Auckland Bowls with endorsement from Bowls New Zealand will host the National Secondary School Bowls Championships in March 2019. This is the first time the event has been held since 2014.

There are many students from throughout New Zealand that play Lawn Bowls and this tournament will give them the opportunity to show their talents on the national stage.

For the first time a team-based approach will be taken with each school able to enter a team to compete for the National Schools title as well as competing for individual singles and triples titles. Please note: As the Singles and Triples will be played at the same time, players can only compete in one discipline, not both.

Bowls NZ have recently introduced a new short and fast format called Bowls3Five. This will form the basis of the National Secondary Schools Event for both singles and triples. Games will last no more than an hour, with triples teams comprising three players who each play two bowls per end, while the singles players will play four 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.

Adding to the thrill of the short format of the game, a Power Play will be available to each player / team once per game with double points for the nominated Power Play end. Astute followers of the format know this is where games can be won or lost depending on the strategy deployed.

The event will be held in Auckland from the 26 – 27 March 2019 at Headquarters Carlton Cornwall Bowls, 126 Market Road, Epsom. Other neighbouring clubs may be used depending on final entry numbers.

It is anticipated that players / teams will be drawn into sections of six and play a full round robin. The top qualifiers from Section Play will progress to Post Section, which will be knockout – round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final. The remaining players / teams will progress to a plate competition (The final format will be confirmed once entry numbers are known). 

Article added: Thursday 07 March 2019