It is the section from hell. It includes six New Zealand representatives and a national junior representative in the eight-strong field.
Thirteen internationals are among the 32-strong field for the 21st annual Speight's North East Valley Invitation Singles at Labour Weekend and six of them are in section four.
It includes Justin Goodwin (Wellington), who won the event last year. The other internationals in the section are Australian-based Richard Girvan, Jim Scott (North East Valley), Mike Kernaghan (Dunedin), Jamie Hill (Auckland) and Ken Walker (Dunedin)The tournament is widely regarded as not only the best singles event held annually in New Zealand but also as the best invitation event.
The total prizemoney is $15,000, with the winner's purse $5000.
A feature of the field is the return to serious play by Kernaghan, who won a bronze medal in the singles at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2002.
Kernaghan (55), who won his 21st Bowls Dunedin title last season, has made himself available for representative bowls this year.
He last played in the invitation singles six years ago and retired from all serious bowls in 2004 when he was working in the North Island.
Kernaghan is now back in Dunedin as chief executive of the Cancer Society of Otago and Southland, and has more time to play bowls.
Girvan, a member of the New Zealand team that beat Australia in the transtasman test in Invercargill this year, is the only Australian-based player.
The event now clashes with the finals of the Australian state championships and the New South Wales premier league.
The other senior internationals in the field are Tony Grantham (Auckland), Sean O'Neill (South Canterbury), Shaun Scott (North East Valley), Andrew Curtain (Canterbury), Shannon McIlroy (Nelson), Terry Scott (North East Valley), and Shayne Sincock (Canterbury).
Players making their debut in the event are Murray Glassey (Hawkes Bay), who has been a dominant player in this year's PBA, promising junior Blake Signal (Wellington) and Nathan Glasson (Canterbury), who was third in the New Zealand singles championships in Dunedin in January.
North East Valley bowlers are involved in a qualifying event at the moment and four will be added to the field.
Two bowlers qualify from each section for post-section play and a chance to win the main event. The event will be held on October 21-24.
Ken Walker remained unbeaten and won the Andersons Bay open fours last weekend with three 17-year-old bowlers, Elliott Mason, Bradley Torrance and Oliver Mason.
