High Performance

Although the 2020 Nationals were not played in October due to Covid restrictions, the Bowls WA High Performance Committee took the opportunity to develop its strategies to improve the culture and performance of all selected Western Australian teams. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons Ross Dempsey was unable to continue in his role as the State Selection Panel Chair. Although not long in the role, Ross had already made a valuable contribution to the Committee, and we wish him and his family well in the future. As a very able replacement, Kerry Andersen was selected to take on the role of Chair of the Selection Panel and was given a threeyear term. Kerry will take on the task of selecting the Men’s and Women’s Open Teams, Under 18 Boys and Girls Teams and the Over 60’s Men’s team. Due to Kerry wanting to be available for selection in the Over 60’s Women’s team, Open team selector Therese Hastings will work with the Over 60’s selectors to select the Women’s team. As well as Kerry’s appointment, all selectors and coaches had their term extended for one year as no teams were required to be selected in the previous twelve-month period. The Men’s Open Coach and Selector and Under 18 Coach positions will now be declared open in November 2021 with the remaining positions open in November 2022. During the season the High-Performance Committee reformed and met to discuss the future of High-Performance Bowls in Western Australia. A major part of those discussions involved how we better identify talented

bowlers both metropolitan and country and the best way to develop those identified players. A major part of the future player development program is the Bowls WA Academy under Head Coach Linda Warburton. Linda has continued to assess and invite metropolitan and country players to take part either on a full-time basis or a trial basis. Linda continues Pieter Harris to use not only her abilities to up skill players but also invites leading State Players to give talks and take part in sessions. Those players included but were not limited to, Kristina Krstic, Cody Packer, John Slavich, Clive Adams, Shane Knott, Noelene Abe, Lee Poletti and Kelli Wray. A number of other changes were enacted to bring all state squads together. While there was not an official Over 60’s squad, nominations for players interested in taking part was requested with a healthy number of individuals putting their name forward. Unfortunately, while not all nominations received an invite, games were set up between Over 60’s players vying for team selection and the Open State Squads. This gave much needed competition for all concerned and gave selectors opportunities to view players under pressure against quality opposition. Members of the Under 18’s were also invited to compete against and with the Bowls Academy players as they strived for selection in the Under 18 teams. As the High-Performance Committee continued to look for ways to challenge Western Australian players, an event called the Bowls Blitz was set up to take the place of State trials between May and August. The event involved all Open State Squad members playing in eight different teams with the members of the HighPerformance Committee taking on the selecting and coaching responsibilities of a team. Nominations were also requested

from players outside the squads to fill the remaining 23 positions in the eight player teams. A large number of nominations were received, and a draft was held to select the lucky 23 players. A mixture of Over 60’s, Academy and future Academy players were chosen by the eight selectors. At the stage of this report, the competition is halfway through, having played eight rounds over two Sundays with two more days to go with a further six rounds plus finals. The event has been successful in creating pressure for the players, having to compete in all disciplines in a meaningful competition with the best players in Western Australia. Looking forward to next season, the HighPerformance Committee will continue to look for ways to develop the talents of Western Australian players as we look to succeed at the National Side Series in October and beyond.

Pieter Harris

HIGH PERFORMANCE