Grant helps bowling association plan for national competition

Australian Blind Bowls Association president Greg Kennedy says a Victorian government grant will allow the association to continue planning for national and Trans-Tasman competitions to take place next year.

Community Sport MP Ros Spence awarded ABBA the grant to reduce short-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and make up for some of the losses the association, which organises an annual national competition for blind and vision impaired bowlers from across Australia, had incurred.

Ocean Grove resident and member of Barwon Heads Bowls Club Mr Kennedy said the Survival Sports Grants funding would also enable ABBA to host the world competition in 2022.

ABBA cancelled the national 2020 competition due to COVID-19, leaving the association in some financial difficulty.
Mr Kennedy said bowls was an incredibly inclusive sport and one of the only sports where people with a disability were able to compete against people without disabilities with minimal modifications. Blind and vision impaired bowlers are permitted to have a director with them, use a monocular to assist them to see the bowls at the other end of the rink and use markers to show the length of the jack they are bowling to or the edge of the rink.

Meanwhile, the State Government has released a second round of the Community Sport Sector COVID-19 Survival Package funding.

Bellarine MP Lisa Neville said applications were open for leagues and associations to apply for a grant of up to $2,000 and clubs $1,000 to support their operational viability.

Also, clubs on the Bellarine that received a $1000 boost in the first round can expect a $500 top up, while leagues and associations funded can expect a $1000 top up, within the next two weeks.

The first round of funding rolled out 48 of the $1,000 grants to support individual Bellarine clubs.
The boost will help Victoria’s clubs and major sport bodies and associations with operational viability, especially during times of loss of revenue due to the cancellation of sport training, development programs and competition.

For further information on the Community Sport Sector COVID-19 Survival Package, head to sport.vic.gov.au/grants-and-funding.