Dalmeny Bowling Club hosts Bowls Premier League Cup meet

The Bowls Premier League Cup (BPL Cup) is a national tournament that starts at a grassroots level. It is an adaption of the televised professional Bowls Premier League.

Teams play in preliminary rounds, with the winners progressing to regional, state and a national final, to be held in Queensland later this year.

Eight teams from along the south coast travelled to Dalmeny to compete, with Dalmeny and Malua Bay the top two teams to progress to the regional round, at a later date this year.

The rules are different to traditional bowls, too. Traditional bowls consists of 21 ends, the BPL Cup is played in two sets, each consisting of five ends.

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The team captain also chooses one end to be the powerplay, where points are doubled. For example, if a team has elected to play their powerplay end and has the three balls closest to the jack, they score six points.

Member of the Dalmeny match committee Peter Murton said this added a further tactical element to traditional bowls.

Mr Murton said he was enthusiastic when Bowls Australia approached Dalmeny Bowling Club about hosting a meet, especially for the good exposure it would bring.

In 2021, almost 2500 players competed in the BPL Cup nationally.

"It was a great for increasing the exposure of the game and giving it a different format makes it more appealing," Mr Murton said.

He has been playing bowls for four years, and loves the social element of the sport.

"It is a great way to meet people, make friends and be a little bit competitive," he said.

"People think bowls is an old persons sport but it is for anyone. We have young guys playing and they love it."