A midweek professional league will be held in Dunedin early next year.
It will be called the Remax Pro League and will run for eight weeks on Wednesday nights from February 19 to April 9.
It is the brainchild of former international Ken Walker.
''It will be limited to eight teams of eight players and will run for eight weeks,'' Walker said yesterday.
''It is the first event of its kind in New Zealand.
''The league has been designed for players who get bogged down with employment and the demands of family life at the weekends.''
Fours will be played in the first week and each team will have two fours. Pairs will be played in the second week and each team will have four pairs.
The third week will consist of singles, with each team having eight players.
This will be repeated for the next three-week cycle. The final two weeks of the competition will comprise pairs and fours.
''Each player in the league will play 18 games - six singles, six pairs and six fours,'' Walker said.
''The league is designed to complement the Bowls Dunedin programme and not to compete against it.''
There is prize money of $8500, with the winning team getting $4000, the runner-up $2400 and the third-placed team $1600. There are also smaller weekly prizes.
''It is serious fun for serious funds,'' Walker said. Each bowler enters as an individual for the event and it is open to men and women and is not just for the elite.
''There will be a meeting in early February to elect the eight captains and the captains will then select the rest of their squad from the registered players,'' Walker said.
The headquarters for the event will be at Taieri. When extra greens are needed, games will be played at Andersons Bay, Forbury Park or Caversham.
