15 minute read
OAM AWARDED TO BAGARA BOWLER
from July 2020
Bundaberg Districts’ Dahl recognised
Bargara Bowls Club life member Gordon Dahl was recognised for his commitment and dedication to the sport of bowls with an Order of Australia medal (OAM) on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday on June, 8. A stalwart of the Queensland community, Gordon has a lawn bowls history that spans several decades and he has dedicated his time at both club and district level. Gordon was among 933 Australians recognised for their efforts to the betterment of the country from the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. “It was a wonderful thing to happen to me, I felt incredibly honoured as it was something I’d never really expected I’d receive,” Gordon said. “I’m incredibly humbled by this and I’m still not sure who actually put me forward for this honour, I honestly thought it was a hoax initially!” Gordon’s OAM is well-deserved as he has given a lot back to the Bundaberg District’s bowls community as well as his own club, which made him a life member in 2007. He also had an extensive coaching career which spanned from the early 1980s until 2009. He was the founding chairman of the Bundaberg District Lawn Bowls Coaching Panel, serving from 1987 until 2009 and also served as an accredited coach with the Bundaberg Bowls Association for 12 years. Gordon also worked as an accredited umpire for five years and played a vital part in instituting a junior bowls program for the district’s schools. Bowls Queensland CEO Brett Wilkie said he was pleased to hear Gordon had been recognised for his commitment to the district and the sport in general. “It is great news to learn that Gordon has been recognised for his hard work and devotion to our sport, he is another tremendous example of the many volunteers across the state who tirelessly strive to improve the sport and give something back to their local community,” he said.
COVID-19
Stage 3
Following the Queensland State Government Stage 3 allows eight players on a rink which allows for announcing Stage 2 Easing of Restrictions regarding Pennants to be played, with many districts looking at COVID-19, Bowls Queensland are part of an Industry starting Pennant in August. This stage will also see a return COVID Safe Plan which covers affiliated bowls clubs in to social bowls and club championships. Queensland. The date announcement of the opening of the border Bowls Queensland forms part of the Industry COVID has been welcome as it allows Pennant to continue Safe Plan created by the QSport Outdoor Sport Group with a number of clubs just over the border. It will also and the Queensland Sport & Recreation Department, be relished by clubs throughout the State who usually this plan was approved by the Queensland Chief Health welcome southern visitors during the winter months. Officer. Many clubs are starting to plan for events that have been This allowed clubs to have up to 20 people training or postponed due to club closures. rolling up on each of their greens at the same time.
Stage 2 BQ EVENTS UPDATE
Stage 2 of the return to sport plan only included training, while competitive games were not due to return until we enter Stage 3 of the easing of restrictions in Queensland. This means clubs can only allow training State Championships October 12-25, 2020. Played at Gold Coast Clubs, entries will be reopened for this event and close on August, 17. or roll-ups. State Multi Disability Championships Clubs Queensland along with the Queensland Hotels Association and the RSL & Services Clubs Association developed an Industry COVID Safe Plan for the inside October 27-30, 2020. Played at Chermside Bowls Club. Entries will open soon and close on September, 14. operations of clubs which was also approved by the North vs South Challenge CHO. October, 31 - November 1, 2020. Venue TBA. This enabled clubs to potentially have multiple State Division 1 Pennant Finals gatherings of 20 people within the club in Stage 2, so November 7-8 2020. long as the square meterage of the club allowed this to Venue TBA. Zone play offs need to be completed and BQ be approved. notified of the winner by October, 12. Many clubs have now opened their doors for the first State Champion of Club Champion Singles time since being asked to close their doors in late November 22-23, 2020. March. While this easing of restrictions for clubs to Played at Chermside Bowls Club. Zone start operating again is welcome, clubs will still have to winners to be in to BQ by November, 2. maintain procedures in place to keep people safe. Many players are itching to get back into competitive bowls which is scheduled for Stage 3 of the easing of restrictions. Brett Wilkie
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Choice of Champions
Rewind
5 classic games to watch!
We’ve put together a short list of five classic games you can watch for free this month to help quench your competitive bowls thirst!
2012 World Bowls Men’s Singles Final - Leif Selby VS Ryan Bester www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0BtQUtmKcQ
2018 Australian Open Women’s Singles Final - Rebecca Van Asch VS Kristina Krstic www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EAkQtYGcyY 2015 BPL03 Final Adelaide Endurance VS New Zealand Blackjacks www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayL_spSK_18&t=6s
2014 Australian Indoor Championships Men's Singles Final - David Holt VS Brett Wilkie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg_soUdQy7o
2017 NSW Bowls Championship Singles Final Aron Sherriff V David Ferguson www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDfNVOQ0AJA
PAT REELY
Recognised
Club Helensvale’s hard-working volunteer, Pat Reely, was recognised as part of the 31st anniversary of National Volunteer Week in late May for her dedication to the club and its members.
The annual celebration is organised by Volunteering Australia to acknowledge the contribution offered by more than six million Australians who give their time to help communities across the country. Pat, who has been a club member for more than 10 years, was nominated by Commonwealth Gold medallist and fellow club mate Lynsey Clarke. Since moving to the Gold Coast from New South Wales in 2004, Pat has been volunteering up to seven days a week at the club, which has become a family de facto for Pat whose real family is based in North Queensland. Described as the heart and soul of the club, Pat helps out wherever she is needed and can be found doing anything from staffing the bar to serving as the umpires and officials coordinator, and she has even helped Helensvale organise the World Bowls Championships. “We’re incredibly lucky to have Pat,” Club Helensvale’s Bowls Coordinator Lynsey Clarke says. “She does every job possible around the place, without her support and hard work our ability to run successful World Class events at the club wouldn’t be possible. “I’d be lost without her, she really is our super worker! “I think most clubs will have a ‘Pat’ in their midst - someone who’s at the club six days a week, puts their hand up for every role and isn’t afraid to get in there and do the hard yakka.” Reely’s volunteering has seen her wear many different hats – even once being asked to look over the fixture draw for a big tournament the club was holding where she identified and rectified an embarrassing mistake when two teams were pitted to play each other twice. But above all, Reely is just happy to lend a hand. “I get a lot more out of it than I put in, it’s a team effort too, I’m just humbled to have been nominated,” she said. “I’m happy to help in any way shape or form but I never consider it as a duty, it’s always my pleasure.” Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) CEO Peter Conde said the role that volunteers play in delivering sport across the country and in supporting athletes on their sporting journey should never be undervalued.
“The AIS wants to show our support to Australia’s volunteers through National Volunteers Week, in recognition of the
millions of volunteers who make sport possible for so many,” Conde said.
“Working with athletes, we want to share a simple message of ‘thank you’, to the coaches, officials, team managers, groundskeepers, canteen workers, gear stewards and plenty more, that support the enjoyment of sport across Australia.
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THE ROAD AHEAD
FOR BOWLS IN QUEENSLAND
In the last three months since the arrival of COVID-19 to this country, there has been a lot of change and uncertainty within the bowls community as well as the wider sporting world at large.
Bowls Queensland is committed to returning to the greens at full capacity as quickly as it is safe to do so, BQ has been in constant communication with the state government and relevant stakeholders to advocate for the bowls community, and we will continue to provide updates as soon as we are aware of new changes affecting clubs and bowlers.
This will likely be a lengthy process which may be frustrating for many, however, due to the age demographic of our sport and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects older Australians, it is imperative that we observe health guidelines to ensure the safety of our bowls community and prevent further transmission of the coronavirus throughout the State.
At the time of publication, we are following the rules as set out under Stage 2 of the COVID-19 Roadmap to easing restrictions, as of July, 10 these will likely have changed.
Due to the evolving nature of the pandemic, we ask that all bowlers keep an eye on the Bowls Queensland website and refer to it for the most up to date COVID-19 information and advice.
As we wind back the current government restrictions, it will be easy for some to become complacent, however, the whole bowls community will need to still be aware of and implement the best practice when it comes to hygiene to ensure the safety of ourselves and our fellow members in order to prevent a second wave of outbreak.
How do I ensure COVID-19 best practice?
Have a minimum of a 2-metre space between each rink in use. The responsibility lies with individual clubs to ensure that they are fully aware of and compliant with the QLD State Government advice and all guidelines are adhered to. Strict safety and health protocols must be in place. Clubs must engage any staffing/volunteers required as necessary to fulfil the guidelines including any marshalling to achieve social distancing. Ensuring that the 1.5 m social distancing rule is to be observed at all times.
Implementing a changeover between groups to ensure gatherings are avoided and allow cleaning and sanitising of communal and shared facilities.
Disinfectant spray must be made available, all mats and jacks must be thoroughly cleaned by players, volunteers or staff between each session.
Not sharing bowls equipment between players (e.g. bowls, cloths etc), players should not touch other people’s bowls.
Making sure hand sanitiser is available at the entrance to the club and beside each green in use. Bowlers should practice safe hygiene at all times, including washing hands for at least 20 seconds before and after bowls.
Clubs must have in place, and follow the Outdoor Sport Industry COVID Safe Plan checklist. Clubs need to regularly review the effectiveness of the steps put in place to measure success or evaluate risks. Review systems to make sure they are consistent with current directions from QLD Health.
The way back to normality
Bowls Australia CEO Neil Dalrymple says the pandemic has placed significant pressure on the bowls community and that it will take a proactive approach to ensure the long term health of the sport.
“Sport as a whole has experienced a massive impact to the start of 2020, and with this year planned to be one of BA’s biggest yet, it has certainly created some major obstacles in the delivery of our services and events, including the postponement of the World Bowls Championships to 2021 and the cancellation of the 2020 Australian Open, arguably the two biggest events on the global calendar for bowls outside of the Commonwealth Games,” Dalrymple said.
“The pandemic has caused some serious stress on our bowls clubs, and we must consider the opportunities for our sports revival once restrictions have been lifted and we are back to normal operation.
“A proactive approach to the rejuvenation of bowls will be critical for our ongoing exposure within the Australian community and it is hoped that some of the objectives within this plan can assist our clubs to recover.”
Bowls Australia has produced the ‘Return to bowls plan & toolkit’ to assist bowls clubs across Australia with the recommencement of training, competitions and programs in a safe and responsible manner.
‘COVID-19: Return to Bowls Plan‘ and ‘COVID-19: Return to Bowls Toolkit‘ are part of BA’s overall response to ensuring bowls returns to the Australian sporting landscape in its full capacity, as soon as practically possible, while safeguarding the health and safety of its participants.
COVID-19: Return to Bowls Plan
The ‘COVID-19: Return to Bowls Plan‘ outlines some of the data collected by the national survey conducted by BA, in consultation with the STAs, the following feedback was obtained from 450 clubs in response to the effects COVID-19 has had on the bowls community.
Some of the most worrying data revealed in the survey was that 29% of clubs believe they could remain closed for six months before having concerns and 18% believe they could only remain closed for three months before having concerns. The data suggests that the clubs industry has suffered major losses during their recent closures and with venues already closed for 8-10 weeks at the time of publication, 18% of clubs have identified that it may not be financially viable for them to re-open in the coming weeks/months.
The flow-on effects from this are also great as many clubs act as key sponsors and promoters of local community groups and sports clubs, ultimately meaning our Australian communities are suffering as a whole from the pandemic. The plan also lays out a detailed framework from a departmental perspective which tackles participation and funding, communications and marketing, organisational structure, high performance and events.
COVID-19: Return to Bowls Toolkit
After considering the key feedback within the club survey recently, it was clear that venues would still like to see ongoing communications and assistance in understanding the planned release of bowls activities back into the community.
Subsequently, BA has developed the ‘Return to Bowls Tool Kit’ that provides clubs with necessary information and resources related to the staged release of bowls activities as well as information that can be utilised at local venues to ensure safety procedures are being met moving forward. The kit also provides access to funding opportunities and cost-saving initiatives available as part of the sports comeback following Covid-19, along with checklists that clubs should look to complete to understand their level of preparedness once given the go-ahead to re-commence regular trading and activity.
The key points of the tool kit: • Members’ Checklist - This has been designed to capture relevant information of your returning members to enable a safe and healthy environment and stop the spread of COVID-19.
Business Continuity Checklist - The checklist is designed to help clubs identify some potential risks to the continuity of your business activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and actions you could take to prepare and respond
Safe Hygiene And Social Distancing Resources - BA has put together a number of Government educational flyers for you to utilise around the club to help inform members and customers about safe hygiene and social distancing.
Safe Work Australia Checklist - This is the self-assessment checklist to ensure all workers and volunteers are working in the safest way possible.
You can access both the ‘COVID-19: Return to Bowls Plan‘ and ‘COVID-19: Return to Bowls Toolkit‘ via the Bowls Australia website link: www.bowls.com.au/covid-19-return-to-bowls-plan-toolkit
At the time of printing, the Stage 3 easing of restrictions is applicable from July 10 in Queensland and allows clubs to run a maximum of six rinks on a green with up to eight players on each. This allows for two Divisions of Pennants to be played on each green. This stage will also see a return to social bowls and club championships. Please keep checking the Bowls Queensland website for specific information and updates: www.bowlsqld.org
