Corner-to-corner bowls started as a fun event but has quickly become a favourite tournament on the Bowls New Zealand programme.
Sixteen bowlers have qualified for tomorrow's regional final at the North East Valley Club.
The winner and runner-up qualify for the national final at the Pakuranga Bowling Cub, Auckland, on April 8.
Corner-to-corner bowls hopes to follow the example of twenty/20 cricket and attract new fans to the sport.
A trial for the event proved successful in Auckland two years ago and organisers made it a national event last season.
Bruce Suszko (Wakari) won the Dunedin regional final last year and Laurie Moore (North East Valley) was runner-up.
Six regional finals will be held in Auckland, Wellington, Bay of Plenty-Waikato, North Harbour-Northland, Christchurch and Dunedin this month.
The winner of the club elimination tournament qualifies for the regional final and the winner and runner-up from each regional tournament qualifies for the national final.
Variations of corner-to-corner bowls are played regularly at bowling clubs after the serious competition of the day is completed.
As opposed to normal bowls, which is played end-to-end on a bowling green, corner-to-corner is played diagonally across the green and uses no jack.
The goal is to play the bowl as close to the corner of the green as possible.
The Dunedin finalists are Jan Barclay (Taieri), Gaynor Todd (Green Island), Paul Newall (Fairfield), Ross Stevens (St Clair), Ross Munro (Forbury Park), Norm Bennetts (Andersons Bay), Bruce Malcolm (Port Chalmers), Eileen Ross (Balmacewen), Jared Collins (Kaikorai), Nigel Birkbeck (Wakari), Nigel Wright (Leith), Terry Perham (Mornington), Colin Wheeler (North East Valley).
Caversham, St Kilda and Tainui have yet to name their finalists.
