The annual event will bring 1100 bowlers to Dunedin and be held across 24 clubs in December and January.
Bowls New Zealand tournament director Allan Griffiths was in Dunedin yesterday to talk to club delegates about what was expected from them at the championships.
It is the centenary of the New Zealand championships, which were first held at the North East Valley Club in Dunedin in 1914.
''A lot of players are coming here for that reason,'' Griffiths said.
''That is why the championships are being held in Dunedin.''
There are 280 singles, 194 pairs teams and 84 fours teams in the men's tournament, and 128 singles, 98 pairs teams and 56 fours teams on the women's side.
When the championships were last held in Dunedin in 2011, there were 1200 competitors - 336 singles, 238 pairs teams and 98 fours teams (men), and 144 singles, 112 pairs teams and 56 fours teams (women).
''The numbers are similar to what we expected,'' Griffiths said.
Competitor numbers are similar to the national championships held in Taranaki last year and a little down on the numbers in Dunedin in 2011.
''Bowlers from the far north won't travel when the event is held in the south of the South Island,'' Griffiths said.
Most of the top bowlers in the country will be in Dunedin, because performances will have a bearing on national selection.
The team for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games will be announced soon after the championships.
The New Zealand tournament remains one of the biggest annual national events held in any sport.
''Bowls is one of the few sports that still holds an event of this size and magnitude. It brings a lot of money into the centre,'' Griffiths said.
The men and women have held their championships together since the mid-1990s, when former Otago test cricketer Noel McGregor was the president of the Canterbury centre and embraced the concept.
The championships will be played at 24 clubs. Most are in the city, but greens at Milton and Waihola, in the South Otago centre, will also be used.
Griffiths has had positive reports back from the committee that is making sure the greens are up to standard.
There are two special events being held to mark 100 years of the national championships.
On the morning of the finals of the singles and pairs, a special centennial breakfast will be held at the Taieri Bowling Club, and Otago rugby commentator Paul Allison will conduct interviews with some of the celebrities attending the championships.
The other special event will be held at the North East Valley Club on the night of January 1. Some of Otago's sporting personalities will be playing in a fun tournament that night.
The Taieri club will be the headquarters green for the sixth time at a national championships.
NZ bowls
Centennial championships.
Dates: December 28 to January 9.
Headquarters: Taieri Bowling Club.
Numbers: 1100 players, 24 clubs.
