There were three standout players at the just completed New Zealand championships in Auckland - Mandy Boyd (Johnsonville), Andrew Kelly (Canterbury) and Blake Signal (Wellington).
Boyd and Kelly, who are already in the Black Jacks 10-man squad, have put in strong challenges to be included in the Black Jacks for World Bowls.
Signal (29) is expected to be promoted from the Bowls New Zealand development squad to the Black Jacks 10-man squad.
Boyd (19) was the most consistent female bowler at the championships and finished runner-up in the three finals - singles, pairs and fours.
In Dunedin last year, she became the youngest female bowler to win a New Zealand open championship title and was named in the Black Jacks 10-strong women's squad.
A fine arts student at Massey University in Wellington, Mandy Boyd followed her older sisters into the sport six years ago and has already established an impressive record at junior level.
She won the girls singles title at the New Zealand secondary schools championships twice and the New Zealand kittyhawks (under-20) title.
Ironically, the bowler she is expected to replace in the five-strong women's team for World Bowls is her fours team-mate, Leanne Curry, who won a gold medal in the fours at the Asia-Pacific championships.
Kelly, the winning fours skip yesterday, will be challenging Tony Grantham for a World Bowls spot.
Grantham is the most vulnerable of the five-man team that competed at the Asia-Pacific championships.
Three members of that team - Ali Forsyth, who won a silver medal in the fours, and Richard Girvan and Dan Delany who won the gold medal in the pairs - are certain be named for Word Bowls.
Otago's Shaun Scott, who won a bronze medal in the triples in Adelaide, still has work to do to confirm his spot.
Signal won the men's award for most consistent bowler after he won national titles in the fours and pairs at the New Zealand championships.
It was a record that will likely put him in a challenging position for World Bowls.
New Zealand selector Terry Scott said yesterday the selectors would meet in Christchurch during the Burnside pairs at Christchurch next week.
They are expected to name the Black Jacks and development squads.
"The World Bowls team will come from the Black Jacks squad," Scott said. "A player has to be named in the squad first before he can be picked for World Bowls."
The key events the selectors will note are the New Zealand Challenge Trophy in Christchurch this month and the Six Nations championships in Adelaide in May.
"We will also note performances at the Burnside pairs, Australian open and World Cup events," Scott said.
The World Bowls team will be named after the Six Nations championships.World Bowls will be held in Adelaide from November 24 to December 9.
The best Otago performance at the New Zealand championships in Auckland came from Rebecca Jelley (North East Valley) who reached the last 16 in the women's singles.
