At the last SEA Games in Thailand, bowlers competed for six gold medals. At the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia, six golds will be needed just for singles.
As per programme that was approved by the SEA Games Federation’s executive committee on October 30, men and women will each bowl for three titles in Kuching, one on short oil, one on medium and one on long.
That change brings bowling to 22 medal events, double the 11 on offer when Malaysia last hosted in 2017.
How the 22 titles add up
The difference will be familiar to anyone who has had to change balls or move a few boards when the pattern gets longer. In Kuching, a bowler who excels at playing near the gutter on short oil can win a title for that skill alone.
Doubles follows the same split as singles. Men’s, women’s and mixed doubles will each award three golds. Mixed teams of four will also have a title on each pattern. Together, those events and singles account for 18 of the 22 golds.
The other four belong to men’s and women’s trios and teams of five. Each of those titles will be decided over three blocks. There is no Masters event on the programme.
Why Malaysia wants to try it
For the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress, which proposed the format, the question is what those extra events could do back home. More medal opportunities could help national associations make the case for coaching, travel and places for more bowlers on their squads.
“We want to shake the bowling world, not just Malaysia, but open the eyes of bowlers around the world to such a possibility,” MTBC secretary-general Maradona Chok told the New Straits Times.
Chok said the Asian Bowling Federation and the International Bowling Federation both backed the trial. His next target is the Asian Games, where bowlers last competed in 2018. The first test comes next September at Megalanes Batu Kawa in Kuching.
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