Rance will become the only indoor bowler to play every year in the six-centre event that was first held in 1998.
"It is a special honour for me to play in every event,’’ she said. ‘‘It is a special tournament for women’s indoor bowls and is very competitive."
Gloria Hurley (Central Otago), who also played in the inaugural event, is playing for the 19th time. She was the Central Otago reserve on one other occasion.
The Mackie mother-and-daughter combination from Southland will miss this year’s event after playing in the event 19 times. Suzanne Mackie is making her debut for New Zealand in the transtasman test series in Sydney and her mother, Ann Mackie, has injured her shoulder.
Rance, who plays for the Green Island club, is the top female indoor bowler in Otago and has won 19 centre titles. She has also won 20 Bowls Dunedin outdoor titles.
South Canterbury won the inaugural team’s event in 1998, Otago in 1999 and South Otago in 2000.
Southland has has won the event eight times and is followed by the Dunedin-based Otago team with five wins. South Canterbury and South Otago have two wins, while North Otago and Central Otago are yet to win. Each centre selects two teams of four and each bowler plays in singles, pairs and fours for a total of 15 games.
Otago has selected the same team that won last year with 124 points.
Shirley Ruthven (Otago) topped the individual points-scoring last year with 24 points and won the Sandra Gould Trophy. She was followed by Stephne Joyce (Otago) and Jean Stratford (Southland) on 23.South Otago has made one change and brought in Shona Preddy. Its best players are former international Eileen Grant, who has won 23 centre titles, and Marilyn Paterson and Alanna Preddy, who both scored 22 individual points last year.
Hurley won four Central Otago centre titles in 2016 and is the best Central Otago player. She will be backed by Ev Bisset and Liz Anderson.
The experienced bowlers in the North Otago team are Lynne Porter and Daphne Campbell.
Southern Women’s Eights
Invercargill, May 20-21.
OTAGO TEAMS
Otago (Dunedin): Ann Cottrell, Marilyn Holmes, Shirley Ruthven, Tracey van Tuel, Lyn Rance, Amanda Katipa, Stephne Joyce, Raewyn Keighley.
South Otago: Eileen Grant, Biddy Craig, Marilyn Paterson, Shona Preddy, Alanna Preddy, Barbara Read, Colleen Fenton, Sue Giles.
North Otago: Lynne Porter, Helen Comer, Marie Guthrie, Raewyn De Filippi, Daphne Campbell, Rhonda Lockerbie, Louise Daley, Diane Strachan.
