From Head Office
By Bowls Victoria Chief Executive, Graeme Bridge
We’d like to thank our affiliated clubs that have already responded to our request for Annual Returns.
More than half our 520+ clubs have submitted these so far.
Why do we need clubs to submit annual returns? To be able to communicate and connect effectively with Clubs, there is a need for Club Annual Returns to be submitted to Bowls Victoria each year to help us maintain up-to-date information in regards to Club Office Bearers, Club Communications Officers and to highlight any changes that may have occurred in the previous 12 months.
In understanding that Clubs may have recently staged Annual Elections it is important that newly elected Club Officials are recognised in the Annual Region and Club Guide.
If your club haven’t provided your information yet please reply at your earliest convenience. You can fill the Club Information Survey here.
Bowls Victoria announced three weeks ago that Club Affiliation Fees for the 2016/17 financial year will be based and invoiced on what was paid for in the 2015/16 season plus 2.75%.
Invoicing of Clubs will commence shortly.
At Region Meetings conducted throughout April and May, affiliation was a topic widely discussed and there were presentations given explaining in detail the Bowls Victoria Club-Based Affiliation Model.
Finding out exactly how many people play bowls in our State is critical for our sport, as it helps us prepare our case to secure much-needed funding.
On the recent round of Region visits across the state a focal point for discussion was the area of how bowls as a sport is recording participation data across virtually all areas of what we provide as bowls activities.
To enable our sport to establish grounds for increases in funding to provide, maintain and in some areas increase current levels of service to Clubs, Divisions, Regions and all groups associated to Bowls, we are under obligation to submit accurate numbers associated to participation levels across specified areas of Club and community connection.
Bowls Victoria will be seeking the co-operation of Clubs in recording this data based on their actual numbers of people participating in their Club’s bowls activities.
Bowls Victoria will be seeking participation reports from Clubs on a quarterly basis commencing from June 30, 2016.
Clubs will be supplied with a one-page reporting document that will require population of figures only and these will be compiled to establish the actual status in respect to Bowls Participation across our entire Club network.
Bowls Victoria has plans to help clubs running events to introduce newcomers to the sport, like Come and Try Bowls Days or Barefoot Bowls days, with the establishment of an official Play Bowls Month during October.
We’ll be encouraging all our Clubs to run these events during Play Bowls Month, which will run from the day after AFL Grand Final day throughout October.
Clubs can run one or several Play Bowls days at any time during the month they wish.
And we’ll be asking clubs to register their events with us, so Bowls Victoria can support Clubs to get themselves ready.
We’ll provide full details of this initiative next month – well ahead of time so Clubs can get their planning organised.
Bowls Victoria can’t stress enough the importance for all Clubs to submit their nominations for the Club Volunteer of the Year to their respective Regions by the June 30 deadline.
From these nominations the Regions will be selecting their Region Club Volunteer of the Year recipient who will then be the Region representative for the Bowls Victoria Club Volunteer of the Year Award with the overall winner to be announced at the Bowls Victoria AGM in October.
Who is going to follow in the footsteps of last year’s inaugural winner from City Memorial BC Warrnambool, Greg Ritchie and emerge as the 2015-16 season winner?
This award is all about recognising the fantastic contributions that volunteers make to the sport of bowls through their work at Clubs across all areas of their operations.
You’ll find all you need to know about Volunteer of the Year here
Nominations for the Bowls Victoria Board are now open and close on Friday, July 29, 2016.
Once all nominations have been received and if there is a need to conduct a postal ballot, ballot papers will be distributed on Monday, August 15 and voting will close on Friday, September 23 with the results of the ballot to be declared on Wednesday, September 28.
You’ll find further details and a Nomination Form here
