By Brett O’Riley, Regional Director Oceania, World Bowls Board
It is an exciting time for bowls in Oceania. The Oceania Bowls Confederation has come together as an administrative entity for the regional members, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Tokelau (affiliation is progress), Niue, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The Confederation are affiliated to OFSO through World Bowls and hosted in Australia by the latter.
The Confederation held our first AGM on the Gold Coast on September 8th. We are blessed to have high-quality regional administrators like Phil Jones, Radhika Prasad, Des Hipa, and Jason Lindsay who will form the establishment board, with me also joining in my capacity as Regional Director Oceania for World Bowls.
Phil was unanimously elected as President. He and Radhika have driven this initiative over many years, with strong support from the World Bowls Board (particularly one of my predecessors Karen Murphy) and the largest regional Member National Associations; Australia, and New Zealand who will be buddying many of the smaller regional member nations.
As a region we are delighted to have reached this milestone, long delayed by Covid and other issues. It comes at a time when we feel the sport is riding high with the success this year of the inaugural Digicel Oceania Challenge, and the efforts of our countries and their players at other World Bowls events. The next Digicel Oceania Challenge is confirmed for November 2024 in Auckland Tamaki Makaurau, New Zealand, with the bonus that it will precede the World Champion of Champions Singles event in the same city, which every Oceania member can participate in. We also have new Oceania nations looking to join the World Bowls fold with unprecedented numbers of international events to participate in as part of the new World Series.
One of our other big initiatives is the move to introduce short mat bowls in the islands to give people an entry level introduction to our sport. Short mats are foam or rubber backed and 40 – 45 feet long. They can be rolled out at indoor or outdoor venues and replicate the lawn bowls experience. This will enable bowls to be played in nations and on islands where there are no greens and also help grow the game in schools throughout Oceania.
The next priority is attracting more funding to aid development across the region. Watch this space!
