Moama Bowling Club will host the week-long Bowls Premier League for the third time, from February 21 to 25.
This is the 14th instalment of the made-for-television showpiece bowls event.
It will feature the Moama Steamers team of three-time Canadian Commonwealth Games medallist Ryan Bester, Moama’s own Kevin Anderson and five-time World Outdoor Bowls Championships gold medallist Natasha Van Eldik. They are coached by Ryan Burnett.
The team, formerly known as the Murray Steamers, was runner-up in April (in Brisbane), having claimed the title in 2020 at Moama.
Staged biannually at Queensland’s Club Pine Rivers and at Moama, the event was designed to change people’s perception of bowls.
There is a live broadcast of the BPL on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and Sky Sport NZ.
Each of the 10 BPL teams will play each other twice over 18 rounds during the five days of competition. At the end of the 18 qualifying rounds, the top five teams will play off in Friday night’s finals series.
The top five teams are decided by points. If teams are equal on points they will be split on net total shots (shots for minus shots against).
Each match consists of two five-end sets, with a one-end tie-break played if required. The game format is pairs, with three bowls for each player per end. BPL matches take just over one hour from start to finish and deciding the winner is simple: the team that wins both sets or one set and then the tie-break is the winner.
Instead of spending time rolling the jack, as per normal competitions, BPL players place the mat and advise the marker the length of the jack they would like to play to.
To keep games progressing, players will have 30 seconds to deliver their bowl from the time the jack is placed at the start of an end, or once their opposition bowl has come to a rest, ensuring the next suspenseful result is only moments away.
BPL teams will also be able to nominate one power play end per set, enabling teams to earn double the shots scored in that end.
Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, two Melbourne franchises, Perth, Sydney, Tasmania and Tweed Heads are all represented alongside the Moama team in the competition.