Super Sixes offers something different
One of bowls’ great challenges is trying to boost participation in a changing world.
Changing work patterns, family lives and more pressure for a person’s time mean that Pennant – while certainly still Victorian bowls’ competition of choice – doesn’t suit everyone.
Mulgrave Country Club has become the pilot club for a different shape of bowls called Super Sixes – with Victorian Open tournament director and Bowls Victoria Deputy President Barbara Gilbert pulling the pilot together.
Sixteen teams of six players – featuring many of Victoria’s best male and female bowlers – will play in concurrent men’s and women’s competitions at Mulgrave Country Club over an seven-week period.
Matches will be played on a Wednesday night. Play is done and dusted within two and a half hours and the competition over in less than two months – a blessing for the time-poor without the ability to commit to six months of Saturday afternoons, and provides a different shape to most traditional club tournaments.
“It doesn’t even have to be teams of six,” Barbara says.
“It can be fours, fives, 10s, whatever suits. We are certainly encouraging other clubs and regions to run these different shapes of bowls tournaments.
“What we want to do with this tournament is show that bowls competitions can be done differently.”
Super Sixes draw, further details
Peninsula Twilight Pennant – Is this the future?
