We are doing this because you have told us to. 89.7% from a sample of 2,000+ members, informed us that this was the path they would like us to take. We’d ask you to refer to the ‘Governance’ tab above and take a look at our current competition pathways too. They are currently very clunky and are ultimately, unfair. If you are a female bowler in a men’s bowling club, due to our constitution, you are unable to progress through State Pathways as the men’s club is affiliated with the Zone (& not the District) and visa versa. In addition, our competition boundaries don’t line up. Meaning that a man and a woman from the same club, can be competing in totally separate competition areas. In addition, Bowls NSW also currently communicates with 56 separate entities who assist in the delivery of Bowls across the State (16 Zones and 40 Districts) all with their own executive and management committees. There are huge inconsistencies regarding how our sport is administered and delivered across all of these entities. We need to uniformly approach how our sport is delivered and Zone & District unification is a huge step in working towards this. Finally, many of the entities listed above are struggling to fill executive and/or committee placements. As our membership decreases, so too do the number of people who are available to volunteer for these roles. Consolidating the number of entities to 16 and aligning competition boundaries will assist in future proofing our sport and taking the onus off an already stretched volunteer base.

Currently, all 16 zones are incorporated entities and the majority of districts are associations. There are benefits and limitations to each legal structure. No decision has been made yet regarding what the new structures would look like however, the benefits and limitations are being examined at present and direction is being provided by our legal counsel.

This has been a regular question and has been asked predominantly by district executive and administrators. Boundary changes will impact travel distances for some. We can never please everyone with these decisions even though we wish we could! Currently at a Zone level and given the size of Zones and the fact that several Districts often fit within one Zone, there is a requirement for these zones to deliver their competitions via a sectional or Geographical draw. As we work through this process, it will either be highly encouraged or mandated, for regions to enforce Geographical draws to limit the burden of travel. As competitors progress through regional competitions, there will be requirements to travel further which is similar to what members would experience at present. It will be highly encouraged or mandated for regions to host finals/playoff events in Geographically convenient areas based off participants but this can obviously be challenging at times depending on who has qualified for these events.

The short answer is no. Zones and Districts, through this process, will be dissolved and will be combined into new “Regions”. Districts will not be swallowed up by Zones. This is not a takeover. Both will be combined into regions, as mentioned, in the most fair and equitable way possible.

There has always and will always continue to be a requirement for committees to administer and deliver the Sport of Bowls in NSW. Volunteers are the backbone of our sport and we are extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment from the countless volunteers we have across our State. Through this process, there will continue to be a requirement for volunteers at a Committee level and that committees such as Match, Selection, Umpires etc will still be required at a regional level. Depending on the legal structure determined, this will dictate how committees will be formed however we do not see a huge change to this process.

This is a question that has popped up a number of times. Firstly, it is important to note that this process is by no means a ‘cash grab’ from Bowls NSW and that currently, Zones and Districts are Governed differently in this sense. So we therefore, specifically request that current zone and district funds are spent within current guidelines as we lead into unification. The district expenditure policy still remains as it was across all Districts and Zones will be governed by their own expenditure policies. With that said, Bowls NSW needs to ensure that these funds are re-invested into our sport and this is critical for our future of which we are sure you agree. Each Zone and District will have a wind up clause within their constitution which will assist with where funds can be distributed and we will publish some best practice guidelines into the future of how you could best go about this process once we get to this point in time. This is still quite a way away.

We have set a date of 1 July 2024 for implementation however, we also understand that there are many things that will need to be actioned leading to this point. Some of the larger items being, the wind-up process for current Zones and Districts and the appointment of new Regional Executives and Committees etc along with planning the regional calendar for the 2024-25 season. Many of these items will need to be addressed months before the 1 July 2024 deadline.

No. New Competition Regions are to be created based off aligned competition Boundaries.

This seems to be a common question. Zones currently have their own uniforms and because competition Boundaries will change and new Regions created (with a different name to Zones) this will essentially make current Zone uniforms defunct. It is envisaged that a phased exit of Zone uniforms will come into effect however the nuts and bolts of this needs to be discussed and agreed upon in consultation.

This is under review at present and we will explore all options. This will also be dictated in-part, by the legal structures that the regions take on.

The History of your Zone and District still remains and is a cherished part of the history of our sport. Many Zones and Districts already have dedicated sections on their websites for archives and history and this will not change at a regional level. It is still possible and encouraged to highlight the history of the area (even though it may change slightly with new Boundaries) on the new Region Websites.