Nelson veteran Val Smith again heads the New Zealand bowls team for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
A team of 10 — five women and five men — was named yesterday.
Smith, who will be attending her fifth Commonwealth Games, is a world champion and two-time medalist (silver at Delhi 2010, bronze at Glasgow 2014) at the Commonwealth Games.
She is looking forward to the opportunity of completing her medal set with a gold in Birmingham.
“It’s incredibly exciting, and I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to once again represent New Zealand,” Smith said.
“The Commonwealth Games is our Olympics. It’s the pinnacle, and to be my age [56]going to my fifth games, makes me feel like a kid again.
“It’s a great feeling and I can’t wait to get there.”
Joining Smith are Katelyn Inch, Tayla Bruce and Selina Goddard, who are all aged in their 20s and have all experienced a Commonwealth Games in either 2014 or 2018.
Rounding out the women’s team is Nicole Toomey for her Games debut.
The men’s team is headlined by Shannon McIlroy, the world singles champion, and Ali Forsyth, world fours champion.
Joining McIlroy and Forsyth are Mike Galloway, Tony Grantham and Andrew Kelly.
Grantham last represented New Zealand at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, while for Galloway and Kelly — who grew up in North Otago — this will be their first Games experience.
Meanwhile, Gerald Brouwers has been selected to replace Deane Robertson in the B2/B3 vision impaired discipline for the para bowls competition in Birmingham. He will compete alongside Sue Curran.
The bowls competition at the Commonwealth Games starts on July 29 and finishes on August 6.
The naming of the bowls team takes the total number of athletes at present selected to the New Zealand team for Birmingham to 157.
Commonwealth Games
NZ bowls team
Woman: Katelyn Inch (singles and pairs), Selina Goddard (pairs and fours), Val Smith (triples and fours), Tayla Bruce (triples and fours), Nicole Toomey (triples and fours).
Men: Shannon McIlroy (singles and pairs), Tony Grantham (pairs and fours), Ali Forsyth (triples and fours), Mike Galloway (triples and fours), Andrew Kelly (triples and fours).
