Savident gets his passport to play
GEOFF SAVIDENT is looking forward to a big adventure when he leaves today for the lawn bowls' World Singles Champion of Champions in New Zealand.
GEOFF SAVIDENT is looking forward to a big adventure when he leaves today for the lawn bowls' World Singles Champion of Champions in New Zealand. The 2005 island champion is among the 28 national title winners from around the globe who are battling it out to be the champion of champions at Fendalton Park in Christchurch on New Zealand's south island.
Not only will it be the 51-year-old taxi driver's first time at the competition, but it will be the first time that he has been outside the British Isles.
'I only got my passport for my 50th,' he said.
'I was a little bit anxious at first but everyone says how nice it is out there. It's just coming into their summer as well.
'It's a big event. They don't get much bigger than this.
'It's a chance of a lifetime. There are a lot of other people who would have liked to have gone.'
Savident will rub shoulders with competitors from the mainstream lawn bowls countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The event also features bowlers from other places such as Japan, Namibia, Malaysia, Zambia and Israel.
Jersey will be represented Alan Shaw who will not be the only player that Savident has come up against in the past.
He is also familiar with England's champion Simon Jee and Darren Burnett from Scotland.
The tournament starts on Saturday 25 November with the final on the following Saturday.
'I'm going to give it my best shot,' said Savident.
'I'll be flying the flag for Guernsey. I'm taking the flag, which will be put at the end of the green, and I've got a CD with Sarnia Cherie.
'I'm going to be like an ambassador for Guernsey. I'm going to bowl hard and try and get through as many rounds as I can.
To help with the costs of the trip, Savident has received sponsorship from the Garenne Group, Alpha Asset Finance and Francis Cambrea-Bell.
'If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be able to go,' he said.
* THE draw has seen Savident placed in group one.
He will face the champions of: New Zealand, Kenya, Fiji, Namibia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Zambia and Samoa.