2026 Season Calendar & Conditions of Play Announcement
Bowls in NSW is transitioning to a 1 January season start date in 2027. With this transition, Bowls NSW has released an event calendar and associated Conditions of Play detailing the events to be conducted towards the end of the 2026 calendar year (July 2026 – December 2026).
We are labelling this period as the ‘2026 Season’. This season ensures that key Bowls NSW events continue to be delivered while the sport transitions back to a calendar-year season from 1 January 2027 onwards.
The full list of events included in the 2026 Season Calendar are:
- Rookies Singles
- Rookies Pairs
- Over 40’s Pairs
- Mixed Pairs
- Nationals Qualifiers*
- Champion of Champions Singles
- Inter-Schools Challenge
*Nationals Qualifiers
A key feature of the 2026 season is the inclusion of a Nationals Qualifiers event, which will run from 25 November – 2 December 2026. This event has been added to ensure that New South Wales has representatives competing at the 2027 Australian Championships.
The format of this event includes Men’s and Women’s Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours and Mixed Pairs to mimic those formats at the National level. As a ‘one off’ this Nationals Qualifiers event will be an entry-based event and available to all affiliated bowlers across the State. Further details on this exciting event, including entry periods, schedule, location(s), formats, and updated Q&A information will be provided in due course. An initial Q&A document has been provided with this announcement, which you can refer to below.
Following the Nationals Qualifiers event in the 2026 Season Calendar (July 2026 – December 2026), the regular scheduling of the State Championships with Region qualification (i.e. State Men’s/Women’s, Senior Men’s/Women’s & Open Reserve) will continue in 2027.
The 2026 Season Conditions of Play (CoP) have been published as part of this announcement and are available in the link below and via the Bowls NSW website.
The 2027 Season Calendar is currently in development and scheduled for release early in the 2026 season – around July-August following Region feedback and review.
2026 Season Calendar:
Click here to view the 2026 Season Calendar
2026 Conditions of Play:
Click here to view the 2026 Conditions of Play
Nationals Qualifiers – Q&A Document
To answer any immediate questions in relation to the Nationals Qualifiers event – please see below questions and answers. Further information will be announced in due course in relation to this event:
Question: Can anyone in NSW enter this event?
Answer: Yes. Any affiliated bowler who has their Declared (Primary) club as a Bowls NSW club is eligible to enter this event. Please note, the mixed pairs format will still require participants to qualify locally with 32 teams progressing through to this event.
Question: Do I need to qualify for the Men’s & Women’s events?
Answer: No. These events will be open for direct entry, and do not require Region based qualifying. The only exception to this is the Mixed Pairs.
Question: Do I need to qualify for the Mixed Pairs?
Answer: Yes. Just like previous years this event will continue to be held with initial Regional based qualifying, with 32 teams progressing to the finals.
Question: Is there a limit on entry numbers for this event?
Answer: Yes. Given the size and scale of this event, we will be required to put limits on entries for each discipline.
Question: What are the entry limits per discipline?
Answer: These will be confirmed in a later announcement once venues and greenspace are confirmed.
Question: When do entries open?
Answer: We will be announcing the entry dates for this event in due course and we will be widely promoting this event leading into, and once entries open. It is up to the individual to ensure that they register for this event at the time of entry.
Question: Will this event be run in sectional play or knock out?
Answer: It will be a combination of sectional and knock out play across all formats.
Question: If I am entering Pairs, Triples or Fours, do I have to enter with someone from my club?
Answer: No. You can enter this event with any other affiliated member(s) from your Region subject to adhering to gender requirements.
Question: Why don’t we have Region qualifiers for this event like a normal State Championships?
Answer: Given the adjustment of the season calendar that was requested broadly across NSW (i.e. moving to a January 1 start date) this has created a shortened qualification period for Bowls NSW to get State qualifiers to the Bowls Australia National Championships for 2027.
Question: Did you consider other options for the format of this event?
Answer: Yes. We considered multiple options including:
- Open entry – uncapped entry numbers: We did not proceed with this format given the size and scale of such an undertaking. It was envisaged that this would become such a large-scale event that the time and resources required to bring this to life were deemed insufficient. Additionally, the time required to complete such an event would take considerable space out of the calendar for other events.
- Invitational event: We did not proceed with an invite only State Championships event for current or periphery State representative players as it was deemed too exclusive. We wanted to ensure that all members are provided with the opportunity to enter this event.
Question: Where is this event going to be located?
Answer: We will be announcing this information once we have the host council and venues confirmed.
Question: What is the format of each discipline?
Answer: Please refer to Section 4 of the 2026 Conditions of Play document.
Question: How much will it cost to enter each discipline?
Answer: Entry fee information will be published alongside further event information in due course.
Question: When should we expect to hear an update in relation to this event?
Answer: We estimate that the next update for this event will be provided within the next 6 – 8 weeks.
Question: Will this format continue into 2027?
Answer: No. This is a ‘one-off’ qualifying event due to the adjustment to the State calendar. Regular programming of The Bowls NSW State Championships (Region Qualifying through to State Finals) will run in 2027.
