HONG KONG—The preparations for this year’s Hong Kong International Bowls Classic will enter a new stage this weekend, August 13 when more than 150 bowlers will play qualifying matches in the hope of getting a place in the singles competition.
While 104 male players will be playing for the 33 places available, the ladies are facing less competition as 53 players will play for 37 slots. The singles qualifying matches will be played at four clubs around Hong Kong, including Craigengower Cricket Club, Indian Recreation Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club and Kowloon Cricket Club.
Hong Kong bowlers registered their biggest ever success at the Classic last year. In the singles Hong Kong representative Dorothy Yu and Craigengower Cricket Club bowler Jordi Lo swept both titles, while young girls Vivian Yip and Amy Choi kept the women’s pairs title in town for the first time.
This year the Classic will be held from November 5 to 13 on island greens, with Craigengower Cricket Club as the main venue, supported by Indian Recreation Club and Hong Kong Football Club. The first two days will be for the singles when 64 men and 64 women will chase the individual honour. This will be followed by seven days of pairs competition when 24 teams of each gender will play for the ultimate honour.
Confirmed to participate in the event are traditionally strong bowling nations of Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Wales, Malaysia, Canada, South Africa, Singapore and China. They will join Hong Kong’s local players at the nine day event.
The Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association is still waiting for the details of the participating players from those countries and will announce it when available.
This week in Lawn Bowls
Classic Singles Qualifying competitions take place at CCC, HKCC, IRC and KCC on Saturday Aug 13 starting at 9am. On Sunday Aug 14 there Southern District Indoor Lawn Bowls at Ap Lei Chau Indoor Greens between 9am and 6pm.
Claudius Lam is an officer of the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association
