Men’s State History

WA has a proud history of interstate competition however it wasn’t until the 1960’s that players and matches were officially recorded, milestone badges began to be presented in the 90’s and later in the 2000’s players were recognized with official cap numbers.

The Alley Shield was first competed for in 1959 (WA teams were recognised from 1963 when the event was first held in a round robin teams format) and until 1974 was held only every second year before changing to an annual occurrence.  This event was played in a four rink (16 player) format until 2010 when it was reduced to 3 rinks (12 players) and is conducted between the eight states and territories in a round robin format; it is used to decide the winner of the shield. Prior to the Alley Shield from 1913 to 1959 the Australian Bowling Championships were held on a rotational basis hosted by state associations and open to all bowlers in Australia. At the conclusion of this tournament each state would select a team and play in interstate competition. These matches were never officially recognised due to the fact selection was limited to those competing in that event. Interstate competition from WA based players can be traced back to the early 1900’s including a team of four WA players sent to represent Australia against New Zealand in 1906. Many official and non-official WA teams toured the Eastern States or hosted interstate teams throughout this period, records of matches are in the main hard to ascertain with any degree of certainty.

WA has won the Alley Shield on 8 occasions – 1972, 83, 84, 87, 91, 92, 94 and 99.

State Player History