Representing the Dunedin region after winning the Bowls Dunedin champion of champions regional title earlier this year will be brothers Callum and Jonty Horwell (Kaikorai) in the men's section and Carolyn Crawford and Sharon McCaw (St Clair) in the women's section.
Introduced to the game at intermediate-school age by PBA international Peter Wilson and his brother, Steve, the Horwell brothers are hoping the home-ground advantage will work just as much in their favour as did the winning of the Dunedin Centre title on the Kaikorai greens in March.
Winning the Bowls Dunedin champion of champion pairs title this year was Jonty's third centre title, but Callum's first, despite an impressive list of achievements as the two have risen through the ranks over the past decade.
''We haven't played a lot of bowls of late,'' Jonty, who will skip, said.
''We'll be getting out there, doing our thing and hoping for the best. Having the home-ground advantage will be a help.''
Crawford, who will play her customary skip role, is no stranger to top competition, having finished runner-up in the precursor Pathways competition pairs title three years ago. Among her list of national titles is a national open pairs title won with Ann Muir in 2014.
Completing what appears a strong contingent of players from the South will be Southland champions Caleb Hope and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, both from the Gore Club, and Central Otago players Pat Houlahan and Roger O'Brien, of the Alexandra club, who will join the battle for the right to be crowned Bowls New Zealand pairs champion of champions.
On the women's side of the draw, Southland representatives and New Zealand high performance squad members Sarah Scott and Bronwyn Stevens will do battle with fellow South Island combinations such as Mata Frankum and Julie Robins, South Canterbury.
Play gets under way at 7.45am on Friday morning and at 8am on Saturday.
Post-section play starts at 8.30am on Sunday and both the men's and women's finals are set to start at 2pm on Sunday.
