Bowls England is excited to introduce Bowls Bash, a new version of lawn bowls, which is easy to play and fun for all ages and abilities.  Boosted by Sport England’s Birmingham 2022 funding, Bowls Bash will be rolled out across hundreds of affiliated clubs this summer and during 2023, providing greater opportunity for people to give bowls a go.

Research shows that 93% of non-bowlers feel they are capable of playing bowls and 37% would like to try the sport, but the main barriers to participation are not having enough time and the perception that bowls is slow.  Retaining its core premise and authentic qualities, whilst complementing modern lifestyles, Bowls Bash is an action-packed form of the game played in pairs and lasting just an hour.  A two-set match, with a deciding tie-break, coupled with a new scoring system provides greater opportunity for players to enjoy success and more potential for drama throughout the game.

Affiliated clubs who deliver Bowls Bash will benefit from an array of event resources to enable them to provide an excellent experience for people playing the new format.  Bowls England will be supporting the promotion of Bowls Bash through a national marketing campaign and providing participating clubs with resources that can be used for local advertising.  Accessing Bowls Bash is being made easier through the introduction of a new Play Bowls website where people wanting to play the new format can book onto a session.

Jon Cockcroft, Chief Executive of Bowls England said, “We have seen in other parts of the world how bowls has grown through the introduction of a well-packaged, casual format of our game.  Bowls Bash delivers all that is inherently enjoyable about bowls, but in a manner which is more accessible and digestible to a broader range of people.  At Bowls England, we are passionate about everybody realising the joy and benefit of playing sport, and we believe Bowls Bash has the ability to inspire more people to be active through our doable, sociable sport.”

In 9 days’ time, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will begin and England’s lawn bowls team will be battling it out against the best in the world.  A home games provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to raise the profile of bowls and enthuse more people to play the sport.  The launch of Bowls Bash is timed to take advantage of the increased coverage and as a means to maximize the legacy of a home Commonwealth Games.

Competing at Birmingham 2022, England’s Nick Brett added, “It’s very exciting to be part of Team England and to play in front of a home crowd.  Not only is this a chance to make the bowls community proud of its team, we have an obligation to motivate people to feel bowls is a sport they might enjoy.  Bowls Bash gives us a format which will excite beginners and makes it more likely that people will enjoy their first experience in our sport.”

For more information about Bowls Bash, visit www.bowlsengland.com/bowlsbash