Although a lot of bowlers have now moved on to outdoors for the summer, both Ali and Ian Merrien will be sticking to the indoor game for the championships, which run from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 May and will also provide welcome high-level experience ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The husband-and-wife duo joined forces at last year’s edition in Scotland to secure mixed pairs bronze, while both will also be competing in their respective singles at the Ocean Grove Bowling Club in Victoria.
‘I am really looking forward to these championships,’ Ali said.
‘Competition is fierce as always and I’m feeling good in my own game at the moment.
‘The draws are tough. There are some familiar faces and some new ones – I think it is the unknown that can cause headaches but also good challenges to keep you on form.
‘My aim is to make the knockout stages and see what happens.’
Both made the knockouts individually last year and came just short of the medals, losing out in match tie-breakers during the quarter-finals.
‘I’ve got through to the group stages the last few times and medalled with Ali at every one of these championships we’ve played together, so I’m looking forward to testing myself once again,’ Ian said.
‘I think the surface will be a little slow, which will catch some people out to start with. Hopefully that’s not me.’
The Guernsey bowlers will be joining 31 other nations at the event, delivered in partnership with the International Indoor Bowls Council.
The venue has two greens and hosts are using these to maximum effect to make for a short, sharp tournament.
A busy schedule that has Ali going in the women’s singles and Ian in the men’s, together with joining forces in the mixed pairs, means that both could be playing up to five games or eight hours per day.
The singles are in four groups, with the top two going straight into the quarter-finals, while the mixed utilises eight and only allows the top pair to progress.
The knockout stages take place over the Friday afternoon and through Saturday.
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