Rachuig S.A.

[strop]

Well it seems now that all bowlers that want to bowl rachuig must fill out a contract to represent S.A....and abide by a few a these rules...
1. The Athelete....(haha obviously the slimmer ones) must wear uniforms at all times and conduct yourself in a manner that will not lower the standing of the uniform.....Mmmmmmmm
I will skip a few rules that are not important........
5. the Athelete (there that word again....) will attend all training sessions as set by the coaches. If you need to absent yourself from any training sessions you must submit a writtin request to your respective coach. (Pleeeeeaaasssee your kidding right. We are talking about adults right!!!)
6. If the athlete misses 2 or more training sessions, it may result in being dropped from the team roster. ( Now your really kidding???...)
11. Upon return all athlete will be required to attend a debriefing with the state board.
(THE STATE BOARD......you mean the real people that know what there talking about...yeah right.)
12. The drinking of alcohol will not be permitted on the day of any training sessions. The team will not be permitted to consume alcolhol on the day prior to competion or during competition. ( Your allowed to drink at the end of play each night right...!!!!)
oh I forgot to mention the fact that each ATHLETE has to pay for every single part of there trip...accomadation,air fares,uniforms,national entries,dinner tickets,bus hire,food etc,...etc ...etc...but we will tell you what you cant and can do....ok!!!
hahahahahah You people on the state commitee and coaches that most (and I mean most) of you who wouldn't know what it is to bowl for your state ,let alone know anything about this game except maybe....lets dictate to the ones that know what this game is all about....and oh yeah like to play god!!!
Stick to the juniors people and let people who know what's it's all about run it!!!
We won rachuig in 87,88...and we didit with out all this crap!!!!
It's a wonder why this game no longer appeals to alot of competitive bowlers who don't like the politics and the bull**** that comes with it>
And by the way we don't have any qualified coaches in this state that could even be worthy enough for some of the so called top bowlers will listen too!!!
Get a life committee we are not juniors that you have liked dictating to for the past 25 years!!!
Strop
(tony stoppel)

 

[greg holmes]

Well written Tony. This state (for the past few years) has been about looking after the people running the show and not the bowlers. If the committee doesnt approve of you then dont bother showing up for the trials. As for coaches and managers what is the point of having them if you wont let them do their job in the first place. Its just more jobs for the boys (or anyone that will bow down to the committee's wants).
When you consider the calibre of bowlers currently bowling here (men in particular) this state should be right at the top. Lack of motivation is only due to lack of recognition. If it wasnt for criteria as set
by the T.B.A. I wouldn't blame any of the bowlers for not turning up. We are just lucky it is a pre-requisite for Australian
selection.
Not all the committee is to blame here but
maybe some of our long standing members need to take a fresh look at what bowling needs
as opposed to what they want. Some of the
committee still likes to feel the power of their position instead of realising they are
dealing with adults NOT juniors.
After speaking to those involved in various positions over the past few years it is obvious there are many issues which until resolved will leave this state as a team fractured and dis-jointed. Not a winning recipe and makes you question whether you really want to spend your hard earned dollars
only to be admonished when you return for not
participating as a team.
With so many positive moves being implemented
by the T.B.A. maybe its time our own state committee took a step back and did likewise.
Encouraging bowlers and being open to some new ideas would be a great start. Perhaps someone on the committee could explain why
our state selection is still done based on
using centres with the best rate and not those centres that have at least the same surface that the Nationals will be bowled on. And if that answer is based purely on cost, I fail to see any relevance these days as all costs have to be paid by the bowlers and if you cant afford it there isn't any
point in being there in the first place. At
least you will have the strongest team available on very similar conditions. Maybe it is time to look at the whole qualifying
format while you are at it. After all I am almost certain we are the last state using this particular format and all the other states seem to manage their strongest available line up without having to give up
four days for qualifying.
Well, this reply may well force me into an early retirement but at least on the golf course I am still allowed to smoke between holes. Something the other states allow (between games) but not here. Good luck to all those trying out for Rachuig this year.
Me thinks you are all going to need it.
Greg Holmes.

 

[super_girl]

strop... just wondering, are you saying that david billing isnt qualified enough to coach the sa rachuig team? level 2, ass manager to the youth fiq, ass coach to asian school and many ohter national achivements... but not good enough for rachuig coach?

 

[strop]

 

[Tash]

 

[Dj bruv on da mix]

Wats going on??, im not sure really, but the way i see it you are representin your state which is an honour (wheather free or not), and the state commitee has the right to set down regulations for you as member of your team, if its stupid and you feel like a child not an adult.....Well its easy dont bowl!!!, but on the issue of drinking that should be up to the individual, obviously its not good to get smashed before i a major tournament, and i think that u shouldnt, your representing ur state remember!!, but if u want to drink thats all good.....They drink on the australian cricket team....after a game they may even go out for a while......but they do have curfews...say midnight or 1am......so if its good for teams of this calibra.....well its good for us!.....you guys need some peace and chill......coz its all good in tassie.

Just an opinion.

 

[millencolin_33]

well strop if as good as you make yourself out to be then why dont i ever hear anything good coming from your big mouth... surely you cant say that nothing good has happened for sa bowling in the last 10 years??? i think you should start focusing on the good points about sa bowling and not the bad ones. you should realise sa is on the way up in bowling whether u like it or not. so just grow up & shut up no one likes your attitude... oh yeh by the way if your so good why dont you coach the rachiug teams???? HAHAHA that would be a sight for sore eyes....

Brad M

 

[millencolin_33]

yeh sorry bout that last msg got a bit cxarried away what i wanted to say was strop can u please focus on the good things about sa bowling no the bad ones coz your making our state look like we have nothing going for us when we actually have quite a lot going our way... by the way sorry bout the coaching bit at the end of my last msg

 

[strop]

 

[millencolin_33]

yeh sorry bout that as i said before i got carried away with that message i am 14 and i am a junior and i dont like a lot of the things people are saying about the direction junior bowling is going sorry if i have made anyone angry with that message i just got carried away and i hope you understand that i didnt mean for it to sound so rude...
what do you mean its a mystery???

 

[Its a Mystery]

Millencolin_33
I see from your icq profile that you are 14.
Go make a shield team. Let the coach destroy you and your bowling then lets see what sort of post you will be making here in 5 years.
Unless of course you intend to become the coach's pet then maybe you will still be sticking up for the coaches.
Good Luck in your bowling

 

[nicola]

hey guys,
what tony is trying to say here is that compared to the 80's and ealy 90's bowing has declined. he should know he has been bowling longer than me and i have been bowling nearly 21 years and in this time have seen a lot of changes. it is hard for you young ones now to comprehend just how great bowling was in the 80's, as tony said the barossa cup used to have a reserve list and on friday night they used to have roll offs just to see who could bowl in the squads.
i often talk to you juniors about the past and some of you have come to know me as a "walking encyclopedia" as one parent called me, on my knowledge of sa bowling and the people involved. i have a passion for develpoing the youth in this state, as tony said there is a huge gap between juniors and seniors and this needs filling. i posted on a earlier topic about my disapointment in the response from the centres i have had in my efforts to get an under 23 curciut running, the state committe were supposed to be supporting this also but that appears not to be the case. This state needs something like this to build some sort of unity and as the youth mature our state prospects will look stronger.
Greg you made one very acurate observation about looking after the people and this is unfortunately the cause of a lot of disinterest.
it is not all doom and gloom here in sa we have some very talented bowlers moving up in the juniors and also into adult ranks. what is needed is the committes ability to delegate and free up most of the work load which is handled by two people.

 

[strop]

 

[greg holmes]

Tony,
The biggest problem bowlers in this state face from speaking out is instant persacution
and to be honest it wont change anything.
I was for many years involved with the
A.T.B.A and watched as it slowly fell apart.
This state for far too long now has suffered from the "them and us" syndrome. When I bowled my very first A.T.B.A. tournament I had a bowler by the name of Don Bell encourage and support me all day to the detrement of his own game. I made the cut and
Don missed out but he didnt seem to mind at all. During the last A.T.B.A. tournament (at which time I was president) I had several long standing A.T.B.A. members whinge to me that they wouldn't bowl tournaments anymore because they refused to bowl with women and
juniors. It is a sad fact that so many of our better bowlers found it neccessary to take this attitude in order to presserve their own status.
Perhaps some of these bowlers would do well to reflect on how they got to where they are
now. Likewise I have watched as our current state commitee took it upon themselves to drive junior bowlers from the game simply because they didnt like their arrogant attitudes. My experience has always been that in order to be good at something first you must have confidence in yourself. At times the commitee saw this as being unacceptable conduct and handed out ridiculous penalties during Shield Trials that did little more than fire up the youngsters.
Perhaps they would have been better served taking a leaf from some of the original A.T.B.A. members attitudes where encouragement always bought out results as
opposed to a show of authority. I think our
state would certainly have had far more young adults still in the game today had this softer approach been adapted by the commitee.
Greg Holmes.

 

[AdrianS]

I don't recall seeing a lot of this rot on the Victorian Rachiug entry form(which i won't be bowling this year only due to lack of $ not lack of ambition) And one more thing , commitees are there to serve bowlers not rule them in case people have forgotten. Nice comment about Don Bell too. Wish i could still be over there kicking a$$es and ruffling feathers, hope thing get better there soon.

 

[Al]

Well with so much said what can one say other than, As a previous Rachuig bowler I have come to realise that unfortunately many people seem to have an opinion on the way it would, should or could be run.
The fact still remains unless you are in that particular team in that particular year you are speculating on the happenings or goings on.
Agreed this state has its problems within the bowling arena but I don't believe that many other states wouldn't also. The only difference being maybe they don't broadcast it.
I am also a firm believer in advancing our youth to the adult ranks but as many have said "what is the point if we don't have an adult division to enjoy and encourage our youth to progress too". It is all well and good to encourage and train our juniors and youth bowlers but who is looking after our dwindling adult division????? And lets be honest it is not in the best shape. With many issues such as bowlers contracts etc. which are set down to not only better the bowler but also the sport, we as a sport need to start to take some responsibility for our actions and the actions of our peers.
As you can see by previous posts (seniors looks pretty good no matter which way you look at them, shame you have to wait until you are 45).
As for the committee's/tournament organisers etc. something we should all remember is that all of these positions are voluntary and we should appreciate the work they do, even if we have our own opinions on the way things should be handled/run. Maybe if more people stopped complaining about the way things are done and offered some of their free time we could get things on the right track again. I know that there are plenty of people in this state that have donated many man hours and it is to their credit that they do this (congrats to you all sincerely).

Finally as to the original post (RACHUIG SA) unfortunately I am starting to believe that all is nearly lost and it won't be long before our beloved tournament will be no more. I hope that I am mistaken but we place so much pressure, expectations and restrictions on Shield, Walter De Veer and Rachuig that eventually there will not be such thing as (Representing your state, with pride and honor). God I hope I am wrong and only time will tell.
Good thing about this sport though, you can be any age and enjoy it.........
*Note: don't be afraid to say what you think, we are all entitiled to our opinion*

 

[strop]

 

[nicola]

hold the phone al no one has mentioned anything about what has happended at previous rachuigs, the actual content of this topic is our venting of fustrations we have as we watch our sport slowly decline in this state.
the adult ranks would be looked after if there was development of the youth (under 23)so that there is a follow on of bowlers, it used to be said that it took a couple of years before an ex junior would make rachuig but now that is not the case, the adult ranks are just not strong enough anymore in bowling strength to provide the variety of different bowlers we used to have make the team each year. in the past there would be many lanes full of eager adults rolling off for trials, it would always be unclear who would or wouldn't make the team. in the ladies now you may get twelve entries if your lucky which means that two will miss the cut, and then only three others will not make the team, in the mens you will get a higher number but still cut to 10 and this then leaves three to miss out. the level of competition has ben reduced and very few of the juniors in the last 5 years have continued bowling, cant say i blame them as they have nothing to give them inspriation to go on. this is why the youth are so important to our state.
we have had a very strong under 25 tournament running here since 1988 and there has been no capitaliastion made of this, a wasted resource. these bowlers meet once a year in a very intense, competitive tournament and i truly believe this tournament is all that holds the dwindling stock of bowlers together. it is very important to this state.

 

[strop]

 

[milkman]

Strop,

You are correct. The NTS form stated (even for youth) that you needed to at least try out in the state trials for the respective rachuig/president shield trials.

So if anyone is lucky enough from Adelaide to make it, and was not intending to bowl rachuig, this would force them to do so if they wanted to wear the Green and Gold.