All games will be played at the Central Energy Trust, Fly Palmy Arena, Palmerston North.

1. Open the Draw and click on the tab along the bottom with your EVENT name. 

2. Use the FIND method explained below to identify the section number for your event/s.

3. At the head of the column containing your section is the letter designating the BLOCK of mats you are to play on.

4. Your mat number is printed to the left-hand side of the section in the same line as your name.

PATRON
Delwyn Hughes

PRESIDENT
Michael Lawson

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Liz Morrow

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
                          Graham Low, Nigel Warnes, Geoff Best,                          Jason Parker, Simon Poppleton

LIFE MEMBERS
Delwyn Hughes, David Edgar, Trevor Rayner

TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE
Michael Lawson (Controller) - 027 703 8280
New Zealand Indoor Bowls Executive with the 
Manawatu Indoor Bowls Organising Committee

MATCH COMMITTEE
Michael Lawson (Convenor) and two Executive Members

PUBLICITY 
Alex Reed

UMPIRES 
Nigel Warnes and Tournament Control

CONTACT US

Tournament Office, Level 1 Media Rooms

Michael Lawson - 027 703 8280

NZIB - office@nzindoorbowls.co.nz

Alex Reed - publicity@nzindoorbowls.co.nz

Conditions of Play for National Championships

COMPETITORS
1. All competitors must be bona fide members of a club affiliated through their member district to New Zealand Indoor Bowls (Inc.), or be a member of an approved overseas indoor bowls organisation.

GAMES
2. Section and post-section games up to and including the quarter-finals shall consist of:

• Singles: 12 ends with a time limit of 35 minutes.
• Pairs: (six bowls) 10 ends with a time limit of 45 minutes, the Leads shall bowl first, followed by the Skips.
• Triples: (six bowls) 10 ends with a time limit of 45 minutes, the Leads shall bowl first, followed by the Twos, and then the Skips.
• Fours: 10 ends with a time limit of 60 minutes, the Leads shall bowl first, followed by the Twos, then the Threes and the Skips.

3. The semi-finals and finals of each event shall consist of the same number of ends as in Rule 2 but shall be without time limit.
4. In the event of a draw in the final a deciding end shall be played.

SECTION PLAY
5. Players or teams for each event shall be drawn into sections of five in such a manner as will ensure, as far as possible, that no more than one player, or team from the same member district shall be in the same section.
6. Section play shall consist of four games. Two points shall be awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The results of each game will be displayed
on wall sheets and it is the responsibility of the player, or Skip, to ensure that their results are correctly recorded.
7. Section winners and those with five or more points shall qualify for post-section play.
8. Players, or teams, who have been drawn to play in a particular section shall not change to play in any other section without permission of the Controlling Authority given prior to the start of the event. (Permission will only be given in exceptional circumstances). Failure to adhere to this rule will result in the disqualification of the players, or teams, concerned for that event.

POST SECTION PLAY
9. The order of post-section play shall be decided by ballot.
10. Post-section play shall be conducted on the “sudden death” principle.
11. In the event of a drawn game in post-section play a deciding end will be played.

CONDUCT OF GAMES
12. All games shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game.
13. All games shall be played with the jack and bowls as placed on the mat by the Controlling Authority.
14. All games, except the semi-finals and finals, shall commence and finish with a time signal.
15. At the completion of a game the name of the winning player or Skip shall be recorded in the appropriate place at the top of the score card with the losing player, or Skip, signing at the bottom. The completed score card is to be left on the mat. Failure to correctly complete the score card will render both players, or teams, liable to be defaulted for that game by the Controlling Authority. Signing of the score card shall be proof that there is no dispute.

DEFAULTS
16. Any player not at their mat when the commencing time signal sounds shall be defaulted for that particular game. A team which contains a defaulted player is, therefore, automatically defaulted. The score card shall be signed by the player, or Skip, in the appropriate place, marked “WON BY DEFAULT” and left on the mat.

GENERAL
17. No player shall play on a mat during an event unless they are drawn to play on that mat at that time. Spectators are not permitted to play on mats.
18. Smoking is prohibited on the floor of the playing area of halls used for championship 
play. Players who are warned once for smoking during a session of play shall be defaulted the game they are playing if they offend again. Smoking shall be confined to designated smoking areas as decided by the Controlling Authority.
19. Any competitor who is considered unfit to play for any reason, will be liable to disqualification by the Controlling Authority.
20. Intoxicating liquor shall be confined to those areas set aside by the Controlling Authority for sale or consumption.
21. Law 14(g) shall be strictly adhered to. Soles and heels of footwear shall be of flat, smooth or fine treaded and pliable material that will not carry foreign matter or cause damage to the mats. Play in bare feet or jandals is not permitted. Where there is any doubt about the suitability of footwear the Controlling Authority shall be the sole judge.
22. An acceptable standard of dress must be worn by players attending National Indoor Bowls Championships. Where there is any doubt about the suitability of dress the Controlling Authority shall be the sole judge.

VISUALLY IMPAIRED PLAYERS AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
23. (a) Any player registered with the New Zealand Blind and Visually Impaired I.B.A. shall on notifying the Controlling Authority be permitted the assistance of a guide for play.
(b) Only one guide will be permitted to any singles player or pair. In triples and fours the guide must be a member of the team.
(c) A guide will be considered to be an extension of the players. The player will be responsible for any infringement of the Laws of the Game committed by the guide, and suffer any penalties incurred by such infringement.
(d) From a position behind the bowling end of the mat and at the time the player has control of the playing area, a guide will have the right to:
(i) indicate to the player the distance of the head from the bowling end of the mat;
(ii) indicate the colour of the bowls to the player;
(iii) assist the player in preparing for bowling of a bowl or jack;
(iv) if requested by the player, assume the player’s right to inspect the head;
(v) if requested by the player, assume the player’s obligations and/or duties under the Laws of the Game.

ALTERATION TO CONDITIONS
24. The Appropriate Authority shall have the right to amend times and/or conditions of play should they deem it necessary.

Umpires

A meeting of local and visiting Umpires will be held on Friday, 5th June 2026 at the playing venue, starting at 5:30 p.m. All available umpires and measurers are asked to attend.

NOTE RULE CHANGE LAW 25, DECIDING END
(a) In any competition, where at the completion of a game the scores are level and the conditions of the game require a decision, a further end shall be played. Should this deciding end be killed the appropriate penalty, as provided in Law 27, shall be scored by the opposing player or team and the 
game shall be ended. If, however, this end is drawn, a further end shall be played.
(b) Where a deciding end (scores are level) is required as a result of a kill on the last played end or a final end (Law 28), the order of play shall be determined as provided for in Law 28.

Markers

The following are the duties of a Marker as set out in the Laws of the Game: 
(a) The Marker shall, where necessary, place the jack as provided in Law 8 (d).
(b) The Marker shall record the result of each end as it is given by the players concerned. 
A completed end must be cleared by the players.
(c) The Marker shall tell the score and the number of ends played to both players after each end. 
(d) The Marker shall not by any sign or word indicate how the head is unless requested by the player in control of the playing area. The Marker should only answer the 
question as it is put.
(e) The Marker shall not go onto the mat for the purpose of looking at the head unless requested by the player in control of the playing area.
(f) Where a shot is in dispute and requires to be measured it may be measured by the Marker only at the request of both players. A Marker may decline to measure. The 
result of the measure by the Marker shall be final.
(g) At the request of both players the Marker shall remove dead bowls from the mat. 
(h) The Marker shall not at any time disturb the head other than when measuring.
(i) Should any dispute arise other than in measuring, as provided for in clause (f) the Marker must call the Umpire.

Click the button below to review the Health & Safety Management Plan for this event.

There are several player and official Trained First Aiders in attendance should the need arise.

St John will also have a presence during the week.

First Aid kits, and a defibrilator, are available around the venue. A sick bay is also available if required. Please alert a member of NZIB and/or Manawatu IBA in the event that any of these facilities are required.

The Feature Mat Rules:
(a) The Feature game will be played in all rounds of section play only.
(b) Approximately 3 minutes prior to the start whistle of each round a Block letter and a Mat number will be drawn to determine the Feature Game.
(c) The winner of this game will receive a cash prize of $20.00 per person per event, i.e. SINGLES = $20.00, PAIRS = $40.00, TRIPLES = $60.00, FOURS = $80.00.
(d) If the Feature Game is a default game then the non-offending team is free to claim their prize.
(e) With the exception of clause (d) above a game of at least 5 ends in any 
discipline needs to be played to qualify for any Feature Game prize.
(f) Both the OPEN and MASTERS events are combined to participate in the 
Feature Game.
(g) Any prize may be claimed at the tournament control area at any time (during play) up to the end of section play on Friday 17th.

NOTE: It would be preferable to claim any prize on the day of play.

A big thank you to our 2026 Feature Mat sponsors:

The location for the 2026 District Challenge is X Events, 1043 Tremain Ave, Roslyn, Palmerston North. 

A pre-order buffet has been arranged for $36 per person and is available by emailing Jess at popows@hotmail.co.nz by 5pm Wednesday 3rd June.

Come along with a good sense of humour for some light-hearted bowls with a few twists.

To be played on Wednesday 10th June from 2:30pm.

Section Sheets
Section sheets will be placed in a prominent position as near as possible to 
each Block. At the completion of each round, officials will record the results 
of each game on these sheets and it will be the responsibility of the team or player to see that their score is correctly recorded.

Any errors should be notified to the Umpire in Charge or Hall Controller 
immediately.

Your Results
At the end of each session of section play all players are requested to make 
sure that their results have been correctly recorded before leaving the 
building.

Section Winners and those with five or more points shall qualify for post-section play.

RESULTS OF SECTION PLAY WILL BE DISPLAYED IN THE FOYER OF THE STADIUM FOR THE BENEFIT OF PLAYERS AND DISTRICT PUBLICITY 
OFFICERS

Players’ districts are indicated by letters beside their names on the wall charts. 

The key to these abbreviations can be found with details of district entries.

Block and Mat Cards
To assist bowlers to locate the block that they are to play on, block and 
mat cards and result boards are coloured as follows:
Block A - Green 
Block B - Pink 
Block C - White 
Block D- Red 
Block F - Yellow 
Block G - Blue 
Block H - Orange

To save yourself and the Controller any embarrassment, please ensure
your bowling shoes comply with law 14. (i.e. soles and heels of footwear shall be of flat, smooth or fine treaded and pliable material that will not cause damage to the mats.)

A Declaration of age may be required for post-section Open Singles play where  the individual may qualify for a special trophy to declare that:

l under the age of 18 as at 31 January 2026
l aged 60 or over as at 31 January 2026

Hardcopy forms will be available from the Tournament Office and Umpires Table and must be handed in to the Tournament Office, prior to the commencement of post section play.