Greens & Infrastructure

Firstly, I would like to thank all the volunteers on the Bowls WA Greens and Infrastructure Committee and all the club personnel that we have been in contact with during the season for helping build a strong relationship between BWA staff, Clubs and inspection teams so that the greens are in the best condition for all their members and visitors. Volunteering, whether at Club or Association level is so important to the future of our sport, it must be celebrated along with succession plans put in to share the workload now and in the future. For many metropolitan clubs, the 2020-2021 season started earlier with the requirement to complete the 2019-2020 Men’s Saturday Promotion Finals in September due to the early cancellation of the season due to Covid. For some grass clubs this meant having greens available earlier than what they normally would and required careful planning by greenkeepers to ensure they lasted the 2020-21 season. For the most part, greens inspected during the annual pre pennant inspections were of a good standard and not many re-inspections were required before Pennant started. The number of rebounding issues were at a low level; however, all clubs must continue to be vigilant as rebounding bowls can flair up for no apparent reasons season to season. The number of new synthetic greens either sandfilled,orcarpetcontinuetoincreaseslowly across the metropolitan and country areas. With a variety of choices of surfaces and laying contractors available, it is incumbent on clubs to do their due diligence before making any final decisions. The club is making a decision on an asset that is extremely important to the immediate future of the club and the enjoyment for their members. The Bowls WA Greens and

Infrastructure Committee encourages all clubs who have had the experience of choosing surfaces and contractors to share their journey if contacted by other clubs. While Bowls WA can point clubs in a general direction and give general advice, it is only the clubs that have been on the journey of choosing surfaces and contractors, that can share firsthand the pitfalls along the way. Jim Powell On top of this, synthetic greens that were installed over six/seven years ago are coming towards the end of their projected life expectancy. Many clubs will be starting to make decisions on when their surfaces will need to be replaced and what they should replace them with. The quality and number of different surfaces available has increased over the last ten years, so those clubs looking to replace greens also need to make sure they investigate properly the surface best for them before final decisions are made. While a couple of clubs had some difficulty with their grass and synthetic greens during the season, only a couple of protests were received. Meetings were set up with these clubs and remedial action was undertaken with only one club losing points due to an unsuitable surface. Clubs are reminded that players verbally complaining is not going to help the situation and any issues need to be brought to the attention of the Greens and Infrastructure Committee by filling in the appropriate forms and sending appropriate emails to Bowls WA which highlights the issues. Overall, I am happy to report Metropolitan Clubs Greens stood up very well across an extra-long season that started in September and I look forward to catching up with all our great clubs and volunteers in the lead up to the 2021-22 season.

Jim Powell

GREENS & INFRASTRUCTURE