Bowls: Clark downplays talk of change

Bowls New Zealand chief executive Kerry Clark is playing down speculation that changes are to be made to the management structure for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games team.

The organisation's board met last weekend, apparently to consider a decision by the sport's high performance sub-committee that the men's and women's team managers' roles be combined.

Former New Zealand representative Peter Belliss' name has been linked with the new manager's job, leaving incumbent manger and convener of the men's selection panel, Peter Shaw, out in the cold.

Clark yesterday said no decisions had been made on the Games management team.

"It is pure speculation. There are a lot of rumours around and I don't know where they are being fuelled from," he said.

"Any issues relating to team personnel are all dealt with in committee. If and when any changes were to be made they would be announced publicly."

Clark said the board had another meeting in about a fortnight.

He admitted that if there were to be changes they would need to be made quickly, with the Games only nine months away.

Shaw yesterday said he had not resigned from his selection job and had no further comment to make.

Possible changes to the management team first arose last week after a meeting of the sport's high performance sub-committee, of which Shaw is a member.

Other members of the board are Gary Lawson and Sharon Sims (players' representatives), Clark, national coach Stewart Buttar, the conveners of the men's and women's selection panels, Shaw and Anne Muir, high performance director Ashley Light, and funding agency Sparc's performance director Chris Bullen.

Sources close to the board confirmed changes were imminent.

Shaw managed the New Zealand team at the world championships last year and took the team to within an ace of winning, for the first time, the prestigious Leonard Trophy, awarded to the championships' top nation.

New Zealand lost the trophy to home nation Scotland on points differential.

The team returned with four medals -- a silver and three bronze -- from four disciplines.

New Zealand's most experienced bowler, Rowan Brassey, said he had heard rumours of changes but did not know what they were.

He said Shaw had done an outstanding job in his time in charge of the national team.

- nzpa