Bowls Victoria launches new junior bowls program, Roll Up

Teenagers in Melbourne’s north, east, west and bayside regions will be the first to access Bowls Victoria’s new junior bowls program, Roll Up, after Deer Park, Hampton, Kingsbury, Ringwood, Essendon and Fitzroy Victoria all volunteered to trial the state’s new junior participation product.

Roll Up is a fun and fast six-week competition aimed at 9 to 17-year-olds. The two bowl triples format sees mixed teams of boys and girls play eight ends or 60 minutes, with one Powerplay per game.

Funded through VicHealth, the initiative is part of a $6 million commitment to growing participation in sport and comes in response to VicHealth’s 2017 research report that highlighted teenagers today are five times more likely to be on a smartphone or tablet device when they could be outside and being active.

To tempt teens away from their screens, Roll Up aims to appeal to a younger demographic with a fun and entertaining social atmosphere that includes food, music and other various forms of entertainment while enjoying a social game of bowls.

Each week, juniors develop their playing skills and game knowledge through competition play and support coaching provided by club coaches. The competition is structured to allow youth to learn and build their confidence in lawn bowls by providing a supportive, relaxed and fun environment.

Last year Bowls Victoria contacted all Victorian bowls clubs via their designated Club Secretary and/or Club Communications Officer to introduce the new product and asked clubs to become a Hub Club to trial the program.

Bowls Victoria’s Participation Manager, Neil Gray explained “bowls is a hugely accessible sport and provides opportunities for people of all abilities to participate. It’s a good option for parents who are seeking a non-contact sport for their child or something that’s social and low impact to help to grow their child’s confidence and social development.

“Juniors are the future guardians of our sport. Programs like Roll Up are vital in providing a playing pathway to keep kids in the game for the long term."

For the first two years, Bowls Victoria will cover the running costs of Roll Up. This will allow clubs to run sessions for free and provide teenagers with the opportunity to play a sport without any added financial burden on families.

Roll Up also provides the opportunity for teens to connect with their nearest Junior Development Squad and strengthening the pathway to state representation.

All Roll Up Hub Clubs receive a comprehensive marketing kit to promote the program:

• A suite of digital assets including: branding, poster, web content, social media posts.
• Teardrop flags and corflute signage
• A welcome pack for every participation which includes: a backpack, bucket hat, water bottle, keyring and pen.
• Online advertising within 10 kilometres of participating clubs paid for and managed by Bowls Victoria.

Click here for more information on Roll Up.