Congratulations to the Gore Bowling Club for being accepted by Bowls NZ as one of the six clubs nationwide to compete in the Bowls3Five competition that will screen live on Sky Sport for six weeks from the 23rd October.
echo adrotate_group(4, array("fallback" => 0, "weight" => 0, "site" => "no"));The Gore team will include two of Southland’s top men’s players in the form of Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and Caleb Hope. They will combine with Dunedin’s Elliott Mason and one of NZ’s most exciting female prospects, Ashleigh Jeffcoat from Waikato while Gore’s Tony Cockerill and Wynette McLaughlin round out the six strong Gore contingent.
Bowls New Zealand today announced the six club teams to compete in the inaugural televised league of the new fast format, Bowls3Five, coming this October on SKY Sport.
Teams from Gore, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington and Auckland will compete in
the new ‘short format’ bowls league, every Tuesday and Wednesday on SKY Sport for six
weeks.
In June 2018, Bowls New Zealand called for expressions of interest from clubs from around the country, with the following clubs being selected for the inaugural league:
- Point Chevalier Bowling Club (Auckland)
- Stokes Valley Bowling Club (Wellington)
- Woodend Bowling Club(Canterbury)
- Stoke Bowling Club (Nelson)
- Royal Oak Bowls (Auckland)
- Gore Bowling Club (Southland)
Games will last no more than 55 minutes, with teams comprising three players (minimum one male or female) who each play two bowls per end. The game is made up of two five-end sets.
In the event the sets are tied, a one end tie-breaker will be the decider.
Bowls3Five will see six club teams from throughout New Zealand selected to compete in a ‘live to air’ competition on SKY Sport every Tuesday and Wednesday 7pm-10pm. For six weeks from October 23 – November 28, the competition will promote New Zealanders playing bowls for the challenge, the entertainment and that taste of victory.
“Bowls3Five is an important evolution for the sport of lawn bowls, by combining the short fast format of a competition like T20 cricket with the ‘made for TV’ entertainment of a sports league like Professional Darts,” said CEO of Bowls New Zealand, Mark Cameron.
The inaugural Bowls3Five round robin competition will be played at the new covered facility at the New Lynn Bowling Club in Auckland. Teams play each other twice in the first five weeks of competition, with the sixth and final week scheduled for the post-section and Finals action.
Bowls New Zealand CEO, Mark Cameron, is encouraged with the attention this new format has gained from the bowls community “Our sport needs a televised competition and it needs to be equal parts sport and entertainment” says Cameron, “understanding that the traditional game of bowls does not appeal to all New Zealanders. This televised league is a big ask of our clubs, especially the travelling clubs. The commitment is a huge indication that they are excited for a new format to play and the opportunity this provides to put their club and their community on the map.” Cameron added “we are indebted to SKY Sport for the support of this new bowls initiative and the positive feedback from the bowls community.”
Over the coming weeks Bowls New Zealand will be announcing the members of each club team, and you can expect to come across a current world bowls champion, an ex All Black coach, a head boy, young and old bowlers, male and female bowlers.