star food at 3½ star prices. There is a really good kebab/pide/pizza shop in Rooty Hill Nth and a great (if a bit dingy) Chinese restaurant called Shanghai in Rooty Hill Sth for cheaper eats, btw. I went for a bit of a look when I went bowl-crazy and the local shops, while a bit the worse for wear, are worth a wander.

I remember talk of a new centre in Panthers 20 years ago. Is that one still doing the rounds or is it actually likely this time?

 

[Michael Little]

This is a difficult one. There is no other venue in Australia that has the bowl and the hotel / restaurant / dinner function and conference venues all in a short walk of each other. Saves a lot of teams and groups a lot of mucking about with buses, etc. I agree it should move around, but this proximity to facilities makes it a much more attractive venue for teams, people attending more than the event and international players.

So Club Med Rooty Hill holds the upper hand for now. Even with it's long queues for 2 star food at 3½ star prices. There is a really good kebab/pide/pizza shop in Rooty Hill Nth and a great (if a bit dingy) Chinese restaurant called Shanghai in Rooty Hill Sth for cheaper eats, btw. I went for a bit of a look when I went bowl-crazy and the local shops, while a bit the worse for wear, are worth a wander.

I remember talk of a new centre in Panthers 20 years ago. Is that one still doing the rounds or is it actually likely this time?

I think from all reports, as Leanne stated above, the new centre in Robina might be worth a look in the years to come, obvious close proximity to the Gold Coast tourist attractions and so forth would be a good attraction to international competitors and so forth.

Not sure about the viability of a big bowl at Penrith if it has anything to do with the Panthers Leagues club as they aren't exactly financially sound at present.

 

[Jase]

I think from all reports, as Leanne stated above, the new centre in Robina might be worth a look in the years to come, obvious close proximity to the Gold Coast tourist attractions and so forth would be a good attraction to international competitors and so forth.

Not sure about the viability of a big bowl at Penrith if it has anything to do with the Panthers Leagues club as they aren't exactly financially sound at present.

Only problem with the coast at this time of year Mick is the price of accom is through the roof at Indy/V8's time...Another tourist attraction though and is way better than sitting in a bowl LOL

 

[peter56]

good suggestion michael robina might be a good location would be worth looking into by amf the other thing is does anyone know how many lanes they have

 

[Fitzy]

Totally agree with the rudeness from the staff at the RSL...

While i'm on my rant... Why does the TBA feel the need to suck up to the Internationals and treat them better then their own countries bowlers, players who are there EVERY year and not just when their is money involved!!! An example, if Jason walked into the tournament room and blew up about not bowling well and the squads were full and he couldn't make the masters - would anything be changed? I think not... BUT, Mika walks into the tournament room blowing up because he didn't bowl well enough to make the Masters and he couldn't get into another squad that day, threatening to leave and questioning why no-one booked his squads for him as he didn't know the format and what happens... Ohh, they put on extra squads for him. Because he flew in late.... this is our problem, why??? Who goes to tournaments and don't read what the format is. I'm sure Tiger Woods looks at the golf course of a tournament he is in especially when its a different country....

Maybe I should have pretended I was an arrogant, self-centered international bowler. TBA might have bent the rules and allowed me to bowl!!

If what is stated above is true TBA have a lot to answer for! Rules for some and different rules for others is not and endearing quality TBA!

That will teach me for accepting that a rule is a rule and should be enforced as such! Stupid me ... again.

 

[Michael Little]

Only problem with the coast at this time of year Mick is the price of accom is through the roof at Indy/V8's time...Another tourist attraction though and is way better than sitting in a bowl LOL

The good thing about the Nationals is it has the luxury of changing time slots during the year if only by a week or so to miss clashing with major events like that, or even concluding it all previous to say the Indy etc etc or afterwards. Who knows, but I know Robina is much nicer than Rooty Hill as far as locations go lol.

 

[GeorgeF]

When it comes to squad priority preference is always given to Internationals, we are paid the same courtesy when we bowl overseas. I didnt hear or see Mika blow up but I would put any International bowler in before an Aussie, it is sometimes a written rule dependant on the event, where its not written its just accepted. It's like a gentlemens agreement.....

 

[KriDdLe]

Robina would be fantastic There are plenty of bowlers on the coast that will open their doors to interstate bowlers!!! I'm sure changing the date to the following week will allow for cheaper accommodation. Maybe AMF can pull some strings with their affiliates in the hospitality world. Heard AMF are opening some flash bowls in NQ as well.. might be a possiblity for furture years?

Either way - no matter where I have to travel for a tournament it's the atmosphere and the company that attracts me.

 

[Fitzy]

When it comes to squad priority preference is always given to Internationals, we are paid the same courtesy when we bowl overseas. I didnt hear or see Mika blow up but I would put any International bowler in before an Aussie, it is sometimes a written rule dependant on the event, where its not written its just accepted. It's like a gentlemens agreement.....

To be fair I was referring to a different Nationals event, though the principle applies.
Sure while submitting preferences for squads, internationals should get preference over locals (unless of course their name starts with a George and ends with a Frilingos) as it is a long way to go with a lot of money on the line, though 'creating' new squads?? changing the format of the event?? changing the rules? because they are an international? No way George!

Again assuming what was posted above is correct ... I left for Brisbane long before this 'incident' occurred, the rudeness of a particular TBA official turned me off the Nationals long before this.

 

[GeorgeF]

I've been in bowling tournaments in Asia where they decided to run squads (sometimes at 2.00am in the morning) to cater for demand. It's hard to draw the line because if there is a demand as a tournament promoter you want people bowling as much as possible. It also represents more revenue which is what some of these tournaments are overseas (a revenue raiser for the governing body, just not in our case).

If the tournament promoter wants to add more squads to cater for demand he/she should be able to. With Rachuig going on there was only 10 lanes available at best to bowl on so most squads were full and booked out. That only left the evening squads for people to try and qualify with and that was only 2 a night. With the Internationals arriving late on Wednesday and Thursday having to bowl the challenge I fully support TBA putting on more squads to cater for them and other bowlers who wanted to bowl.

Rules are rules however there is always a clause in every tournament called 'Tournament Directors discretion', in this instance I think they made the right call.

 

[Michael Little]

I've been in bowling tournaments in Asia where they decided to run squads (sometimes at 2.00am in the morning) to cater for demand. It's hard to draw the line because if there is a demand as a tournament promoter you want people bowling as much as possible. It also represents more revenue which is what some of these tournaments are overseas (a revenue raiser for the governing body, just not in our case).

If the tournament promoter wants to add more squads to cater for demand he/she should be able to. With Rachuig going on there was only 10 lanes available at best to bowl on so most squads were full and booked out. That only left the evening squads for people to try and qualify with and that was only 2 a night. With the Internationals arriving late on Wednesday and Thursday having to bowl the challenge I fully support TBA putting on more squads to cater for them and other bowlers who wanted to bowl.

Rules are rules however there is always a clause in every tournament called 'Tournament Directors discretion', in this instance I think they made the right call.

George is right to a degree, I think the defining instance in this case being Mika had not booked any squads at all prior to arrival. If some were booked prior to arrival and then there was still demand by him and other bowlers, there should be no problem at all in extending/adding additional squads. International bowlers do get preference for late squads but when you plain don't book them in the first place, bit hard I guess. As George said, extending squads generates additional revenue to the tournament and caters to demand. This nationals I am led to believe exceeded the previous years entries, which I think is to be commended and congratulated with still a week remaining of events.

Another reason that I believe that Rachuig should be moved to at least 2 days earlier in the week starting on the Sunday and finishing Tues, this allows for Wed and Thurs for two full days of masters qualifying attempts with a full house available, outside of the Thurs for the international challenge.

 

[ratty133]

I was speaking with Mike Quitter from Ebonite whilst i was over there and he did nothing but applaud John and his tournament team for extending squads (some starting as late as 10.30pm) to accomodate his guys that came down under. As George has said, when we go overseas, the tournament directors allow us into the squads before the locals (Milo Junior Allstars was a prime example last year as some squads i bowled were full, but the TD asked some of the locals to make way so the internationals could bowl), and we greatly appreciated this. I dont think the tournament team opened up the extra squads just for the internationals, because alot of aussies (including myself) jumped at the extra squads.

 

[becka_girl]

When it comes to squad priority preference is always given to Internationals, we are paid the same courtesy when we bowl overseas. I didnt hear or see Mika blow up but I would put any International bowler in before an Aussie, it is sometimes a written rule dependant on the event, where its not written its just accepted. It's like a gentlemens agreement.....

I was in the tournament room when Mika had words with the tournament team but I think it was great that they made extra squads for the internationals. The reason they ended up doing it was because Mika had to bowl the international challenge meaning he missed out on the three or so squads that was being held then. This is why he asked if they could open up more squads because he doesnt get the same opportunities as everyone else.

 

[Michelle]

George I'd like to see if your willing to give up your position in a qualifying squad if you are both needing to bowl to qualify....!!

Here's an idea just move masters away from rachuig...then there's more lanes and none of this happens!!!

 

[BennyBoy]

I agree that having a venue with close access to accommodation is a great thing.. However, if that accommodation is quite pricey, and you can source quite a good price per day for a 13 seater bus... Financially speaking, the cost to stay a bit further away and travel in becomes more of an option. Especially if it's done in a group. Heck, even hiring a 5 seater is quite cheap these days.

These days you can fly in and have a car waiting for you to drive off in, all at a fairly low cost.

Having accommodation/transport etc all close to the centre is great, but if the service/pricing isn't there, then the whole point is sort of moot, and the 'attraction' of other places should hopefully come front and centre.

 

[RobbieB]

Another reason that I believe that Rachuig should be moved to at least 2 days earlier in the week starting on the Sunday and finishing Tues, this allows for Wed and Thurs for two full days of masters qualifying attempts with a full house available, outside of the Thurs for the international challenge.

Michael, the Rachuig bowlers are already committing to a full week at least with the current timing as it is - to extend that by another 2 or 3 days just for the convenience of those who choose to focus on the Masters is simply unfair. Moving Rachuig to AFTER the Masters could work though, IMO, and could substantially reduce costs for those who don't want to bowl the Masters.