Guernsey Press

Top of the world but still feeling very jealous

GUERNSEY'S jet-setting new world champion is finding life in the fast lane frustrating, to say the least.

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GUERNSEY'S jet-setting new world champion is finding life in the fast lane frustrating, to say the least. There is at present no credible ranking list for women bowlers, so it is difficult to be precise, but Merrien is universally regarded as one of the top exponents and would have been expected to be one of the front-runners for the world outdoor singles title in New Zealand in January.

But as previously reported she will not be there because of the idiosyncratic way the sport's governing body - World Bowls Limited (WBL) - run their championships.

In allowing only the world's top 24 countries to compete in the final stages, they discriminate against top stars who happen to live and play in those countries which fail to qualify for the sport's flagship event.

Guernsey's men made it into the top 24 for the 2008 event, but Guernsey's women did not. So, while husband Ian will be in Christchurch, Alison will be following the progress of the championships on the internet, from a safe distance of 12,000 miles.

'We used to have automatic entry - and the chance to send one or two players rather than a team of five,' Merrien explained before flying back from Australia, crowned as the Champion of Champions.

'Now you have to qualify - and it has to be a full team of five players.

'It's a shame they've changed the rules - but change is the future and it's inevitable,? she added.

'I've spoken to a lot of players here who are going, and I have to say I feel a bit jealous.

'I'll be back at home supporting Ian - and wishing our men's team all the best,' she said with a sigh. 'Ah well - I'll get to New Zealand one day, just wait and see.'

Merrien is not the only top performer to be sidelined in this way.

Carmen Anderson, who won the world women's singles title from Norfolk Island in 1996, but who now represents the country of her birth, the Philippines, has also been ruled out.

With Israel's Ruthie Gilor, who recently won the silver medal in the Atlantic championships, unavailable through work commitments, the women's event in Christchurch will be seriously devalued.

The credibility of the men's championships had already taken a knock because WBL have allowed Bowls New Zealand to schedule the world outdoor championships to clash with the world indoor ones, which will be staged as usual at Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk, from January 7-27.

All members of the World Bowls Tour top 16 - except for Ireland's Jonathan Ross - have opted for winter in Norfolk rather than summer in New Zealand, an indication that they feel that the financial reward and ranking points to be gained at the indoor event make all the difference.

When the Guernsey Press asked the WBL for their take on the issue this week, Roger Black, assistant to chief executive Gary Smith, said: 'Of course we would prefer the best players to be competing in Christchurch.'

He added: 'However, the world outdoor championships are a team event, in which the singles is just one component. We asked our member countries for their views and that is how they want it to be.

'That was one reason why we introduced the Champion of Champions event in 2003, so that national champions could win the right to compete for a world title.

'In some ways, that's a more credible world singles title, because everyone can enter - and no one is kept out if their country fails to qualify, or on the whim of their national selectors.'

* A welcoming party for the newly crowned Merrien will be awaiting her arrival at Guernsey airport tomorrow evening. She is due in at 5.30pm.

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