Hit the green

New Zealand’s limp effort at last year’s Commonwealth Games understandably led to a cut in funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand but rather than sit back and reflect on the paltry return of just two medals at the Gold Coast, Bowls NZ are rattling the cage and making changes they hope will lead to a return to the good old days. In Philip Skoglund jnr, Marlene Castle and Peter Belliss, they have a new-look selection panel who will operate separately from the coaching staff. Skoglund, son of former great Phil Skoglund, and his fellow selectors have all represented New Zealand, with Belliss, who shared the coaching /selection roles with Sharon Sims under the old regime, a double world champion. The most notable change, however, has come with the ditching the old format for the national championships. The event will now be split in two, with singles and pairs to be played at Auckland’s Carlton Cornwall club from next Wednesday and the fours at Wellington’s Naenae club in early March. Bowls needs to get back in front of the fans and will be looking for the exposure they enjoyed under long-retired commentator Stu Scott who added colour and flair to a sport many still, unfortunately, regard for “old people”. That is far from reality and the new selection panel have been charged with bringing a refreshing change and with it results good enough to bring some success in what will be a busy international programme in 2019.

● National championships, live-streamed from Wednesday until January 8.