The Inter-Island Test Match has been played since 1980, and over the last 44 years has cemented its place as one of the pinnacle events on the indoor bowling calendar in New Zealand.
This year the 40 Island representatives will take to the mats at the Waihi Beach Community Hall on August the third, with the South Island team gunning to defeat the North Island Indoor Bowls team for the first time since 2003.
In 2003 the North Island team was soundly defeated by the South- 35 Game Points to 13.
Since then, there's been a number of 'so close but so far' moments, with a number of Test Matches coming right down to the wire.
2018 was a particularly close competition- with the North Island winning on a countback of ends.
Men's and Women's Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours disciplines are contested over three mammoth rounds of indoor bowls with all disciplines barring the Fours being played over 21 ends, the Fours discipline is played over 18.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫'𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 for the first time, and with the talent present in both the North and South Island teams- there is every reason to expect another titanic tussle.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 sees two players former Mat Black Rochelle Cameron taking on Jenelle Lockyer.
Both players have a strong indoor bowling record, with Jenelle holding a New Zealand Mixed Pairs title and Rochelle regularly featuring at the pointy end of National Championships.
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 Tim Veale will play Brandon Williams.
Both have played in their respective island teams before and have had an exceptional last few seasons.
Tim is one of seven players to have won both the New Zealand Open Singles and the New Zealand Champion of Champions Singles, whereas Brandon has had very strong showings as a Skip at both an Island and National level.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 will be a battle, with Gina Owen and Candace Andrew playing Keri TeTamaki and Julie Thomas.
Gina and Julie are both former Mat Blacks who are making their return to high level play after a break.
Keri and Candace have both featured in a number of recent Inter-Island test matches.
With all four players holding national titles, there will be no lack of experience on show and three close encounters are anticipated.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 sees the combination of Alex Reed and Matthew Foster take on Gary Low and Neil Gilbert.
Gary is one of the most experienced indoor bowlers in the South Island team having debuted in the 90s, and holds national titles in the Singles, Triples and Fours events.
Neil Gilbert last played for the South Island team in 2000- leading the men's pairs for Gary Flewitt and has made a mighty return to the sport, forcing his re-selection into the 2024 South Island team.
Alex has participated in a number of inter-island test matches and takes on skipping the men's pair for the third time.
Matthew Foster moves into the men's pairs lead berth for the first time, where he will get the opportunity to demonstrate the excellent form that he showed in making the New Zealand Singles final earlier this year.
Both teams appear well matched, and will be approaching the test match with confidence.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 will be a fascinating battle, as Lesley Monk, Georgia Fisher and Maria Tough take on Hannah Botting, Christine Langley and Deb Ruffell.
Lesley, Georgia and Maria have all played for the island team before, and have a strong history of results at a domestic and national level.
Hannah and Christine have played for their island team in the past. Deb Ruffell debuts and has forced her selection through good performances over the last three seasons.
The six players boast well in excess of 60 District Titles between them, and will be well matched for 63 ends of high-quality indoor bowls.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 sees a battle of players in incredible form, with Joseph Zino, Ross Wright and Jordan Keene taking on Mat Bassett, Hayden Warnes and Nicholas Sinclair.
Joseph makes his return to the North Island team, having had an incredible 2024 National Championships- winning both the Triples and Fours titles.
Ross and Jordan both make their debut at this level, having forced their way into the team on their domestic and national results over the last three seasons.
Mat Bassett also had an incredible Nationals, winning the New Zealand Singles, Hayden and Nicholas have both featured at the pointy end of national championships over the last five years, and have also played for their island on a number of occasions.
Although the South Island Triples team appears to be more experienced at this level- the North Island triples will be backing themselves to be extremely competitive in this discipline.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 will see Linda McCurdy, Lisa Gould, Mesha White and Ashleigh Smith battle it out against Ann Graham, Wanda Peters , Rowena Mackenzie and Tracey Van Tuel.
Linda and Lisa are both former Mat Blacks, and boast a wealth of experience at this level.
Both Linda and Lisa hold Open National titles, and will be confident in their ability to support debutants Mesha White and Ashleigh Smith- who have forced their way into the team through their results on the mats over the last three seasons.
All four of the South Island players have played for their island in the past and are no stranger to indoor bowls at this level.
All eight players hold multiple District titles, and there's no reason to expect that their clash will be anything other than close.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 will be yet another mighty battle as the team of Wayne Baker, Paul Wright, Ali Wilson and Matthew Farquhar play Robert Wilson, Graham Low, Jakeb White and Jeremy Markham.
Wayne Baker makes his return to the North Island team for the first time this millennium- having last played for the North Island team in 1999, on that Occasion he played three for Kevin Whitehead, with Darren Baker at two and Paul Psaila off the front.
Paul, Ali and Matthew have all played for the North Island team in the past, all hold multiple Welch Trophy titles and continue to feature in results on the national stage.
Robert and Graham both debuted for the South Island team in the 90's and boast decades of experience at the top level.
Jeremy first burst onto the indoor bowling scene at the 2015 nationals and has been a consistent performer since then.
Jakeb is making his debut at an island level, after having moved through the junior ranks and impressing with his play at last years Welch Trophy.
With five of the eight players holding national titles, and decades of combined experience- both teams will be backing themselves to win.
Matside Broadcasting will again be providing live coverage of the Test Match, you can access the links below:
Round One: https://www.youtube.com/live/Ui9SijvA7a0?si=WdVudjRoqCL31O2W
Round Two: https://www.youtube.com/live/kfsGFoe7lPM?si=tztcckQjktH3uCjc
Round Three: https://www.youtube.com/live/jPZNJkOMs4A?si=0l9sPFSZ4gjaTzcw
Full results will be available on this years events spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/.../1I5OhICR.../edit...
North Island Team
Women:
Singles- Rochelle Cameron (CS)
Pairs- Gina Owen (TG), Candace Andrew (WK)
Triples- Lesley Monk (WK), Georgia Fisher (AK), Maria Tough (UH)
Fours- Linda McCurdy (WK), Lisa Gould (UH), Mesha White (AK), Ashleigh Smith (NT)
Reserves- Sarah Meyer (MN), Michelle Watt (NT)
Men:
Singles- Tim Veale (MN)
Pairs- Alex Reed (WK), Matthew Foster (PB)
Triples- Joseph Zino (HV), Ross Wright (NT), Jordan Keene (HV)
Fours- Wayne Baker (WK), Paul Wright (AK), Ali Wilson (NT), Matthew Farquhar (WK)
Reserves- Rodney Mills (AK), Dylan Foster (PB)
South Island Team
Women:
Singles- Jenelle Lockyer (SC)
Pairs- Keri TeTamaki (OT), Julie Thomas (AS)
Triples- Hannah Botting (SO), Christine Langley (SL), Deb Ruffell (SC)
Fours- Ann Graham (CY), Wanda Peters (CY), Rowena Mackenzie (AS), Tracey Van Tuel (OT)
Reserves- Jane Winteringham (SO), Alison Rowley (SL)
Men:
Singles- Brandon Williams (OT)
Pairs- Gary Low (SL), Neil GIlbert (NO)
Triples- Mat Bassett (AS), Hayden Warnes (GB), Nicholas Sinclair (OT)
Fours- Robert Wilson (SO), Graham Low (SL), Jakeb White (AS), Jeremy Markham (AS)
Reserves- James Sullivan (AS), Mat Begg (CO)