Club Zone returns to the 2024 Aviva National Finals!
Do you want to increase your club’s membership? Would you like to learn more about generating additional income or receive first-hand advice on greens maintenance?
Then we’re inviting you to our Club Zone programme at this year’s Aviva National Finals. We have 15 sessions hosted by expert speakers on topics which include club funding, recruitment, coaching, umpiring, greens maintenance and much more to help provide the best advice to support clubs, their committees and all members.
Each session is limited to a maximum of 50 people, with a maximum of 2 people per booking, with spaces allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. This is to ensure that we can support as many clubs as possible as one of our key strategic commitments is to provide an increased level of support to affiliated clubs.
Every booking will receive two free tickets to the day of your Club Zone session, so you can enjoy watching the best bowlers in the country at the Aviva National Finals once your seminar has finished. To claim your free ticket(s), head to the ticket office on the day of your Club Zone session during the Aviva National Finals and you’ll receive a free entry wrist band. For any enquires please click here.
This is a huge opportunity for you and fellow club members to find out more about our support to affiliated clubs, officials and volunteers. Below is the Club Zone schedule.
Club Zone Schedule
Thursday 15 August: 11:00-12:30 – Dress for Success
Gino Arcella has established Aceit, Bowls England’s official apparel partner, into one of the most respected brands in the sports, promotional and corporate uniform businesses in Australia. During this session he will share his insight on the latest trends in bowls clothing.
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Friday 16 August: 11:00-12:30 – Coach Bowls for Beginners
Coach Bowls is committed to delivering a first-class service – offering a range of courses tailored to those wanting to be a qualified coach, as well as invaluable training courses which non-coaching club volunteers can access to help their club run more efficiently, safely and inclusively. Coaching Manager Amanda Scriven-Purcell will share her extensive knowledge to help you and your club make the most of the services offered to clubs.
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Saturday 17 August: 11:00-12:30 – Managing conflict on and off the green
What should you do when potential conflict arises in your club? Our governance team Vikki Underwood (Head of Business Operations) and Juliette Maggs-Bowen (Governance & Compliance Officer) will use their experience to guide you through some simple steps to make sure your club can manage issues appropriately.
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Monday 19 August: 11:00-12:30 – Generating income for your club
We know that generating income is vital for all clubs. During this session the Bowls England team will provide some top tips for bringing more money into your club with support from industry experts Ben Harper (Partnerships Manager at Easyfundraising) and Matt Godfrey (Account Manager at Idox Open4Community).
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Tuesday 20 August: 11:00-12:30 – Managing your club – legal structures
Company Limited by Guarantee, Unincorporated Association, Charity – there are a host of options available to clubs. During this session leading sports professional Simon Kirkland will help attendees understand the different options that are available and highlight any considerations if you are looking to change your legal structure.
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Wednesday 21 August: 11:00-12:30 – Financial management
Does your club treasurer need some simple tips on managing your club’s finances? This session will provide some simple tips on good financial management, financial planning, budgeting and income generation presented by the team at Buddle, Sport England’s club support specialists.
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Thursday 22 August: 11:00-12:30 – How to grow your club’s sponsorship income
From experience brokering deals with companies including Investec, Vitality and Aviva, Bowls England Chief Executive Jon Cockcroft will share his experience about how to secure sponsorship for your club. In this session you will learn about building value for a potential sponsor, how best to approach local businesses and tips to get them to sign on the dotted line.
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Friday 23 August: 11:00-12:30 – Engaging your community
Promoting your club with the local community is a great way to bring new people through the door. By the end of this session, you will be able to understand the key principles and benefits of community engagement and identify actions to improve your club or organisations community engagement efforts, led by the team at Buddle, Sport England’s club support specialists.
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Sunday 25 August: 10:00-16:00 – Train to be a marker (Full day course)
The English Bowls Umpires Association (EBUA) is the unified governing body for qualified bowls umpires and is responsible for appointing umpires to local, national and international events. This full-day session will provide the first stepping stone for any member to learn more about marking. The course will be led by the EBUA team and is designed to cater for everyone who has an interest in improving their marking skills – you could even join the team at the Aviva National Finals in future years! Please note this is a paid course of £15 paid to the EBUA.
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Monday 26 August: 11:00-12:30 – 10 Top tips to grow your club
Old Coulsdon BC in Surrey has seen significant membership growth over the past few years thanks to a wide range of recruitment programmes including Bowls’ Big Weekend and Bowls Bash. Jane Binner has been fundamental to this success and will be sharing her top tips during this session.
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Wednesday 28 August: 11:00-12:30 – Safeguarding your club
We are committed to safeguarding all those who participate in our sport, ensuring they can do so in a safe, positive and enjoyable environment. Safeguarding Manager Helen Price works across our sport to promote our safeguarding vision, values and good practice and will deliver this session to ensure club’s are aware of the support available.
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Thursday 29 August: 11:00-12:30 – Creating a marketing strategy
Are you responsible for marketing within your club? Would you like some simple tips on how to promote your club more effectively? Then this is the session for you. Specialists from the Buddle team will lead this session – helping you to understand the key principles of a marketing strategy and help you deliver your aspirations.
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Friday 30 August: 11:00-12:30 – Volunteer experience
Volunteers are vital to the future. During this session you’ll explore how to create a positive volunteering culture in your club and learn top tips for the ‘3 Rs’ of volunteering: recruiting, retaining and rewarding together with the Buddle team.
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Saturday 31 August: 11:00-12:30 – Creating an inclusive environment
Andy Warmington founded the Inclusive Sports Academy CIC in 2015 and the academy has since been recognised as the leading inclusive and disability coaching provider in the region. This course will help clubs understand the different barriers that people face and how you can broaden your reach to attract a diverse range of people, and explore how you can create a positive environment to retain them.
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Sunday 1 September: 10:00-13:00 – Greens day with Dennis Mowers & SISIS Machinery
Our final Clubzone session of the Aviva National Finals will be dedicated to those who keep our greens in pristine condition. We’ll be offering advice and support in conjunction with our partners at Dennis and SISIS, so you have all the knowledge ahead of the close season.
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