A bold new era has dawned in the world of lawn bowling with an international competition, designed to revamp the traditionally genteel sport in the same way the Twenty20 format did for cricket, attracting over one million viewers for its first event.

The opening round of the high-stakes Ultimate Bowls Championship in April reached the milestone as viewers tuned in on 7TWO, Fox Sports Australia and Sky Sport NZ. Those figures are expected to be rise even further as viewer numbers for another broadcast partner, Fox Sport Asia, are yet to be released.

The UBC features modified rules, resulting in faster and higher-scoring games in what organisers hope will become a more accessible and watchable spectacle. “UBC will do for bowls what T20 did for cricket,” said Mark Casey, UBC chief executive and director, before the competition’s launch.

Twenty-four teams, with names such as the Port Melbourne Borough Boyz and the North Queensland Oz E Cool Roos, are competing for a total of $500,000 prize money, with off-field entertainment and new uniforms adding to the colour of the tournament.

The Warilla Gorillas hosted the first event at the Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club in New South Wales on the opening weekend, with the next outing scheduled for 15 and 16 August at Deer Park Club in Melbourne. The third and final event is in Moama, NSW in December.

Casey, a former bowls world champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, said he was “overwhelmed” by the interest the new competition has attracted.

“To have over one million viewers from all parts of the world watching our first Ultimate Bowls Championship event is just incredible,” he said. “We have a strong vision to help grow our sport throughout the world, and by creating a new, fast and exciting format of play we believe we have the product to do so.”

The new competition is designed to introduce new people to the sport, but not at the expense of the more traditional game and its usually older participants. Casey said they have received hundreds of emails from people wanting to try the new format.

“It’s exciting for all players as everyone now has the opportunity to hit the scoreboard with every bowl,” he said. “People who might not have ever considered taking up lawn bowls are suddenly seeing it in a new, interesting light and that can only be good for the sport.”