Bowls England commits to a review of its Disciplinary Regulations

30th June, 2021

Following feedback and recent experiences, the Board of Bowls England has agreed to implement a review of its Disciplinary Regulations, often known as Regulations 9.  A Disciplinary Working Party, led by board member Adam Tanner, will be set up to undertake the review, working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders across the sport.  The review will also take into account the implementation of the regulations at all levels and the working party will be exploring best practice across other NGBs.

We are looking for volunteers to be part of the Disciplinary Working Party, and an open, application process will start on 2nd July 2021.  The group will be tasked to compile a full report, complete with recommendations, to present to the Board.  The application will be available under vacancies on our website.  We currently have a number of volunteering vacancies which you can view by clicking here. A full Terms of Reference for the group will be available on Friday.

The Governance Working Party submitted the second of three reports to the Board for discussion.  The purpose of the report was to provide the Board with the opportunity to have preliminary discussion on the proposals ahead of a full review of the recommendations at the July Board Meeting.  The report focussed on proposed revisions to the committee structure that will enable Bowls England to become compliant with Sport England’s governance code, to operate in an effective manner and ensure that everyone in the sport has the opportunity to be part of Bowls England’s strategic direction. The Board thanked the members of the Governance Working Party for their time and input, and are looking forward to the discussions in July.

The Management Audit and Review (MAR) committee has provided the Board with a number of valuable recommendations over the years which have included the appointment of an independent communications and marketing director, the formation of the Governance Working Party and a review of current policies and procedures.  In dialogue with the Chair of the MAR committee, with a vacancy on the MAR committee unfilled and in light of current review of governance, it was agreed that Management Audit and Review committee would be temporarily suspended until the outcome of the July board meeting.  The Board thanked the Management Audit and Review Committee for their work and agreed that the Chair will be providing regular updates to the Chair of the MAR on the governance review.

When the Board met, 1650 of our 1977 clubs have returned their affiliation registration details, which will enable us to improve our communications to clubs.  This work is vital to us being able to exact real change in the way our sport it provided and is a fundamental element of our strategy to getting more people enjoying our sport.  If your club has not submitted their details as yet, please click here to fill these in.

On the green, our Celebration Match fixtures are set to go ahead with invitations extended to the international teams, county youth development players and key club volunteers.  The schedule will see the Bowls England team attending 34 clubs nationwide to celebrate their special anniversaries.  Plans are progressing well for the July International Test event at Victoria Park, Leamington Spa which will provide a great opportunity for our high performance squad ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Operationally, the Bowls England team has recently been working through a period of staff transition.  Penny Maguire has retired after dedicating fifteen years working for both Bowls England and the English Bowls Association.  Her vast knowledge and commitment to the both the sport and the organisation will be sorely missed. Her enthusiasm for the sport is unparalleled, and she has always done her best for bowls.  We wish her a very happy and healthy retirement, and hope she will continue to visit us for the Bowls England National Finals, an event she gave so much to over the years.

We have welcomed Laura Blatherwick (Events Officer), Alan Lane (Clubs and Participation Officer) and Emma Hall (Finance Manager) to the team, and the People and Governance Officer is due to start in July. You can view the full structure, including the roles and responsibilities of each team member here.

To read the full minutes of the recent Board meeting, please click here.

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