Dunedin is set to host New Zealand’s best bowlers in a new interisland match.
A North Island team will travel to face a South Island team on September 3-5 at the Dunedin Lawn Bowls Stadium.
Each team will consist of 18 players and the contest will take a format similar to golf’s Ryder Cup.
The teams will include two para-bowlers, male and female, and there will be a mix of high-performance squad players and unknown quantities.
The first day of the event will feature two men’s and two women’s fours matches.
Day two will involve nine mixed pairs matches, before 18 singles matches on day three.
South non-playing captain Maurice Symes is looking forward to the challenge.
"It’s going to be a great event. I was quite excited when they asked me to be involved," the 1990 Commonwealth Games medallist said.
"The hard part as the non-playing captain will be getting the combinations right, particularly as the singles can turn the competition on its head.
"Dunedin Stadium isn’t the easiest with judging distances; it can be quite demanding on the bowlers.
"I think the South Island can win and will win, but it’s going to be great competition."
Bowls NZ high performance manager Kaushik Patel is looking forward to the new concept.
“The North versus South Challenge will add a huge amount to everyone taking part.
"It will be interesting to see how the players respond to the pressure, plus seeing the interisland rivalry come to the fore.
"There is already a bit of talk around the country about which island has the best bowlers currently. This event could settle things."
There have been North versus South events in the past but not in this format and not always on a regular basis.
