Following World Bowls’ invitation in 2024, Bowls England registered an Expression of Interest to host the 2027 World Championships at Victoria Park, Royal Leamington Spa. Having not held a World Bowls event in England since 2004, hosting an event of this stature presents a generational opportunity to increase the visibility of bowls, engender pride across England’s bowls community, inspire new people to participate and strengthen Bowls England’s event delivery capability. Following discussion with UK Sport and Warwick District Council about the World Championships ability to deliver positive economic and social impact, and after detailed discussions on the event finances, the Bowls England board approved making a formal bid for the event. We have advised World Bowls.
The Board also discussed the excellent progress with safeguarding and the impending deadline where all affiliated clubs are required to have a Safeguarding Officer. The Board discussed possible sanctions for non-compliance and will decide at its April Board meeting how these will be applied. Ensuring everyone can enjoy our sport in a safe environment and that affiliated clubs are inclusive and welcoming to everyone is a number one priority of Bowls England. We would like to thank County Associations and the many clubs who have made positive progress on this important step change for our sport.
The Board approved several policies and documents: a revised Selection Policy to better support the transparent and fair selection of players for international representation; a Procurement Policy in order for a robust process to be in place when the operational team are procuring goods and services; an action plan to ensure Bowls England continues to be support anti-doping in our sport; and guidance on sponsor acquisition to ensure prospective commercial partners align with Bowls England’s values.
A valuable strategic discussion was had on Affiliation Trends where the board were presented with insight on what was affecting affiliation growth by county. The data demonstrated there was direct correlation between participation growth and high levels of activity around Bowls’ Big Weekend, Bowls Bash and volume of qualified coaches. More work will be undertaken to analyse the impact of a range of other factors on participation growth such as socio-economic patterns and pricing. Bowls England will pick up these findings with County Associations and consider the research in its future decision making.
The Board also discussed some issues in the Nominations Process for the Board Director elections. Whilst these did not affect the integrity of the elections, it was resolved to ensure the process in 2025 is managed more effectively.
The Board received an update on an array of operational matters progressed since the last meeting and reflected on the current risk register to ensure risks are being mitigated.
As announced, Adam Tanner has resigned from the Board with immediate effect, and we thank Adam for his service. Furthermore, Anna Molony will not be re-standing for independent appointment, and the April board meeting will be her last official meeting. We will mark her significant contribution at that time.
The minutes of the February Board meeting can be found here, as well as an additional Board meeting that took place in March to discuss the 2027 World Championships.