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Fendalton Bowling Club will be the venue for the World Bowls Singles Champion of Champions 2005 – the first of several World titles to be decided in Christchurch over the next three years.
Friday 25 November will see post-section play and the final of the women’s championship.
The men’s post-section play and final will follow on Saturday 26 November. It is envisaged that both finals will be televised live and on-sold to Australia, the UK, South Africa and elsewhere.
Both previous tournaments were held in Australia with representatives from two of the smallest bowling countries winning through in 2003 - 28 year old Douw Calitz from Namibia and Liz James from Swaziland. In 2004 six times World Champion Margaret Johnston of Ireland and a 24 year old from the United Club in Nelson, Ali Forsyth, were triumphant.
Margaret and Ali will not defend their titles as neither won their country’s current championship. Three times World Champion, Phillis Nolan, is the present champion of Ireland while Dwayne Cameron of Counties-Manukau defeated Rowan Brassey 21-20 in a great comeback in the 2005 NZ singles final.
Cameron will be joined by Sharon Sims from Palmerston North at Fendalton. Sims, a three times World Champion, and 2004 Halberg Awards finalist (with Jo Edwards), is always a popular visitor to Canterbury greens. It is expected that both players will attract a strong following from local crowds. Competition will be fierce however with players of the caliber of Shane Globits, Roma Dunn (Australia), Mark Walton, Amy Monkhouse (England), Martin McHugh, Phillis Nolan (Ireland), Donald Piketh, Coleen Webb (South Africa), Paul Foster, Cecilia Smith (Scotland) to name but a few. At this level every player is a contender and surprise results can be expected.
The playing format will add to the excitement and speed of each game. Two sets, each of 9 ends, with if necessary a 3-end tie-breaker, will decide the winner of each match. A killed jack will be re-spotted with games taking about 2 hours to complete.
The organizing committee chaired by Dr Michael Kerr has been active since January and will be assisted by a team of over 120 volunteers from 26 Bowls Canterbury clubs as umpires, markers, board attendants, parking officials, drivers, site managers etc. The three-green complex has been expertly prepared by Fendalton’s greens staff and club members ably guided by green keeper Ken Thickett.
The lounge bar will be open and lunches and refreshments will be available every day.
Charges are minimal - admission $2/day or $10/season ticket: -parking $3/car/day in FendaltonPark(enter via Makora Street): - programme to cover the whole event $4-$5.
This event is the first of five international tournaments leading up to the pinnacle event of world bowls – The World Bowls Championships 2008 to be held in Christchurch12-27 January 2008.
For more information contact Ken Wilson-Pyne at 357 4939 or email kenwp@bowlsevents.co.nz
Four things will make the World Bowls Singles successful – the players, the volunteers, the weather, and the spectators. Come along and play your part in the success of this event!
3 March 2005
Nelson lawn bowler Ali Forsyth won national singles titles back to back in 2003 and 2004, the second of them right here in Christchurch.
That qualified him to play in just the second running of a new event organised by the World Bowls body, and late last year, the then 24 year old came through 15 round robin and knockout matches unbeaten, to add the title ‘World Champion of Champions’ to his already impressive CV.
For 2005 and the third staging of the competition, sixty of the world’s best men and women bowlers will be coming to Christchurch in November, and the Fendalton Bowling Club is well advanced in preparation to host them.
Play will take place on the three top-class greens at the club in Fendalton Park, with the eyes of the bowls world and the nation, through extensive media coverage, focused on Christchurch.
The competition runs from November 18th to 26th.
But Forsyth won’t be here to defend his crown. To qualify you have to be the current national singles champion of your own country, and another young player, 28 year old former international Dwayne Cameron, will represent New Zealand after winning the domestic title in January.
High home hopes for the women’s event will rest with reigning World and Commonwealth pairs champion and Halberg Award nominee Sharon Sims.
The Fendalton event is just the first in a series of high profile national, international and world events bringing top-class bowls action to the Garden City over the next three years.
The World Champion of Champions Singles returns for a second visit in November 2006, closely followed by the Asia Pacific Championships in January 2007.
Australia and New Zealand are the regional powerhouses and can expect good medal hauls, but add in Hong Kong, and with Malaysia now also firmly established on the world stage, plus the colour and unpredictability of the Pacific Island nations, the AP’s will be a memorable event.
Trans Tasman rivalries will be renewed in test series between Australia and New Zealand, and the annual event will actually be played twice in the 2007 calendar year, once after the Asia Pacifics, and then again prior to Christmas.
That’s because the summer of 2007/2008 just couldn’t be any busier.
First the annual National Open Championships will be in town from late December for 12 days, featuring the best home-grown talent in New Zealand. An entry of 1500 to 2000 competitors will be expected as Bowls Canterbury celebrates its centenary year.
And running straight on after the nationals, the pinnacle of the sport, the World Championships, will complete a remarkable period for Christchurch as host to the entire bowling world.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Let your appetite be whetted by the action at Fendalton in November, as the national champs from around the globe come to Christchurch to lay claim to the title of World Champion of Champions.
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