Printable version: Junior Development Initiative (PDF)
1. Purpose of the Program
- To introduce the sport of bowls to young people under the age of 18 years of age living in southern Tasmania.
- To assist clubs to move from school-based one-off and short term bowls activities to more formal bowls competition.
- To assist clubs to access the potential of increasing club membership of the underage cohort in their community.
2. Outline of the Program
Junior playing members of bowls clubs mostly come from families already participating as registered playing members of the same club; either a parent or a grandparent being the catalyst for the junior player taking up the sport. This is desirous and commendable, and should be promoted by clubs, but there is a need to extend the range of influence and recruitment beyond this and encourage underage persons with no familial connection to bowls to take up the sport. The education system is a largely untapped resource that can help to ensure the sport of bowls survives into the future.
A number of clubs already make their facilities available to schools to provide groups of students with a bowls experience. Often these are “one-off” in nature but there is a growing number of schools that conduct longitudinal programs (that is, over a number of weeks) within their physical education curriculum. While schools have access to funding to offset their costs there may be other costs incurred by the club (for example, the purchase of equipment to support activities such as Rooky Rollers/Junior Jack Attack) which may impact on the quality of the experience.
This initiate seeks to take advantage of these extended bowls experiences to develop formal bowls competitions for school children. Our hope is that an introduction to competitive play may result in an interest in joining the club as a registered playing member.
There is no doubt that bowls suffers from an image problem as a sport for older persons, and this needs to be vigorously addressed. There are many young people for whom the traditional physical and/or contact sports are not attractive and it is this group that should be the main target for lawn bowls.
Of course, one of bowls’ main attractions is that one can be participate from a young age to an age well past retirement, and teams can be multi-generational. These are unique aspects of the sport. While bowls can be considered a physically passive activity it still requires a degree of fitness and can form part of a person’s health and fitness regime. These are important facts that can be used to attract a larger group of young people to our sport.
Attracting and retaining juniors and young people in the sport of bowls is best achieved through peer group involvement, which is why clubs are encouraged to consider the creation of mini bowls competitions for girls and boys under the age of 18 years. Games that are not too long in duration, such as BPL-style sets play, ensure games do not take too long to complete but provide a good competitive experience.
If sufficient clubs are able to develop a group of juniors to continue playing then there is the opportunity for BTS to conduct inter-club junior pennant competitions. BTS does not charge any fee to register junior players; clubs can register their juniors as available for pennant selection at no cost. This also means that BTS has a larger cohort of underage registered bowlers from which to select its regional side to participate in Bowls Tasmania’s Junior State Wide Challenge series each year.
Through effort at the club level, and with support from the region, we can work together to increase our player numbers and playing opportunities through active recruitment efforts of junior players.
The BTS Board is making available to clubs a grant of $500 to assist with endeavours to develop and conduct programs aimed specifically at the recruitment and retention of junior players. The grant can be accessed by application to the BTS Secretary.
3. Initiatives that may be considered
Any initiative designed to encourage school children and young people under the age of 18 to become formally involved in the sport of bowls will be given positive consideration. The types of initiative that will gain funding are:
- School holiday programs conducted at the club over a number of days.
- After school programs.
- Inter-school competitions.
- Club-based bowls competitions.
4. Accountability
A condition of the grant is that clubs will be required to provide a summary review of the initiative for which the club has received this grant. This need not be an onerous task; a simple explanation of the program, giving an outline of how the initiative was progressed, the successes, as well as those things that did not go well, is all that will be required. Other matters that could be included in the review would be any comments from the participants, especially those positive in nature. Any photographs of activities would be very welcome.
It is the intention of the BTS Board to publicise initiatives funded through this program on social media to celebrate the successes achieved by individual clubs. With this in mind, clubs must seek consent from parents/guardians to use any photos taken and provide this with their report on the activity/activities funded by this grant.
5. How to apply for a grant
Clubs will be able to access the grant of $550 (incl. GST) through written application describing how the funds will be applied and the expected outcomes to be achieved.
Applications for this grant will be received and processed any time up until the end of December 2022.
Do you need further assistance?
If you require any further advice or assistance, or you have any questions in regard to the intent of this grant program, please speak with Crystal Brooks (0497 970 488) or email bowls.south@bigpond.com.
PETER KIRBY
President
Bowls Tasmania South