Rankings & Event Registration

Bowls Australia’s (BA) national player ranking system is underpinned by fairness, equity and a strong emphasis on major event results with a weighted points system.

The rankings period stretches from July 1 until the conclusion of the Australian Open annually and is a broad ranking system, with an enhanced points system giving more weight to higher finishing performances at major tournaments staged around Australia.

The philosophy of the system is to provide equal and just opportunity for bowlers across the country to earn ranking points with the highest-ranked player, both male and female, to be crowned Australia’s number one player for the year.

The highest-ranked players in each gender will receive a cheque to the value of $3,000. Please note that disciplines are irrelevant in the player ranking system.

There is only one men’s and one women’s ranking system with all points, be they achieved in singles, pairs, triples or fours combined and calculated into the one system.

The Australian Open, Australia’s most lucrative event, provides the highest number of points available (in each discipline) and sits alone at the top of the tiered structure in Tier 1.

Should you have any questions about the rankings or to register your club’s event, please contact rankings@bowls.com.au or admin@bowls.com.au

National Player Rankings Event Calendar

Looking to compete in a National Player Rankings Event to generate points in the ranking system?

We’ve compiled a list of all upcoming events into an easy-to-view National Player Rankings Event Calendar.

• National Player Rankings Event Calendar

Register your Event

Clubs can register their interest to have their events considered for approval of the player ranking system. A non-refundable registration fee of $68 is payable at the time of registration. Each event approved will receive promotion of that event through the BA website.

• National Rankings Event Application

All approved events must meet the following criteria:

• All competitions must be run through Bowls Australia’s competition platform in BowlsLink;
• All events must either be open, masters or have qualifying events (no invitation-only events will be approved);
• Minimum total prize money of $12,000 per discipline for a tier 3 event;
• Must have a minimum total prize money of $3,000 per discipline for a tier 4 event
• All registered Rankings Events must comply with the National Merchandise Policy and include the policy as a Condition of Play.

From January 1, 2025 for any events to be approved for rankings, it will be mandated you must run your competition through Bowls Australia’s competition platform in BowlsLink. We encourage clubs to start using BowlsLink now and to reach out to our BowlsLink team to gain assistance with setting up your event for the first time. The BowlsLink team can be contacted via bowlslink@bowls.com.au.

5-A-Side events can also be registered for ranking points, and fall under the following guidelines:

• The event must be open to entry for any registered bowler;
• The prize money for the entire event must fall in line with existing criteria under the rankings system and must be distributed for the entire teams’ final performance (rather than each specific discipline). Prize money for specific disciplines will not count in the determination of total prize money amount;
• Rankings points will be distributed to each of the 5 players in the team evenly based on the final finishing position of the team (rather than for each specific discipline);
• Ranking points will be distributed under the points allocation for a fours event under the applicable event tier.

Only the Australian Open Singles winners and Australian Indoor Championships Singles winners will be granted a first-round wildcard entry into the Australian Indoor Championships. Bowls clubs are invited to lodge applications with BA for their events to be ratified as a ranking event and when approval is granted they will be categorised into one of four tiers based on the aforementioned criteria.

Tier 1 – Australian Open

Tier 2 – Australian Indoor and Australian Champion of Champions

Tier 3 – State Championships, State Champion of Champions and approved club events $12,000 and over.

Tier 4 – Approved club events $11,999 – $3,000

Current Rankings Point Allocations

• View Rankings Point Allocations as a larger file

Event Results

Clubs are required to submit results from their events no later than 48 hours after the completion of the event to rankings@bowls.com.au.

Results lodged later than that timeframe will not have their event included in the rankings system.

An update of the points table will be completed on the 1st of every month and the updated table will be posted on the BA website.

All enquiries should be directed to rankings@bowls.com.au or admin@bowls.com.au.

• Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)