Bowling with Babies: How Clubs, Parents & Carers are Thriving Together
In 2017, Bowls Victoria’s launched its Bowling with Babies program, an initiative funded by VicHealth, which enabled new and expecting mums to ‘bowl with their babies’ across a number of Victorian Bowls Clubs. In 2017, Bowls Victoria’s launched its Bowling with Babies program, an initiative funded by VicHealth, which enabled new and expecting mums to ‘bowl with their babies’ across a number of Victorian Bowls Clubs.
The program assists less active parents to become more active and enabling time to focus on their physical well-being in a relaxing and comfortable environment, with their baby.
This year, Bowls Victoria is encouraging Clubs to run a Bowling with Babies program to encourage parents and carers to get out of the house, meet likeminded parents, take part in a sport activity, and above all enjoy the safe, comfortable and family-friendly environment of a local Bowls Club.
A Bowling with Babies success story
Werribee Bowls Club joined the program in February and has been running a Bowling with Babies event each Friday since from 10:00am to 1:00pm, with more than 50 mums and their babies attending (many as repeat visitors), with an average of 8-10 attending weekly through the winter, and 12 becoming social members.
“The program is very flexible and informal to meet the needs of the mums (and dads!) and their bubs,” explains Rhonda Edwards, Community Bowls Co-Ordinator at Werribee Bowls Club. “Our mums love the program and the feedback has been very positive. They enjoy outdoor bowls on the synthetic green bowling in one direction only so that they can remain near their babies on the bank of the green. Some mums opt to hold their babies when unsettled and bowl at the same time – multi-tasking at its best!”
Rhonda believes that bowls is a great activity for everyone, mums-to-be and new mums included. “Lawn bowls is a very simple, low-impact, low-cost target game that can be played by people of all ages, abilities and cultures. In fact, it is the only game that can be played from womb to tomb!” she says.
“The Bowling with Babies program gives the mums an opportunity to engage in some gentle exercise within a friendly, social environment and gets them out of the house mixing with others in a similar position, thereby reducing social isolation in the community.”
Engaging with diverse communities
While the mums and babies are enjoying the great outdoors (or indoors when the weather dictates), the Bowling with Babies initiative also has a positive impact on the Bowls Club in general.
“Bowling with Babies provides the opportunity to further engage with our diverse community and in particular a younger demographic,” Rhonda says. “We use the program to promote club events such as barefoot bowls and Friday Nights @ The Hive, as well as promote the club as a local function venue,” Rhonda says.
“By opening their doors and moving with the times towards the ‘Community Club’ concept, Bowls Clubs will ensure their long-term sustainability. Bowling with Babies is one step in breaking down barriers that still exist within some Clubs.”
A champion mum’s perspective
Former state singles champion and new mum, Jess Wallace, participated in Lilydale Bowls Club’s inaugural Bowling with Babies program and has been raving about it ever since.
“I just loved the Bowling with Babies program! It was a great opportunity for me to continue building relationships with my mothers’ group through an extra weekly catch-up and it allowed me to introduce my club and share my love of bowls with my friends, showing them that bowls is not an ‘old person’s sport’!” Jess says.
“Bowls is a really low impact sport and being a new parent can be quite lonely, so having a weekly event that helps build new friendships and encourages you to take that step towards becoming physically active again post-delivery is the perfect combination. I played up until 36 weeks of pregnancy and began again within the first few weeks after giving birth.”
To register your club to host a Bowling with Babies program, please contact
Participation Team
Bowls Victoria
t: 03 9861 7100
e: participation@bowlsvic.org.au
