Bowls in New Zealand – A Widely Played Sport

Bowls in New Zealand, has a long history. The game was first played here in the latter part of the 19th century. However, the game really became global when the International Bowling Board was formed by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in 1905 and in 1928 when New Zealand, Australia, Canada, America, and South Africa were admitted. Bowls New Zealand, is now the country’s third most popular sport. It is so widely played, it is said that more people die a year playing bowls in New Zealand than scuba diving. But don’t let that put you off!

Home of the World’s Only Bowling Museum

A benefit of playing bowls in New Zealand is that the game is set against beautiful scenery. In fact, you can enjoy fully escorted New Zealand bowling tours, which combine stunning landscape with four games of bowls in established clubs such as Christchurch, Queenstown, Auckland and Rotorua.

The country is also home to the world’s only bowling museum, which contains over 8,000 exhibits of bowls New Zealand. It was a private museum until it was given to the New Zealand Bowls Club in 1993. The museum is set amidst parkland near the New Plymouth Bowling Club and enjoys an enviable position against the backdrop of the dormant volcano Taranaki in Egmont National Park. Among the many exhibits are badges, trophies, photographs and uniforms.

New Zealand played host to the Outdoor Bowls World Championships in 2008 when Safuan Said was declared singles champion. One of the county’s most famous players is Peter Bellis (from the David Bryant era).

Variations in the Game

Bowls in New Zealand is played in exactly the same way as the English game and there are no differences to the rules. However, the bowls can be affected by the strong side winds so heavier bowls are preferred to combat this. Most bowls sold in New Zealand are heavy or extra heavy.

There is a variation to the game called 242 pairs, or Hong Kong pairs, which is mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere. It works in the following way: in the first end of the game the A players lead with two bowls each, then the B players play with four bowls each and the A players finish with their last two bowls. This process is reversed in the second end, so the A players take the middle position, and this alternates throughout the game, usually over 15 ends.

Lawn bowls is generally played on strips of artificial turf or natural grass; however, there are also some cotula greens in New Zealand. Cotula is a genus of flowering plant of the Asteraceae family, which is not grown in the UK. It is chosen because it is easier to maintain in drier conditions, although this is not so much of a problem in New Zealand.

Clothing Sold

The clothing for bowls in the country is much the same as in Australia. Men wear mainly white tops, shorts or trousers and women wear sports trousers, which are like tracksuit bottoms. Coloured tops are also being used by some clubs.

All our bowls clothing and equipment is available for New Zealanders to buy online. This includes men’s clothing, ladies’ clothing, junior clothing, bowls tops, bowls, T-shirts, shirts, jumpers, jackets, fleeces, bowls shorts, bowls trousers, gloves, headwear, sunhats, rain hats, visors and caps. Clothing is by major manufacturers Henselite, Taylor and Drakes Pride.

We also sell a complete range of bowls shoes for men, women and juniors.

Bowling Equipment

In addition to clothing, we sell a wide range of equipment, accessories and lawn bowls for players in New Zealand. Our products include crown green bowls, flat green bowls, bowls club equipment, coaching aids, books, gift vouchers and a complete range of accessories such as measures, grip waxes, spray chalk, chalk holders and scorecard holders.

We also sell a variety of indoor bowls equipment for carpet bowls and short mat bowls including 30 ft and 45 ft carpets.

How to Buy

BowlsWorld’s overseas market is growing all the time and accounts for 40 per cent of our trade. We send our overseas orders either by UPS (3-4 days trackable) or they can be sent by DPD European road service (2-3 days delivery).

Shipping costs will be added to your order automatically using our secure online ordering process. You will be able to see the total of your order once you have keyed in your address online.

Don’t forget to use our currency converter to find out exactly how much your order will total in New Zealand dollars.

Bowls World is one of the leading suppliers of bowls equipment, clothing and shoes, to both the UK and worldwide. Click on the link to find out about our comprehensive range of online products.