This summer has evidenced the value of National Governing Bodies across sport. We regulate the environment in which a sport is played, develop its volunteers and infrastructure, promote its qualities, manage competitions and international teams and channel external funding and support, amongst many other things. Bowls England is proud to have received so much positive feedback on our response to Covid-19, and we will build on this platform of engagement to heighten the regard in which we are held by our members. We take our responsibilities seriously and want to live up to the high expectations people rightly have of us.

To this end, Bowls England has plenty planned for the off-season. We will be exploring the broadening of our member services, developing a National Open Weekend concept for the 2021 Spring Bank Holiday to recruit new bowlers, planning for the competition season, progressing our governance work with advent of a new Working Party, improving our communications and identifying how we maximize Birmingham 2022. If your club has not completed our Annual Club Survey, we hope you will spare a few minutes as your input will help shape this work and also contribute to the Bowls England strategy which will be launched in the New Year.

Thanks again for all your efforts during what will hopefully prove to be a unique summer for bowls. Please stay in touch with Bowls England over the coming months by following our social media channels or by signing up to our e-newsletter. Whether it be club finances or website development, the off-season provides a great opportunity to make progress in areas of club management and mitigate some of the damage that Covid-19 has done. Our staff team are only an email or phone-call away, and are here to support.

To close, in the short time I have been at Bowls England, I have been inspired by the passion and energy that so many within our sport display. The richly-deserved MBEs for Ellen Falkner and Maggy Smith shine a light on just that. At club, county and international level we are united by our desire to see bowls flourish and are proud of the compelling, friendly, addictive and accessible nature of our sport. It’s time to let more people in on our secret!

Stay safe, winter well and ‘roll on’ 2021.