Conditions of Play for all HB Centre Events and HB Champion of Champion Events are included below.
Open Centre Events
Bowls Hawke’s Bay (BHB) will conduct open centre events according to the following conditions for the 2025-26 season.
For all events a jack that leaves the rink during play will be replaced on the 2 metre mark, there will be no killed ends.
There will be no time limit for all games but players are encouraged to be mindful of time when playing all games. Restrictions in player movement will be in place.
Post section in all cases will be played on a knock-out basis. A single day will be scheduled for post-section play but if more than four rounds will be required to complete post-section the remaining games will be scheduled to be played later in the season at an agreed date.
All entries will be processed through NZ BowlsHub. It is advised that players wishing to play in a Centre event should be registered through BowlsHub to make the process of entering and paying more seamless. Players that are not registered can still enter Centre events as long as they are full playing members of a NZ affiliated bowling club.
Entry fees for all events are $25 per player.
Singles
Entrants will be drawn into sections of 4 players with section play being played in a round robin format. Four rounds will be scheduled with players being allocated one bye round on the day during which they will be required to mark another game played on the same green.
If required there may need to be a section of 6 players to accommodate entry numbers, 2 wins will still be required for progress to post-section.
Any player that wins two games out of the three played will qualify to play in post-section.
Games will be played as first to 21 shots.
The home club will be required to provide two markers per green to ensure all games will have markers available.
Pairs
All entries will be drawn in sections of a maximum of sixteen teams. Games will be played over 18 ends with three wins from four games in section play required to progress to post-section.
The games will be three bowl pairs.
Mixed Pairs – 2x4x2
All entries will be drawn in sections of a maximum of sixteen teams. Games will be played over 14 ends with three wins from four games in section play required to progress to post-section.
The games will be 2x4x2pairs with teams consisting of one female and one male player.
Triples
All entries will be drawn in sections of a maximum of sixteen teams. Games will be played over 18 ends with three wins from four games in section play required to progress to post-section.
The games will be 2 bowl triples.
Fours
All entries will be drawn in sections of a maximum of sixteen teams. Games will be played over 15 ends with two wins from three games in section play required to progress to post-section.
The games will be 2 bowl fours.
HB Champion of Champion Events
Each HB club is eligible to enter a single team into the Champion of Champion events.
The team must be the winner of the equivalent club championship in the corresponding season.
Entry must, in all cases, be confirmed by a club official.
All Champion of Champion events have an entry fee of $25 per player.
The winners of the HB Champion of Champion event are eligible to enter the corresponding NZ Champion of Champion competition. If any player is not available for the NZ event this does not limit their eligibility to play in the HB event.
Any player who has won an event for one club cannot enter the same event in another club. This includes a player/team that remains in contention for the same event at the original club. For example, if a player is scheduled to play the final of the ABC club Triples they may not enter the triples at another club until the final has been played. If they lose the final they would then be able to enter the triples at another club.
All events will be played in knock-out format, a jack leaving rink of play will be re-spotted on the 2m mark and all games will be played with no time limit.
Singles - 21 shots
Pairs – 18 ends
Mixed 2x4x2 – 14 ends
Triples – 18 ends
Fours – 15 ends
Junior Events
BHB will have singles and pairs events for Junior qualifying players both at Centre level and Champion of Champion.
The HB Champion of Champion events do not progress to a national event.
To qualify to play in a Junior event each player must be in the first five years of full membership of a bowling club. This is counted from the first year they joined as a full member and is not the number of accumulated years they have been members.
To qualify for the 2025-26 season as a Junior your first year as a full member must be the 2021-22 season or later.
The format for the Singles and Pairs competitions will be the same as for the Open events.
First year Singles
BHB run a 1st year event for both Men and Women. To qualify for these events the player must be in their first year as a full playing member of a bowling club.
The final format of the events will be decided once entries have been received but will closely follow the open singles events.
Practise / Trial ends / Byes
If a player/team that has not yet played is due to meet a player/team that has already played on the same day, the player/team can practise as long as:
· The controlling body gives approval
· There is enough time available without delaying the competition
· Another rink is available and the player/team is not scheduled to play on that rink during the day
A player/team that elects not to practise or a suitable rink is not available may have trial ends on the rink they are allocated to play on. Their opponents may not have trial ends if they have already played on the same green during the day. This option is a local rule that is stated in the BHB Handbook.
At the start of play each day and if there is a change of green surface during the day all teams may have a trial end in each direction as long as the trial ends are completed before the scheduled start of play.
Mis-delivered jack
If the jack leaves the confines of the rink when delivered by the lead, the opposing lead will set the mat and deliver the jack. If, on this delivery, the jack also leaves the rink it shall be placed on the 2m mark and the original lead can place the mat in any legal position.
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