Some of Victoria's best lawn bowlers will compete for $16,000 in a national rankings tournament in Ballarat next year.
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Sebastopol Bowling Club has injected an additional $13,000 in prizemoney into the Great Southern Classic 16000 on January 5, 6 and 7.
A marquee fours event will offer $12,000 and tier three ranking points.
The balance of the prize pool will go to $3000 pairs (tier four) and $1000 singles events.
Great Southern Classic co-ordinator Rob Baker said the tournament was already attracting enormous interest.
He said as well as Ballarat's best, the field is expected to feature leading pennant male and female players from Melbourne and other premier competitions around the state.
In addition to the increased prizemoney, other notable changes include the addition of pairs and singles and extension from one day to three.
The tournament will open with pairs on the Friday.
The top 16 pairs will gain entry into a sweep singles on the Friday night as a prelude to two days of fours.
The pairs will be made up of 66 teams and the four will have a capacity of 42 teams.
MEANWHILE, Sebastopol has earned an invitation into the second year of the Victorian Bowls League.
The Ballarat club will be vying for a price pool of $80,000.
The inaugural VBL was contested by eight franchises and was worth $42,000.
As well as a major boost to prizemoney, VBL2 has been expanded to 16 teams.
Sebastopol will open its campaign in sectional play at Dandenong on August 25-26 with the hope of qualifying for finals at Traralgon on September 8-10.
The winner will pocket $30,000, with a top eight finish guaranteeing a minimum of $5000.
This will be Sebastopol's first time in the competition.
Sebastopol Bowling Club administrator Rob Baker said it was an exciting prospect for the club and the Ballarat bowls community as a whole.
He said Sebastopol was inviting leading players from other Ballarat clubs to be part of its team.
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