Record-setting memberships in recent years, particularly for last year’s New Zealand Professional Bowls Association season, have allowed a significant increase in the travel prize pool for 2021 winners. Despite a 1 in 100 year pandemic creating scheduling headaches within the country and curtailing overseas travel, 259 members lined up for events at 7 venues in 2020 – 30 more than the record set the previous year.

This has now allowed for a 50% increase in the travel subsidy given to winners qualifying for World Bowls Tour events up from $1000 to $1500 per player. As before, travellers to the UK are also then topped up with prizemoney at the event.

In the early years of the PBA, travel to the UK used to be fully paid for by the WBT however this came to a halt with the onset of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis considerably cutting tour sponsorship leaving overseas branches to fully fund their own travel no matter how far away they are. A recovery of player numbers in the NZ PBA in the mid-2010s was for a time matched by the increased costs of extra venues but with more venues significantly clearing the minimum number of players required to make them viable, the NZ PBA has worked itself into a much better position to better fund winner’s travel.

As the COVID crisis has evolved, the NZ PBA has had to stay flexible with alternative prizes for last year’s winners. As the 2020-21 WBT season was cancelled, an alternative travel prize was proposed for their travel subsidy to be used for any event in Australia, however with the Government’s caution to mitigate for potential short-notice closure of the Trans-Tasman bubble, last year’s winners have either been offered berths in the 2021-22 WBT season or straight out prizemoney. The 2020 NZ PBA team that was scheduled to play the Australian PBA have also been rewarded with prizemoney as consolation for that event’s cancellation.

Five of the seven venues will again start this year with three events at the traditional Queen’s Birthday Weekend – these being Frankton Railway in Hamilton, Paritutu in New Plymouth, the Hastings Club, the Dunedin Stadium, and Waverley in Invercargill. Last year’s new venue Remuera in Auckland starts a week early on 29 and 30 May and will this year host the Bowls New Zealand streaming crew to provide live coverage of their qualifiers. The Naenae Club in Wellington will hold their fun Shanghai Singles qualifier on Queen’s Birthday Monday but hold their first PBA qualifiers at the end of June.

This year’s Finals Weekend will be hosted by our largest venue in Dunedin which will also be streamed live by the Bowls New Zealand crew. Also watch out for a new Inter-Branch trophy to be awarded at Finals Weekend. And all qualifier and Finals Weekend draws to be streamed live on facebook.

The NZ PBA executive will continue to monitor the situation in the Northern Hemisphere and may again have to adjust the travel aspect but not the value of the prizes depending on whether World Bowls Tour events proceed or New Zealanders are allowed to travel to the UK.

PBA membership remains $175 for the season with a Secondary School Student sub of $87.50. There is a membership link on the New Zealand branch page of the professionalbowlsassociation dot com website.

The 2021 New Zealand Professional Bowls Association programme is as follows:

29 & 30 May: PBA Qualifiers in Auckland

• Ranking Singles
• Scottish Open Singles qualifying

5-7 Jun: PBA Qualifiers in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Hastings Dunedin & Invercargill

• Shanghai Singles qualifying
• Ranking Singles
• Scottish Open Singles qualifying

7 Jun: Shanghai Singles qualifying in Wellington

20 Jun: Shanghai Singles qualifying in Auckland

26 & 27 Jun: PBA Qualifiers in Wellington

• Ranking Singles
• Scottish Open Singles qualifying

26 & 27 Jun: PBA Qualifiers in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Hastings, Dunedin & Invercargill

• World Indoor Singles qualifying
• World Indoor Pairs qualifying

17 & 18 Jul: PBA Qualifiers in Wellington

• World Indoor Singles qualifying
• World Indoor Pairs qualifying

7 & 8 Aug: PBA Qualifiers in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Hastings, Wellington, Dunedin & Invercargill

• Ranking Singles
• International Open Singles qualifying

22 Aug: Dunedin sub-branch finals as required

10 -12 Sep: PBA Finals Weekend in Dunedin

• Shanghai Singles qualifying
• All Finals