He showed at the weekend that abdication was far from his thoughts.
King, 55, who had not returned to the annual tournament since his victory in 1994, accepted an invitation to play in the rejigged premier mixed pairs event with wife Helen.
Now living in Wellington and playing out of the Victoria Bowling Club, Dunedin-born-and-bred King discovered bowls in the 1980s, playing for the Green Island club before transferring to Leith.
It was this association that encouraged him south for the weekend as the Leith club celebrated its 100th jubilee, providing him the opportunity to catch up with former playing mates.
He met Helen at a Black Jacks wider squad training camp shortly after he moved to Wellington in 1998.
Both still play competitively in Wellington representative squads and are the region’s most experienced players, Ben sitting on 350 caps and Helen 290.
Ben won seven Dunedin titles before moving to Wellington, where he has netted 14 centre titles, while Helen has 33 to her credit.
"I have a bit of catching up to do," he smiled.
Ben first represented New Zealand in a test against Fiji in 1995 followed by a tour of South Australia, while Helen, after winning the 2014 national singles title, wore the fern at the world champion of champions.
As his father is of German-Tongan descent, Ben chose to play for Tonga at last year’s Oceania championship.
Next month, he will be joined by Helen, who qualifies through marriage, and there is a chance the pair could represent Tonga at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
"They are trying to get lawn bowls up and running in Tonga. So you might say we are the pioneers for the game in Tonga. Much like Cool Runnings did for bobsleigh in Jamaica.
"This has presented some opportunities that we thought were gone. We’re getting a second life, so to speak. The flow-on effect may encourage those of Tongan descent into the game and grow it."
Helen played with some discomfort at the weekend after badly rolling her ankle in a tournament three weeks ago.
"I get to the next day and it’s a bit hard to get about," she said.
"I just don’t have the same stability standing on the mat. I’ve got to play for the next couple of weeks then I’ll give it a break. Hopefully it will be healed before the Oceania."
The Kings played New Zealand representatives Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and Val Smith in the quarterfinal elimination, taking the game down to the wire.
Bagrie-Howley secured a 13-12 victory with the final bowl.
— Wayne Parsons
