Published on: Saturday, January 30, 2010 |
Kota Kinabalu: Dull and unamusing as the sport of lawn bowls may be to some people, those who actually play the game would tell you it is rather enjoyable.
In fact some people are so into the sport that they travel great distances just to experience the game in a new environment.
One example of such enthusiasm for the sport is a group of Australian lawn bowlers who are set to visit Sabah, later this year, just to play the game.
Some 70 Aussies representing lawn bowling associations in Brisbane and other parts of Australia are set to visit Sabah in March, to compete in friendly competitions against lawn bowlers from Sabah as well as Labuan.
Benjamin Golimbim, who works at Dynamic Tours and Travel and Incentive Sdn Bhd, will be handling the Australian group when they arrive in the state.
"Lawn bowls is a very popular sport in Australia. Many senior citizens spend their time playing the game.
"The group will be coming to Sabah on March 25 and will be staying until the 31st, during which they will compete in a friendly tournament against bowlers from Labuan (March 26) and Sabah (March 30).
"Apart from competing in the tournaments the trip would also include sightseeing tours," said Gombilin.
The tour would be led by a retired pharmacist and the Team Manager, Dr Frank Ryan, who is also a past president of the St Lucia Bowling Club.
Among some of the interesting individuals that would be going on this trip is Nowell Taylor.
Taylor who turns 89, this year, is probably the most "experienced" lawn bowler of the 2010 Sabah Bowling Tour.
He has a Sabah connection, which goes back to some 50 years.
"I served in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) of the 9th Australia Division as a Sergeant in WW2. We landed at Labuan on June 10, 1945 and at that time I was only 23," said Taylor, conveying his story to Tournament Coordinator, Tony Tan.
Taylor continued, "Four days later we sailed across to the mainland and arrived at a little town of Weston".
"Then, we advanced inland along the Padas River combating the Japanese army. We drove the enemies from Beaufort town up north to Papar and Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu).
"On September 9, 1945, Lt General Baba and other officials from the 32nd Japanese Southern Army flew in and landed at Labuan airport from Tenom. The Japanese army headquarters were situated in Tenom at the time.
"Under the command of the Japanese Emperor, Lt General Baba signed a Surrender Memorandum on behalf of the Japanese government before the officials of the 9th Australia Division at the location where they called it the "Surrender Point".
"Hence it marked the end of the WW2 and Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) were liberated," said Taylor.
Meanwhile, according to Golimbi, the 2010 Sabah Bowling Tour is an avenue for the Sabah Lawn Bowls Association to promote the sport and attract interest from the locals.
"It might be interesting for others to know that lawn bowls is actually a very interesting game, which in some ways is quite similar to golf.
There are strict rules in golf such as etiquette, which is similarly observed in lawn bowls," he said.
For the record, Sabah has produced some of the world's top ranking lawn bowlers in recent years.
