Promising Dunedin bowler Mark Watt could be one of them.
Watt (20), who was named the New Zealand junior bowler of the year in September, put his name in the selectors' minds after winning the Hong Kong International singles this year.
He just needed to play consistently at the weekend to get the nod.
The North East Valley Invitation singles was the last chance for bowlers to put their case to the new national selection panel of Canterbury's Dave Edwards (chairman ).
Terry Scott (Dunedin) and Colleen Ferrick (Hawkes Bay).
Edwards, the Bowls New Zealand high performance coach, told the Otago Daily Times a squad of 10 men and 10 women will be named to prepare for next year's international season and the Commonwealth Games.
There are spots available in the squad because the experienced Sharon Sims has retired and double gold medallist Russell Meyer has based himself at Liverpool in England.
"We have kept in contact with Russell and he is still keen to be involved with the team for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi," Edwards said.
"But because he is based in England, we will probably exclude him from the squad in the initial stages."
Edwards indicated that a couple of players named in the new squad could be considered bolters. "Some people might see a couple of the selections as bolters," he said.
"But we will explain our selections and tell the country why we have named them in the team."
Every player in the squad must be good enough to be a contender for the five-man and five-woman Commonwealth Games teams for New Delhi.
New Zealand bowlers have had topsy turvy results at the Commonwealth Games with the last man to win a gold medal being Dunedin's Ian Dickison, in the singles at Edinburgh, in 1986.
Judy Howat and Maree Watson won the pairs at Auckland in 1990.
Bowls New Zealand has adopted a new selection policy, with the three selectors choosing both the men's and women's squads.
There were separate men's and women's panels in the past.
"It is a new selection panel and they have come with fresh ideas," Edwards said.
"We have had good, robust discussions already."
He expects to have some new players named in the squads.
The first event on the 2009 international programme is the Transtasman Trophy at Brisbane in March.
The next target is the Asia and Pacific championships at the four-green complex at Kuala Lumpur in August.
They are slow greens and only run at 12 to 14 seconds.
In October Bowls New Zealand plans to take a squad to New Delhi to test conditions for the Commonwealth Games, to be held 12 months later.
"One of the issues around that at the moment is that there are no bowling greens in India," Edwards said.
"We are still waiting for them to be built."
They will be artificial surfaces.
This will be an advantage to New Zealand because there are several artificial surfaces in the country, the best being the Westpac Stadium in Dunedin.
Bowls New Zealand has had input from the World Bowls players about what was needed for New Delhi.
"Our whole focus is now on the next two years leading to New Delhi in 2010,"A feature of the Commonwealth Games format is set play, with nine ends in each set.
While Edwards does not see it as a selection issue, saying top players should be able to adjust, he does regard it as an issue for the sport in New Zealand.
"We have got to accept that sets are part of a changing game and bowls will be played in this style more frequently," Edwards said.
