Victorian clubs get ready to Roll Up
Teenagers in Melbourne’s north, east, west and bayside regions will be the first to access Bowls Victoria’s new junior bowls program, Roll Up, after Deer Park, Hampton, Kingsbury, Ringwood, Essendon and Fitzroy Victoria all put their hand up to trial the state’s new junior participation product.
Roll Up is a fun and fast four-week social bowls program aimed at 9 to 17-year-olds.
Each week, juniors develop their playing skills and game knowledge through social play and support coaching provided by club coaches. The competition is structured to allow kids to learn and build their confidence in lawn bowls by providing a supportive, relaxed and fun environment.
Last year Bowls Victoria contacted all Victorian bowls clubs via their designated Club Secretary and/or Club Communications Officer to introduce the new product and asked clubs to become a Hub Club to trial the program.
“Bowls is a hugely accessible sport and provides opportunities for people of all abilities to participate. It’s a good option for parents who are seeking a non-contact sport for their child or something that’s social and low impact to help to grow their child’s confidence and social development,” said Bowls Victoria’s Participation Manager, Neil Gray.
“Juniors are the future guardians of our sport. Programs like Roll Up are vital in providing a playing pathway to keep kids in the game for the long term,” Gray added.
For the first two years, Bowls Victoria will cover the running costs of Roll Up. This will allow clubs to run sessions for free and provide teenagers with the opportunity to play a sport without any added financial burden on families.
Roll Up also provides the opportunity for teens to connect with their nearest Junior Development Squad and strengthening the pathway to state representation.
Funded by the Andrews government through VicHealth, the initiative is part of a 6 million dollar commitment to growing participation in sport and comes in response to VicHealth’s 2017 research report that highlighted teenagers today are five times more likely to be on a smartphone or tablet device when they could be outside and being active.
To tempt teens away from their screens, Roll Up will appeal to a younger demographic with a fun and entertaining social atmosphere that includes food, music and other various forms of entertainment while enjoying a social game of bowls.
All Roll Up Hub Clubs receive a comprehensive marketing kit to promote the program:
- A suite of digital assets including: branding, poster, web content, social media posts.
- Teardrop flags and corflute signage
- A welcome pack for every participation which includes: a backpack, bucket hat, water bottle, keyring and pen.
- Online advertising within 10km of your club paid for and managed by Bowls Victoria.
To learn more about Roll Up, please click here.
If you’re a club who would like to be part of our Roll Up program, please contact our Participation Team via email.
