Hectic period for bowls
MQONDISI DUB
ECorrespondent
| Friday June 6, 2008 00:00
Starting this weekend, bowlers from all over the country will meet for the Lobatse Open, which is sponsored by Cumberland Hotel and Kings Casino.
However, the non-availability of Orapa Bowling Club has taken some of the shine off the event. Orapa and Jwaneng will be involved in the inter-mines competition at Orapa.
Jwaneng will be able to send only one team, instead of two to this weekend's competition in Lobatse. Botswana Bowling Association (BBA) spokesperson Lebo Mascarenhas acknowledged that the non-availability of some players this weekend would affect the level of competition. 'We would have loved to have strong sides at the Lobatse Open.
Some teams would be forced to bring three teams to cover up for the number of players who won't be available,' Mascarenhas said.
She said some of the players taking part in the Debswana tournament at Orapa are in the national team and would be missed in Lobatse. 'We are not under rating the players who will be travelling to Lobatse but we would have loved to have the best players at the tourney, particularly local players,' Mascarenhas said. Despite the absence of the Orapa stars, Mascarenhas said Lobatse will be a hive of activity, as about 48 players will be on the greens. The tournament will be played on a mixed fours format and the focus will no doubt be on defending champions, Francistown B.
The Lobatse tournament is to be played over two days, starting tomorrow. Over the weekend of June 21-22, BBA will host the inaugural Botswana Vs The Rest international where local players will square off against expatriates. The tournament, to be sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors, will be held in Gaborone and all clubs will participate. Mascarenhas said the tournament would give Batswana a chance to gauge their strength against foreign nationals residing in Botswana. 'All along, citizens and expatriates have played alongside each other. We do not know our strength and this tournament will provide that opportunity,' she said.
Mascarenhas added that there will be the fours, the trips, pairs and singles competition, similar to the format in the World Bowls or African States championships. Botswana players to participate in the tournament will be selected after this weekend. The following weekend, the BBA Masters competition takes place in Gaborone. Two players from each club will be selected for the event, which was previously called the Champions of champions. Mascarenhas, who is recovering from an operation, said she hopes to participate in the upcoming events after missing the Jwaneng Open last month.
The country's leading bowler and one of the top eight players in the world, Mascarenhas is scheduled to take part in the World Singles Championships in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the end of August. 'It will all depend on how my body reacts. I must be fit for the August event and if, during the upcoming events I feel that I am not 100 percent fit, I'll take a month's rest,' she said.
Mascarenhas, however, said she was feeling well enough to return to the greens, hoping this weekend's tournament will determine her fitness levels.