Hey,
Congrats to everyone for their efforts on the weekend at City of Sydney. A comment to the person who started this topic about people not really respecting the younger bowlers, and especially bowlers who compete in Restricted events. It makes me laugh, really, to think that Open bowlers, and there are more than just a few, have a good laugh at the younger, less experienced who are in the lower grades when they are just playing the sport that they love and doing their best to achieve something for themselves. I was never what you would call an excellent bowler, but I made shield, and even though I didn't get many games I still felt like I had worked my way up to a level that I was aiming for.
These guys who just laugh and make fun of younger, lower graded bowlers, are just laughing at themselves because where do they think that they started originally?? Do they think that they just popped out of the woodwork with 180+ averages overnight, with no coaching or tournament experience - and if you think you did, wake up! I came 4th in National restricted masters in 1993 which I thought was pretty mad, then in 1994 I made the NSW Central Presidents Shield team which just totally blew me out of the water, and this was when it was alot harder to make, and the bowlers were just as good as they are today in Open, and we fielded a roll-off of more than the required 20 qualifiers.
C'mon guys, give the younger guys a break, because like my junior days when I was in "C" grade, and "B" grade, and the names Maxine Nable, David Brooker and Katie Stuart were mentioned, I really admired and respected them for what they were achieving in the junior ranks, and if this kind of laughing and making fun of people goes on, then the respect for the higher average bowlers and bowling in general will just disappear.
I know this post dragged on a bit, but I think that everything I said had to be said.
Cheers,
Brad
