Games places at stake

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 31

Games places at stake

Three men who will have much on their minds during the tournament are the national selectors, Kerry Clark, John Malcolm and Stan Seear.

Time is running out for them to pick their team for the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games next year, and performances in the next few weeks are sure to have a major bearing on their selections.

Clark, himself a former fours winner, and Seear may find themselves in the best possible position to observe some of the contenders — as opponents. Clark has entered for all three championships, while Seear will contest the pairs and fours.

Malcolm is expected to be in Christchurch at some stage and, no doubt, there is already a shortlist which the trio will be concentrating on. Commonwealth Games teams, of course, must be comprised entirely of amateurs, but since professional bowls was introduced into New Zealand some six years ago separating amateurs from professionals has been a ticklish exercise.

Despite the lessons of other sports, and bowls overseas, the development has been full of headaches, and, quite clearly, there

have been some injustices.

The situation has now been reached where most of the top players have openly declared themselves to be professionals, players like Peter Beiliss, Nick Unkovich, Ivan Kostanich, Jim Scott, Rowan Brassey, Danny O’Connor and Phil Skoglund. For them, Commonwealth Games selection is impossible, but really this is the only big event that is denied them.

Many others have opened trust accounts, which gives them the best of all worlds. Technically they are still amateurs, but can play for money and any winnings go into a fund which they can draw from to meet legitimate bowls expenses. Eventually all the money will go to them or their families.

The New Zealand Bowling Association supported trust accounts and this, not surprisingly, has led to a good deal of acrimony. With a Commonwealth Games team about to be selected the flames of discontent are sure to burn a little brighter.

.In preparation for the Edinburgh Games, New Zealand was represented by an all-amateur team at the South Pacific Games in

Tweed Heads last September.

The team of Stewart McConnell, Jim Christie, Terry Scott, Wayne Nairn and Maurice Symes performed very well, with Nairn and Symes winning the pairs gold medal and McConnell, Nairn, Christie and Scott taking the gold in the fours.

However, the competition was not all that strong. Of the seven nations which took part only Australia, apart from New Zealand, could be rated a strong bowls country, and it was Australia which collected the singles and triples golds. Still, all five members of the New Zealand team M steadily and the one re the biggest impression was Symes. His recent selection for the New Zealand team which played a test series against Ireland in Dunedin was further evidence that he is rated highly by the selectors, and is probably very nearly a certain selection for Edinburgh. Symes was one of the two amateurs (the professionals were Beiliss and Brassey) chosen for the Ireland series, which New Zealand won, the other being lan Dickison. There is no doubt that Dickison will be at Edinburgh. After his big singles

double last summer — the New Zealand title and the gold medal at the Australia Games — he must be an automatic selection, and at singles in particular he is now not far removed from Beiliss, the world champion, in ability. Morgan Moffat’s experience in international play makes him a strong contender for his fourth Commonwealth Games. He represented Scotland at Christchurch in 1974, winning a bronze medal in the fours, and playing for New Zealand he won fours silvers at Edmonton in 1978 and Brisbane in 1982.

Others very much in the running are Naim, who looks one of the best young prospects around, McConnell and John Murtagh. Keith Slight is also a definite chance, although his absence from the Christchurch tournament could count against him. There are a number of others, and Bruce McNish and Ken Watson, of Canterbury, would be among them, who may only need to show up in the next three weeks to win a place. However, it is not so much candidates that the selectors will be looking at, but finding the right ones for the right positions, and this makes their task even moreintriguing.