International bowls makes a welcome return to Auckland after some seasons in Christchurch.
Qualifying rounds start next weekend at various Auckland clubs for the inaugural Fuji Xerox New Zealand Open, which begins at the Henderson club tomorrow week. It features leading bowlers from Australia and New Zealand andsome from South Africa.
The tournament, covering singles, pairs and fours for men and women, will complete the Australian Grand Prix, after events in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Total prize money of $30,000 makes it the biggest cash tournament in New Zealand and it is an important buildup for the world championships at Christchurch in January.
Ali Forsyth and Val Smith are top seeds in the singles, followed respectively by Australians, Aron Sheriff and Kelsey Cottrell. In the women's event, though, a threat could be South African Lorna Trigwell, who is seeded five.
Gary Lawson and Russell Meyer are the men's pairs top seeds, but the Lawson-skipped four of Meyer, Andrew Todd and Richard Girvan is seeded behind the Mark Casey-skipped Australian four.
The women's seedings are reversed. Australia's Lynsey Armitage and Karen Murphy are No 1 but in the fours it is New Zealand's Jo Edwards, Sharon Sims and sisters Jan and Marina Khan.
Some national development players have direct entry and qualifiers from preliminary tournaments will complete the fields.
