Country

This will be my last Annual Report as I won’t be renominating for a position on the Bowls WA Board.

When Covid 19 came along in 2020 it disrupted our bowling calendar. Everyone was affected and it Ross Warburton was very pleasing to see that every club managed to follow Government Regulations and now we find ourselves at the other end of the Pandemic. THANK YOU’S

I appreciated the support the late Presidents, Graham Leeks and Larry Bandy gave me as Country Director while I was on the board. To Kerry Andersen who took the chair after Graham’s passing, thank you for your support. To Doug Kelly, I wish you all the best in the future and thank you for the support you have given me. For the six years that I have been on the Board there have been many changes. The strategic plans that I have been involved in have seen the move to open gender bowls which I think will be the normal in a few years’ time. In my first year, the capitation model came under review. The Bowls Connect system was created and after two years the company that set it up withdrew their services. We now have the Bowls Link system which I think everyone is understanding a lot better. I would like to thank Aaron Delaporte for the work he has put into getting the system up and running. COUNTRY EVENTS & AWARDS To Ken Pride and the staff in the office I thank you for your support over the six years and wish you all the best in the future.

Congratulations to the Eastern Zone on winning both the Men’s and Women’s IZRR fours this year. Both Men’s and Women’s Country Weeks were completed for the first time in two years. It was a three way tie in both the Men’s and Women’s Champion Club award this year and I congratulate those clubs on achieving that award. Congratulations to Mathew France on winning the Men’s singles and Kathy Gobbart on winning the Women’s singles. At the Annual Awards Night held at the Royal Perth Golf Club, Kathy also took out the Penny Needham Ladies Country Bowler of the year. Congratulations also to Matt Mitchell on winning the Vice Patrons Medal for the Male Country Bowler of the year. REGIONAL BOWLS MANAGER’S

The Regional Bowls Managers employed by Bowls Australia provide tremendous support to our clubs and in particular the country areas where they often make long trips to help provide advice and assistance.

I would like to thank Clive Adams for the work he is putting into the bowling fraternity. He not only is Regional Manager for our clubs north of Perth to Geraldton out to Kalgoorlie, he is the voice that we hear on most live streaming games. For the two weeks of the Australian Open he had the microphones on. He was also our MC at the annual awards night held on Friday 3rd of June at the Royal Perth Golf Club and then had to catch a plane later on that night for live streaming duties over east the next day. A big thank you to Steven Unsworth who serviced clubs in the South and South West of Western Australia before his recent retirement. To Troy Kinnane, who has taken over as our new Southern Regional Manager I wish him all the best.

ROSS WARBURTON

COUNTRY DIRECTOR