17th October 2008. UPDATE ON BOWLS BECOMING AN OLYMPIC SPORT

BOWLS England has received a number of enquiries to ask why bowls is not an Olympic sport, and what is being done to address this, especially with London being hosts for the 2012 Games.

The current Olympic Games programme (Summer and Winter Games) includes 35 sports and nearly 400 events. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to gain Olympic recognition, and it is a long process with lots of competition from other sports wishing to be included.

Firstly, for any sport to be considered, it must be played throughout all of the Olympic areas in the world. In the case of lawn bowls, the Caribbean has many National Olympic Committees yet no lawn bowls is currently played in any of these countries.

World Bowls is currently investigating the possibility of introducing the sport into the Caribbean and is liaising with the Commonwealth Games Federation, which has expressed a possible willingness to assist with this as part of its strategy to grow participation in Commonwealth Games 'core' sports.

World Bowls is also now a Member of the Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules (CMSB). The CMSB is already part of the Olympic movement as a Recognised International Federation for all bowls type sports, and it is felt that this will bolster the lobbying powers for bowls type sports (including lawn bowls) to be included in the Olympic Games in the future.

The IOC continues to review the sports programme for the Summer Games and is now committed to having 28 sports in the 2016 Olympic Games. The shortlist for inclusion in 2016, from which two will be chosen, features rugby, baseball, softball, karate, squash, golf and roller sports and a decision will be made in October 2009.

Bowls England will continue to support all efforts made by World Bowls to achieve Olympic recognition for our sport.

20th May 2008. 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS UPDATE

The 2012 World Championships in Australia will reach a thrilling climax following the recent decision to adopt a new finals format for the prestigious event.

Following World Bowls' recent discussions with the World Bowls 2012 Organising Committee, it has been agreed that the finals of all disciplines will be staged at the conclusion of the tournament in Adelaide, paving the way for a highly entertaining finish to the event.

It was also decided that the World Championships would continue to use the 'Traditional' format of play for all disciplines, rather than sets play, as the sport's finest exponents go in search of glory.

Following on from the success of this year's event in Christchurch, New Zealand, the 2012 World Championships will be staged at Lockleys Bowling Club in South Australia and will feature the world's top 24 countries in both men's and women's events.

According to World Bowls Chief Executive Gary Smith, the decision to amend the schedule of play, as well as the acceptance of 'Traditional' play as the format of choice, will ensure the success of the event to be hosted in South Australia.

"The preparations for the 2012 World Championships are progressing very nicely," Mr. Smith said.

"I am pleased to confirm that we will be continuing to use the 'Traditional' format of play at the World Championships, which will reach an exciting conclusion by altering the schedule of play to allow the finals of all disciplines to be held at the end of the tournament."

(Any enquiries relating to this press release should be addressed to Gary Smith, Chief Executive, World Bowls, Sportscotland, Caledonia House, Redheughs Rigg, South Gyle, Edinburgh, EH12 9DQ, Scotland TEL: +44 (0)131-317-9764 FAX: +44 (0)131-317-9765 EMAIL: world bowls@btconnect.com

A BOWLING club established before World War Two has been forced to close its doors forever after losing a hard-fought financial battle.

Bosses of the Loxford Park Bowling Club have struggled to keep their decades old facility afloat after a steep decline in membership and a sharp rise in costs.

With the threat of closure hanging over them for the past year, they ended 72 years of lawn bowls at the

club off Loxford Lane, Ilford, by playing an emotional final game on Sunday. Vera Wiseman, club secretary for 19 years and from Seven Kings, said: "It's terribly sad that we're having to throw away all this history. "We've lost members. Some have moved away from the district and last year we made a loss of £2,000. We can't go on like that."

On Tuesday, members began packing up as they prepared to move out of their club house, while huge plaques celebrating club bowling champions of old overlooked them. Assistant treasurer Albert Cornwall, 75, has seen membership at the club fall from 50 to 20 in the 10 years he has played there. He said: "We've tried attracting new people and young people by knocking on doors and dropping leaflets but unfortunately it just hasn't worked. "We've done our best to keep it going for as long as we can but these things happen. The people that live in the area these days are not interested in bowls."

Most members will now be joining Clementswood Bowling Club in South Park, South Park Drive, Ilford, which has been able to make extra revenue by holding quiz nights in their larger club house. Mrs. Wiseman, of Seven Kings, said: "The council is limited as to what they can do. Hopefully no other clubs will suffer like we have. "They need to start through the schools so youngsters are introduced to it at an early age and can get interested in what it's about. It's a popular sport and a lot of fun. "I know Clementswood Bowling Club has a couple of 16-year-olds who play but we've not been able to attract them to our club.

If you want to improve your performance on the bowling green why not look to your subconscious mind for help. We are conceived with certain abilities and Sports Hypnosis will not add to those abilities - it can however help you make the most of the abilities you are born with ....

The game of bowls requires great mental concentration, coordination and above all else consistency. Your mind and body have to get in the zone and work in sync to get your bowl to the very spot you require and this skill requires concentration and focus. For some of us this can be difficult to achieve in the heat of the moment. Sports Hypnosis is a very effective approach due to it's training your mind to work in sync with your body. You remain focused on your target no matter how many people are watching you or the stress of the particular competition.

Getting Rid Of The 'Yips'
No matter who you are your body will have a physical response to any stress or nervousness you experience. In a sporting event this may well show it's self as higher than normal feelings of apprehension which can hinder both your decision making and your movements hence interfering with your ability to hit your mark. The merest muscle tension or shaking may not be obvious to you but it will have an effect on both your action and it's consistency. Sports hypnosis will help you stay as calm as you need to be and focused no matter just how nervous you are. Your physical responses can be set to getting into the zone and focusing on playing as best you can on a particular day rather than focusing on your surroundings, your opponent or worse still, thought of failure. Staying focused (i.e. in the zone) better than your opponents is often the key to sporting success.

Improving Your Technique
A skill based sport like Bowls requires good technique which like most sports is learnt through good coaching and plenty of practice. Sports Hypnosis will not help you if your technique is bad or you never practice but once the required 'moves' have been achieved to your satisfaction the skills along with consistency of both thought and action can be reinforced with the use of an appropriate Sports Hypnosis therapy thus maximizing your potential. With Sports Hypnosis this is easily done as while in the hypnotic state we are laying down positive changes and removing negative actions, attitudes that have built up over a period of time.

Coaches and players alike would agree that consistency is perhaps the most important action of any successful sport. You may play a shot that successfully snuggles up to the kitty one end and be off the mark the next. By developing the consistency of your play your accuracy will more than likely improve. Sports Hypnosis can ensure that by getting your mind right your arm (and the rest of your body) will follow through with ease and consistency. Instead of winning an end easily once and thinking you aren't going to be able to do that again for the rest of the match your subconscious mind will feed you the belief that you can. This improved inner belief will help your performance in Bowls improve.

You Can Block Out Those Distraction !!!
Like it or not there are many distractions when we are playing our chosen sport. Sports hypnosis can help you block out distractions on the green while you're contemplating or taking your shot. Your mind will be completely focused on the target and the path you want the bowl to take to get there so your moves occur consistently with confidence and without hesitation. Hesitation can be your worst enemy when you are playing any sport. A split second of doubt can interfere with a shot you play. This can send your bowl deviating from your desired course. Being able to block out distractions and completely focus on what you want to do helps you stop hesitating for a smooth follow through.

Your bowls game will improve when you get rid of the jitters and develop a consistently smooth technique. You can play your very best without hesitation because instead of the zone being accidental you will put yourself there anytime you want. Sports hypnosis can improve your bowls performance - you just need to believe ...
by Paul Brown Dip Clinic Hyp

Feeling Lonely? Try Lawn Bowls Speed Dating

If you're a member of the Lonely Hearts Club, where's the best place to go to meet that special someone? A nightclub...a bar...the personals column in your local newspaper...or an internet dating agency? You might not immediately think of your local lawn bowls club, but one Townsville club is starting a romantic revolution.

In an effort to attract younger people to the sport, the club is launching Speed Dating Lawn Bowls. You start playing in a group of three men and three women. You bowl two ends, and then split up. The women go in one direction, and the men in the other until you've met all the participants. At the end of the evening, you write the names of the people you'd like to see again on a card. If they also write your name down, the information is passed on...and romance could blossom.

It all happens at the South Townsville Bowls Club North Queensland on Friday October 17th

Members of the Ashburton Bowling Club are hoping to share their love of the game with newcomers when they again start up their Crack-A-Jack bowls competition.
Set to be held on a Thursday evening, Crack-A-Jack bowls is being aimed at businesses or groups of friends who think they might like to give lawn bowls a go.
Murray Anderson, one of the people behind the competition, said bowls was a game that was able to be enjoyed from a young age. He said in recent years, as was the case with many other sports, there had been a significant drop off in the number of people playing bowls nationally.
But New Zealand had a strong history in the sport, with the most recent successes coming at the World Bowls Championships which were held in Christchurch last year.
He said bowls was a sport for everyone. “It can be played and enjoyed from the very young, the older ones,” Anderson said. “The Ashburton Bowling Club wants to ensure that people have the opportunity to have a casual game of bowls.”
Crack-A-Jack bowls was trialled at the club for a month last year and it went well, with a team from South Island Seeds winning the inaugural event and taking home the trophy. The competition was open to workplaces or individual groups to enter. Crack-A-Jack bowls will take place on Thursday evenings from November 6, and play will start at 6pm each week. It will run for four weeks before Christmas and resume in the New Year.
Teams will be made up of four players and club members will be on hand to assist teams each evening.
Bowls will be supplied and it will cost players just $2.50 each per week and there will be time for socialising at the end of each night.
Entries close on October 31 and for more information, phone Murray Anderson on 3076467.
October 2 2008

Who said I'm too young to play bowls?
17.09.2008
LAWN bowls is fast becoming a sport for the young and the Stratford Avon Bowling Club is capitalising on the developing interest.
In Australia, the average age of bowlers is now 27, and New Zealand is going the same way, with the finalists in the New Zealand championships being in their twenties.
The growth in youth bowls in the main centres has taken off with large numbers of both boys and girls participating in organised bowling at secondary school - many students from around Taranaki are currently playing in a youth bowls programme. Such a change in the demography of the base of players has been warmly welcomed by the Stratford-Avon Bowling Club, who continue to go from strength to strength with recruitment drives like their casual twilight bowling.

It was involvement in twilight bowls, and the encouragement of his father-in-law, that first piqued the interest of 33-year-old Chris Hall. I was right into sports when I was younger, playing rugby for Stratford, said Chris, but with work and having kids, it just got harder to keep it up.
Opting to give bowls a go four years ago proved to be a wise move for Chris, as he has since realised just how much fun involvement in the sport can be. Playing bowls is great, you can pick and choose when you play. You could play every day of the week if you wanted, but, you know, if you can t make it into play, it doesn't t matter, it s so flexible. As a game, people think it s easy, but it s really challenging you have to work out strategies involving weights and angles, and it s definitely competitive which is great.
Chris has also realised the great number of social benefits of being involved in the club and is enjoying getting to meet new people. The social side is a great thing. The people in the club tell really funny stories and, well, the alcohol is pretty cheap too! Also, it s been a great place to network for my job with RD1.
With more competitions and training being put in place for bowling at secondary schools, there is a new pool of talented youngsters emerging and Chris is really pleased to see it. Although it is still mainly older people involved at my club, with all the secondary school championships and new tournament formats coming through, the sport is changing for the better.
Developing the sport is an ongoing process and although the push in high schools has garnered a greater level of involvement from the young, there is still a long way to go in sustaining newly created interest in the sport.
I joined the committee this year. The president was after new blood and new thinking with ideas on how to challenge the preconceptions about the sport. Chris is really keen to push the social benefits of the game, and the flexibility that the game offers to working people. Bowls doesn't t have to be serious. You have to wear your whites for competitions, but basically you can rock up in your sandals to play twilight games. As a family sport, there are as many casual bowlers playing in twilight family competitions, as there are competitive bowlers and because of the success of last year s casual bowls twilight competition, the Stratford-Avon Bowling Club is planning to do the same this year. Up to 40 non-bowlers can take part at the two-hour Monday night sessions and bowls are provided - all people need to do is turn up in a pair of flat-soled shoes, slippers or bare feet.

Because of the flexibility that bowls provides, joining the Stratford-Avon Bowling Club means members are entitled to come along in their own time and use the greens for practice or fun family games.

Ultimatum in bowls club fee row

Police have already attended one protest bowls match

A bowls club locked in a bitter row over an increase in fees has been given a deadline to pay up or move out.
Bradley Stoke Town Council wants to increase the fees paid by North Avon bowls club for using Baileys Court. It has already locked them out of the ground and has now issued an ultimatum to sign a deal by mid-May.

The council, which rents the ground to the club, wants to increase fees by some 50% to £2,300, and then 8% a year for the next four years. The club said the move may see them close down because it cannot afford the proposed rise.

At a special meeting this week, Bradley Stoke councillors rejected a plea to allow South Gloucestershire Council to arbitrate in the increasingly rancorous dispute. Bowls club chair woman Margaret Thompson said she was "very disappointed". "I thought they would be more magnanimous and I thought that they would see a way forward to support the bowls club."

But Mayor Julian Barge said: "We have been trying to work with the club for over a year now and that has been about coming to an agreement. "If the will is not there to work together it does not matter who arbitrates."

Earlier this year, police were called after members of the bowls club staged a protest match at the ground.

Lawn bowls take over Down Under

A not-so-new sport is catching on Down Under. Cameron Wilson reports on the resurgence of lawn bowls in Australia.

Lawn bowls take over Down Under Barefoot bowls: the dress code is strictly casual
'Nice Stevie, that's shot bowl I reckon." "Yeah mate, it looks like we've got room to draw a second one, too. But we should get a back bowl in there to defend the drive."
In Australia, as in the UK, discussing lawn bowls strategy has traditionally been the preserve of older folk, usually kitted out in club whites for an afternoon on the green. But then a funny thing happened: Aussies discovered that lawn bowls is the perfect outdoor social activity, combining as it does fresh air and sunshine with a beer and a game everyone can play.
These days, an earnest green-side chat about whether to draw a shot on the forehand might as easily be heard among a bunch of chic young things celebrating a 21st, a group of city professionals on a company bonding session or a few lads from the local rugby team. The game's revival in Australia began at the turn of the millennium, as clubs recognised that their foundation post-war generation membership was dwindling and few young people were interested in taking up what was perceived as an activity for seniors. The game seemed destined to wither away, until a handful of clubs began inviting non-members to play on Sundays. The spark lit a fire, and by the time a hit TV show featured its groovy young cast drinking beer and trading banter over a "barefoot bowls" session, it had become a social phenomenon.

Clubs around Australia now encourage non-members to play and welcome visitors from overseas. Barbecue facilities and stereo speakers carrying pop tunes and disco classics feature at many clubs on Sunday afternoons - some even put on live jazz bands. And you could hardly ask for a more relaxed club dress code than the bare feet, T-shirt and shorts that comprise the standard uniform of the social lawn bowler. It's an unbeatable way to mingle with the locals, too: as one of Sydney's leading bowls clubs associations has it, "Have a Beverage, BBQ, Bowls&Bonding session with us and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on the greens secure in the knowledge that everyone - no matter what level of fitness or age - can participate".

So if you're visiting Australia, and whether you can employ phrases such as "kiss the jack" with confidence, or you know the difference between a backhand and forehand draw, you will find few cheerier ways to spend an afternoon out in the Aussie sunshine.