Breaking the mould: Next generation of lawn bowlers unearthed

13/03/2009

With the once-staid game of Lawn Bowls undergoing a revolution, and record numbers of young players registering for the sport, Brisbane will be the focus of the bowls world this weekend when the sport's fiercest rivalry hots up at the Trans Tasman International Test Series at the Hendra Nundah Bowls Club.

The Trans Tasman series pits the best players of Australia and New Zealand against each other, in all disciplines of the sport and across the full spectrum of age groups.

The event, proudly supported by Brisbane Airport, is a coup for Brisbane, being the first time "The Ashes of Bowls" has been held in Queensland. BAC's Jim Carden said the Airport is proud to support the local community, and to help the Hendra-Nundah Bowls Club gear up for this historic event. He said the arch rivalry between Australia and New Zealand - and the event promised to generate a lot of exciting action.

"Forget what you may have seen or heard about lawn bowls - these guys are highly skilled athletes taking the game to new levels and drawing new and younger followers to the sport. As we can see at the Trans Tasmans, the days of old people trudging up and down tired suburban greens are long gone.

"Bowls clubs have had to reinvent themselves, and any Sunday afternoon across Brisbane, a whole new generation of bowlers can be seen getting a taste of the sport through the "barefoot bowls" concept. A lot of people have taken up the opportunity to join a club, and the result is a new and exciting generation of bowlers that promise to keep Australian bowls healthy and internationally competitive."

Brisbane Airport Corporation is a long term supporter of Hendra Nundah Bowls Club and is sponsoring this competition to provide a stronger platform for the local community venues to bid for major sporting events in the future. The Trans Tasman series was originally to be held in Cairns but because Brisbane has better International air connections and the bowls club has ideal proximity to the airport, Hendra was awarded the event.

Hendra Nundah Bowls Club Development Services Manager Neville Wood-Bradley is confident the opportunity to host the Trans Tasman will raise the profile of the club and attract new members. "The opportunity presents itself for a demonstration of the ability of clubs such as ours across Queensland and Australia to present to the sporting public a well run, publicised and catered for International competition and the result will hopefully inspire other clubs to take up a similar challenge," Mr Wood-Bradley said.

"These two countries are not only fierce adversaries in all sports, in lawn bowls they are amongst the strongest of National sides across the globe. "The athletes participating in this event are some of the best in the world," he said.

He said New Zealand has chosen 22 year old Shannon McIlroy to play the Blue Ribbon event in the singles. The average age of the New Zealand Men's Side is 35, the Women's 43, the Australian Men's Side is 30 and the Women's is 35. At the highest levels of the sport, young people dominate.

"The event certainly does reflect the changing demographic of the sport - a far cry from the not so distant past when you had to be at least 21 to even step on the hallowed surface of a bowling green (cost me 15 years in the sport as I wanted to play from the age of 6).

Australia has included a powerful women's line-up spearheaded by World Championship gold medallists Lynsey Armitage, Julie Keegan, Claire Duke and Karen Murphy, as well as the consistent Sharyn Renshaw. While the New Zealand men's team will be admirably led by dual World Champion Gary Lawson, who can be unstoppable on their day.

Mr Carden said BAC has a strong belief in supporting the local community and culture that helped position Brisbane on the world stage. "International cities are defined by the quality and diversity of their culture and attractions. With 18.5 million passengers flying through Brisbane Airport last year alone, BAC recognises the importance of building a city rich with culture to attract visitors to the region," he said.

For further information on the Trans-tasman test series go to
www.bowlsaustralia.com.au