Jackchatting all things bowls

A NEW podcast has hit the airwaves of Ballarat and beyond with a focus on all things lawn bowls in the region.

Longtime friends and bowling enthusiasts, Ballarat North Bowling Club’s Glenn Mattei and Daniel Nestor, launched the first episode of Jackchat – Bowls Ballarat Podcast late last month, after they saw a gap in the sporting market.

“The bowls community in Ballarat’s huge, and we think there’s a great need for spreading information amongst the division,” Mr Nestor said.

“Having seen this done previously in Ballarat, we can see it works. We both just love talking bowls. It’s our passion, and talking about it comes easy.”

Developing a podcast is a first for both creators, and Mr Mattei said he aims for each episode to maintain the same conversational tone he and Mr Nestor would normally have.

“We’ve always talked bowls,” he said. “We get into trouble sometimes from the wives for talking too much about it. This gives us the excuse.

“In general, that’s what we want to come across; that laid-back delivery.”

Episodes will be released bi-weekly on Spotify and Podbean before increasing to weekly offerings once the season starts in early October.

The first two releases saw Ballarat Bowling Club president Kelly Dubberley, and Geelong Bowls Region’s Michael Sloper.

The first episode received more than 200 downloads, and Mr Mattei said the podcast will offer a well-rounded perspective on the local scene.

“We plan on having a different guest speaker every episode, picking different parts of the area we want to channel to give everyone a bit of a say,” he said.

“We’ll have Steve Arthur coming up whose been a part of Bowls Australia. He’ll talk about the assistance program they’ve got for clubs and giving more insight into the administration side.”