Player's Guide to Bowls WA Metropolitan Pennant Open Age 2026/27

Format. A sides competition: each team has four players and each player has two bowls. Games are 21 completed ends, played home and away. On Thursday there are no dead ends and the jack is respotted on the tee.

Constituted game. 56 completed ends for 4-team sides and 42 for 3-team sides.

Points.

Results. The home club inputs the final scores in Bowls Link by 7.00pm on the day, and the away club checks them. A fine applies if this isn't done. Side managers jointly do the rink draw by exchanging and shuffling cards, and sign the Pennant Result Sheet once they agree the scores.

Colour winners are decided by points, then shots for divided by shots against, then shot difference.

Structure. Pennant is graded into divisions, each split into colours. Saturday runs Premier League, 1st Division (White and Blue, North and South), 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions (up to 8 colours in 3rd and 4th) and a 5th Division. Thursday has the same structure without a 5th Division, and its Premier League is split North and South. Bowls WA decides the structure of lower divisions, and a club entering for the first time, or adding a side, will generally start in the lowest division. Bowls WA assigns nominated sides to divisions and colours, and a nomination does not guarantee placement.

Promotion and relegation (Open Gender Saturday and Thursday, 2026/27 handbook).

• Premier League: the two sides with the fewest points are relegated to 1st Division White, and no club can have more than one side in Premier.
• 1st Division White: first on the ladder is promoted to Premier League (on Thursday the Grand Final winner is also promoted), and the two lowest are relegated to 1st Division Blue.
• 1st Division Blue: first on the ladder is promoted to 1st Division White (the Grand Final winner is also promoted), and the two lowest are relegated to 2nd Division.
• 2nd and 3rd Divisions: the first side in each colour is promoted, and the two lowest in each colour are relegated.
• Saturday 4th Division: the first and second sides in each colour are promoted to 3rd Division, and the two lowest in each colour are relegated to 5th Division. On Thursday the first and second are promoted.
• Saturday 5th Division: the first and second sides in each colour are promoted to 4th Division.

The handbook notes that promotion and relegation numbers can change depending on the number of colours in the lower divisions.

Open gender competitions. Open Gender Saturday and Open Gender Thursday pennant have no restrictions for men or women, and players are chosen on merit (skill level, not gender). Women's Tuesday Pennant 2nd Division and below is also open gender, with these limits: opposite gender players can't skip, and no more than two are allowed per rink. A man's Tuesday eligibility depends on his Saturday or Thursday division (for example, men in 2nd Division or higher in Saturday Open Gender can't play Tuesday open gender, and men in 3rd Division may play Tuesday 2nd or 3rd Division).

Cross gender substitution. Clubs whose lowest side is in Women's Tuesday 1st Division, Women's Saturday or Women's Friday Night pennant can use cross gender substitutes. A cross gender substitute:

• can't be selected if eligible players of the opposite gender are available
• is a substitute, so can play in any position except skip
• is limited to one per rink.

Small clubs. A club with a Bowls Link female membership of fewer than ten and no ladies pennant side can, after telling the Bowls WA CEO before the season, play those women in its home club's designated Thursday pennant competition without restriction.

Men's and women's events. Men are not eligible for events designated as women's, and women are not eligible for events designated as men's, other than the open gender and cross gender arrangements above.

If these rules are breached, the opposing team may be awarded a forfeit.

• Substitute. If a player can't continue during a game, an eligible player may come on as a substitute with the permission of the Umpire of the Day. A substitute is marked "SUB" on the result sheet.
• No substitute available. The team plays with three players. The order of play is maintained by the second of the complete team playing consecutive bowls: in the handbook's table, the three-player team has no bowls in the third and fourth bowl slots, so the full team's second bowls twice in a row while the lead, third and skip keep their usual turns.
• Second withdrawal. If a team that already has a substitute playing loses another player, it may play with three players. If a team of three players with a substitute already playing has another player withdraw, that team, and the side, must forfeit.
• Minimum. No team may play with fewer than three players. If no substitute is available and one of the three players can't continue, the side must forfeit.
• Names. Players' names on the Pennant Result Sheet must match the Bowls Link database (no nicknames), and a player selected who doesn't play is marked "DID NOT PLAY".
• Cross gender substitutes are identified with an "M" or "F" circled next to their name (see the cross gender question).

Late appearance. 30 minutes is allowed beyond the scheduled starting time. If after 30 minutes a player is missing from one or more teams, and there are no extenuating circumstances, play starts under the Laws of the Sport of Bowls. If a side, or enough of its players, are not present after 30 minutes, the opposing side is awarded a forfeit. In extenuating circumstances (such as a major freeway hold-up) every effort should be made to tell the host club and Bowls WA.

A side is forfeited to the opposition (and may be fined) if:

• the club plays a player who doesn't show a "green dot" (Competition Bowler) in Bowls Link
• the club plays a player after the first pennant game who hasn't been transferred correctly
• a player competes who has an unresolved debt with Bowls WA
• a player competes who is suspended by Bowls WA, a state authority or Bowls Australia, or has been expelled
• open gender or cross gender rules are contravened (the opposition may be awarded a forfeit)
• a team has fewer than three players and no substitute is available.

Other forfeit rules.

• A club must forfeit its lowest side first, unless Bowls WA approves otherwise.
• The forfeiting side must notify the opposition as early as possible, and the home side enters the forfeit into Bowls Link.
• The side that receives a forfeit is awarded all the points and the average shots for and against (percentage) from the round.
• A player named on the Pennant Result Sheet may not play another game that round. The second game that player plays in the same round is a forfeit.
• A side that forfeits in finals or the promotion play-off series is disqualified from further participation in the series.

These rules are for Open Gender Saturday and Thursday pennant. Women's Tuesday and Friday pennant have their own conditions.

Rescheduling for forecast heat. If the 4.30pm Perth BOM forecast is 35 degrees or above, clubs can agree to change a start time. For Thursday, the forecast is checked on the Monday, clubs can pick any time on Thursday, and both must email Bowls WA by 5.30pm Wednesday. For Saturday it is the Wednesday forecast, the new time can be Friday evening or Saturday before 3.30pm (not Sunday), and the email goes by 5.30pm Friday. If a club doesn't want to change, the scheduled time stands.

General abandonment. If the forecast is 41 degrees or over, all pennant games are cancelled at 5.00pm the day before, announced on the Bowls WA website. Bowls WA can also call one for other extreme conditions. Points are shared equally.

On the day (Umpire of the Day, using the club's designated BOM weather station).

• At 38 degrees up to 40 degrees: play starts as scheduled. After 30 minutes of play, the umpire calls players off at the end of each rink's current end for a 10-minute rest, then play resumes for 30 minutes, repeating while the temperature stays at 38 or above. A side that refuses to leave or return is warned, then forfeited.
• At 40 degrees and over: play is deferred. A game not started within 60 minutes of the agreed start is abandoned.

Other weather. If the host club's greens are closed before play, the game is abandoned and points are shared equally. If play is delayed, the game can't be abandoned until 60 minutes of cumulative delay has passed unless conditions make play highly unlikely, and after 60 minutes it must be abandoned. If the prescribed number of ends (56 for four-team sides, 42 for three-team sides) was played, the game counts as completed. Otherwise it's incomplete and points are shared equally.

Finals eligibility. A player must have played at least 3 pennant games in that colour and/or division to be eligible for finals. If a club has two or more teams in the same colour, the 3 games must be in that side. A club can promote a player to a higher colour or division for finals if they have played at least 3 games in a lower division, and a player who has played a final in a lower division can play a later final in a higher one. If a competition has fewer than 14 rounds, Bowls WA can reduce the required number of games below 3. A club can apply in writing to demote a player to a lower division for finals.

Ladder order. In the home and away season, ladder position is decided by overall pennant points, then percentage, then shots up.

Finals winner. The winner of every finals and promotion play-off game is the side with the highest aggregate. If the aggregate is tied, one extra end is played on all rinks from where the last end finished, with the side managers tossing for the mat. If it is still tied, further extra ends are played, with a toss for the mat each time, until there is a winner.

Format (Saturday Premier League). Semi-finals 1 v 2 and 3 v 4 on the Saturday morning, a preliminary final in the afternoon, and the Grand Final on Sunday. Thursday Premier League, and Thursday 1st Division White and Blue, play semi-finals 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 in week 1 and a Grand Final in week 2.

• Mobile phones. Phones must be on silent or vibrate while play is in progress and can't be used on the greens at any time during play. They may be used away from the greens if play isn't disrupted. For a pending emergency, the Umpire of the Day must give permission to set the phone to an audible tone. For a first offence on the day the player is warned. A second offence brings a fine, and a fine applies for each continuing offence.
• Other electronic devices. iPods and radios aren't permitted. Players who need a device for medical reasons should tell the Umpire of the Day before play. Devices used for inputting scores to an electronic scoreboard are fine.
• Music. Only the home club decides whether music is played during a pennant fixture, and the volume must suit the whole green.
• Smoking and alcohol. Any lit or unlit smoking implement, electronic cigarette, vape or alcoholic drink is not permitted on the greens during any Bowls WA competition. Penalties follow the Bowls Australia Instantaneous Penalties Policy.
• Attire. Players must wear the appropriate clothing described in the Bowls Australia policy that Bowls WA applies to its events, and a player reported for non-compliance may be fined.
• Greens safety. Players directly in a game can't sit on the banks with any part of their body in the ditch or on the green while play is in progress.
• Practice. Players in a pennant game that day can't practise on the green other than trial ends, and the green can't be used for practice in the 30 minutes before trial ends begin. Trial ends start no later than 1.30pm for Saturday games (starting 1.45pm) and 1.15pm for Thursday games (starting 1.30pm).

Integrity rule (graded competition). Clubs must select consistently with a graded competition. The rule is in question when a player is selected in a lower division when they should be playing higher, to strengthen the lower side and gain an advantage (for example to win promotion, qualify for finals or avoid demotion), or when an opposite-gender cross gender substitute is picked to strengthen a division unfairly. It is not a breach to drop a player for lack of form, to forfeit for lack of players, or to let a player play a lower division in a rescheduled game they can't make for a legitimate reason such as work, study or family. The club carries the onus of defending its selectors' decisions, and Bowls WA can declare a forfeit if a club regularly plays higher-side players in a lower side without a satisfactory explanation.

Protest against a result or umpire's decision.

1. The side manager ticks the protest box on the Pennant Return Sheet at the end of the game, and both managers sign the sheet.
2. The protesting club has until midday the next work day to lodge the protest in writing and pay the $50 protest fee to Bowls WA.
3. The Game Development Committee investigates and decides, and can change the provisional result.

A sub-standard green protest uses the Greens Protest Form with the same midday deadline and $50 fee. The fee is returned if the protest is seen as a valid concern, and forfeited if it is spurious. A decision or fine can be appealed in writing to the Bowls WA CEO within 48 hours of the written notification.