Bowls England is delighted to unveil its new strategy, ‘Fit For The Future’, which frames an exciting course for our sport. The five-year plan has been designed with the ultimate goal of getting more people playing & enjoying bowls.

Confirmed by the Board earlier this month, it sets out our vision for the sport, how we plan to achieve our objectives and what success looks like in 2026.

The priorities that will get us to the target are:

• Building the brand of bowls by increasing focus on international & top domestic bowls, and utilizing opportunities such as Birmingham 2022 to achieve larger media coverage;
• Ensuring the sport is truly accessible to all by offering different formats of the game which suit all time constraints, as well as driving more people to clubs in new ways;
• Creating positive playing experiences for everyone who steps on the green, both for casual and competitive players, as well as growing our events calendar and introducing a Performance Pathway
• Putting volunteers first, as the lifeblood of our sport, by increasing our support for clubs in order to empower them to thrive;
• Leading the sport with purpose by developing our Governance structures, diversifying our revenue streams, and work collaboratively with all the sport’s key stakeholders.

Chief Executive, Jon Cockcroft, said, “I am thrilled to be able to unveil our new strategy on Day One of our National Finals in Royal Leamington Spa, the home of English bowls.

“With the world constantly changing, it is important bowls continues to evolve too. This strategy has been designed against the backdrop of COVID, but also in the face of a stark reality for our sport; 150,000 players 20 years ago has become 80,000 today.

“We know, however, the incredible qualities our sport has; it is doable, vitalizing, sociable and mesmerizing. Any person, regardless of background, postcode, physicality or bank balance can enjoy bowls.

“Our ultimate goal is, through this strategy, to see 1m people a year playing bowls at one of our incredible 2,000 clubs across the country by 2026.”

Chairman, David Tucker, said, “The main aim of our new strategy is to get people playing our sport. Participation is at the heart of everything we do and all actions our team undertakes will be determined by whether they increase participation.

“Like so many, we care deeply about our sport and are looking forward to working with everyone across the country to ensure it is Fit for the Future.”

The full strategy document is available below and by clicking here. We will also have a number of printed copies available to collect from our stand at the Bowls England National Finals, running from today to Sunday 5^th September in Royal Leamington Spa.