How Can You Help Lawn Bowls Become An Olympic Sport?
THE ROLL UP - INTRO
Having recently read an enlightening article released from World Bowls CEO Neil Dalrymple on the subject of Bowls becoming an Olympic Sport, I thought it would be pertinent to highlight some of the key challenges that our sport faces.
Reading the challenges that World Bowls will face in order to progress lawn bowls to Olympic heights resonated with me that its not only a "World Bowls" issue, but all of us, as bowlers and club members have our part to play in helping develop and grow our clubs, regions and the overall environment of bowls. We would all love to see our sport prosper, enabling future generations and other groups to reap the individual and community benefits we all know lawn bowls can provide.
So what can YOU do about it? Let's have a look at the issues World Bowls have highlighted in the quest for Olympic recognition and how we at grassroots and club level can pull in the same direction.
How Can You Help Lawn Bowls Become An Olympic Sport?
Highlighted within the world bowls article, is the question, Why do we want bowls to become an Olympic Sport? Put simply, to increase popularity and participation, which therefore funnels more money into our sport and allows further organic growth. I don't think you will disagree that popularity and participation are two things that lawn bowls is desperately in need of across the globe.
Note - Lawn Bowls is currently not even recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), let alone being considered for inclusion as an Olympic Sport
The following areas are highlighted by World Bowls as key to progressing lawn bowls to the Olympics but lets view them at a club or local level and how you can do your part to propel bowls in an upwards direction.
CONTEMPORARY GOVERNANCE
Your club must have a clear vision on its direction and strategic plan. No matter if your club is fully run by volunteers or employs many staff, practices and processes must be in place in order to effectively and efficiently operate and manage a club. eg. One member should not hold all the keys to the castle.
Positions within a club should be allocated to members provided they have the appropriate skillset to carry out the role, not due to popularity or legacy. eg. If a game/match result needs to be updated online then the secretary/manager needs to have some skillset in computer literacy.
A club should be reflective of the community it provides to, therefore there should be as much gender, age and disability diversity on committees and boards as possible which reflects the fact that lawn bowls is one of the most inclusive and accessible sports in the world.
INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
As mentioned above inclusion and diversity does not only apply to governance and management of a club. Being able to offer a range of memberships, open and mixed club competitions and providing a more inclusive environment is something we all should be striving for within our clubs.
Having 'barriers to entry' or 'hurdles to jump' in order to become a member or become a player is certainly not an avenue a successful club will venture down.
IMPROVE POPULARITY - APPEALING TO PLAYERS, SPECTATORS & BROADCASTERS ALIKE
We currently live in a world were many people are 'time poor' and require an 'instant' society. Therefore it is of little wonder that bowls seems to struggle in finding new players and audiences when formats of our game can be hours in length and take up the vast majority of players/volunteers weekends throughout the year in order to fulfil competitions.
Being open to shorter formats of our game and fast paced formats with the likes of powerplays and set jack lengths should be something we all encourage. Starting to introduce some of these formats at club level would help to align with World Bowls events and other major tournaments. Imagine a person who has never played bowls before watches a 7 end fast paced game on TV but then goes to his/her local club and they encounter a 21 end marathon game, that you only play 2 bowls every 10 minutes...a vastly different prospect.
As well as shorter formats, the introduction of background music while playing, ability to sub players in and out and live streaming events are other aspects to explore when trying to make our game more appealing.
Click on the following link to view a short video showcasing the 'Bowls Premier League' in Australia and compare it to the 'World Indoor Bowls Championships' at Potters, England..... I know which one I would rather play in and be a spectator at.
Click here to watch - Bowls Premier League Clip
Must Read
Read recent World Bowls Media Release - Click Here
FINAL END
Ultimately we all need to pull together in the same direction in order to increase the membership, popularity, exposure and standing of our sport. A key element to this is the ability of individuals, groups and associates within bowls to be open to change.
If we all continue to do the same as previous generations then we will continue to see a downward decline of our sport. I hear it all the time "Bowls needs to change", but that "change" starts with each individual (myself included) at club level and is not just solely a national body or World Bowls issue.
So the next time your club or someone at your club proposes a change of format, a change of rules, a change of procedure.... have a think how it could help our overall game.... or even better propose some positive changes yourself.
The definition of Insanity....
Continuing to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result!
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