Bowls ready to roll under new system

BALLARAT lawn bowls clubs will now be part of the Ballarat Highland Bowls Region following a statewide organisational restructure by Bowls Victoria.

The changes mean the creation of 16 bowls regions across Victoria and the elimination of some regions that had an extra layer of divisional management.

“It was recognition that we needed to simplify how bowls could be administered in the state and that attracting the many volunteers needed to fulfil the multiple administrative functions was becoming difficult,” said new BHBR chair Ian Guymer.

The new region board consists of nine directors including Guymer from Macedon Bowling Club and representatives from local and state-level.

Pennant competition bowls amongst the Ballarat clubs will be played under similar conditions as in previous years and the region will consist of two playing areas.

One will represent the former Ballarat District Bowls Division minus Avenue Bowling Club as it’s merged with Bacchus Marsh Bowling Club and moved into the metropolitan competition.

The other playing area is made up of clubs from the former Central Highlands Bowls Division with the addition of Broadford and Kilmore bowling clubs, who have transferred into the region from the Central Bowls Division.

In all 34 clubs now comprise the newly named Region.

When it comes to action on the green, like last season there’ll be some COVID-19 changes.

Pennant games will be 21 ends played straight through with no break for afternoon tea during Saturday Pennant or lunch for Tuesday Pennant. Commencement times will remain at 1pm for roll up and 1.15pm start on Saturdays and 10am roll up with a 10.15am start for Tuesdays.

“The new BHBR Board has been meeting regularly since July to develop the format of play for the coming season and have placed significant consideration to the return to bowls in a COVID safe environment,” Guymer said.

“Bowls, like all community sport in Victoria will require all our players to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, unless a medical exemption certificate applies.

“A revised pennant competition draw has just been forwarded to clubs and the board are about to finalised this season’s completion rules which will be similar to those which applied last season.

“It has also been necessary due to the delayed start of the bowls season to reduce the home and away competition games down to 14 matches with Saturday Pennant commencing on 13 November and Tuesday Pennant on 16 November.

“There will be three finals played in March to determine the pennant competition winners.”

 

– BY ANTHONY McCABE