Bowls Canada Launches New Strategic Plan
Bowls Canada unveils a new vision with the launch of the 2023-2026 strategic plan:
Cultivate a fun, inclusive, and excellent lawn bowls culture that brings communities together.
The new vision retains the belief that the Canadian bowls club can and should be a connecting force within a local community — a place where Canadians can gather to enjoy physical activity, comradery and social interaction. The focus on cultivating a fun, inclusive and excellent culture recognizes the social forces moving throughout Canadian society that will impact sport at all levels for years to come. With this vision, Bowls Canada invites Canadians to find the sense of belonging that they have been missing throughout the pandemic years at their local bowls club.
Bowls Canada Boulingrin Strategic Plan 2023-2026 outlines a three-year plan that will foster growth and development in the sport through collaborative relationships with provincial association members and local clubs.
The plan is focused on four main goals:
- Diversification and Growth
- Sustainable Solutions
- Reaching the Podium
- Good Governance
The Diversification and Growth goal is all about bringing new participants to the game through raising the visibility of the sport. It seeks to provide innovative ways to enter the game in ways that align with current participation trends in Canada. This goal also recognizes the many challenges being faced in lawn bowls right now, including the need to ensure that the sport is safe and welcoming for every participant at every level. Lawn bowls is facing a volunteer crisis at levels not previously seen. Before ramping up new programs for new participants, it is essential that clubs are ready to receive an influx of a new and diverse demographic of participants through training and resources. This plan also embraces the essential role that many municipalities play in the care of local clubs.
Through Sustainable Solutions, Bowls Canada recognizes the challenge of not only finding new ways to ensure the long-term viability of the organization, but the need to provide innovative resources that will help the sport as a whole. This means empowering local clubs and our membership of provincial bowls associations with tools and resources. Climate change is having a profound impact on the world and lawn bowls is not exempt. Weather is impacting the game in a variety of ways. It impacts the length of the season, the ability to play during extreme temperature days and the health of the green. This plan recognizes the role that Bowls Canada has in caring for our greens and the role that our sport has to play in caring for our planet.
Reaching the Podium recognizes that high performance sport is fundamental for the existence of national sport associations such as Bowls Canada. Our goal is to reach the podium in ways that foster inclusive and safe cultures for existing high-performance athletes while also paving the way for the competitors of the future. Elite sport can provide legacies through facility developments, increased visibility and development of coaching resources that impact all levels of participants. This plan recognizes the responsibility that high-performance programs have on the development of the entire sport.
Finally, the Good Governance goal is the thread that binds the organization. Strong and capable leadership at all levels is necessary to implement and sustain the change that is required to ensure the sport of lawn bowls flourishes for years to come.
Bowls Canada Chair Kathryn MacGregor is excited for the possibilities that this plan offers. “Sport in Canada is at a pivotal moment of development and growth,” said MacGregor. “I believe that this plan provides the foresight and innovation to empower us to effect meaningful and sustainable growth. Make no mistake, this won’t be easy, but it will be incredibly rewarding.”
The strategic plan is available at this link: Strategic Plan – Bowls Canada Boulingrin
The 2023-2026 Strategic Plan was made possible thanks to the efforts of Strategic Planning Committee members Lynn Chwartacki, (BC), Rob Law (MB), Jeff Harding (ON), Anne Mathewson (SK), Gary Pickering (ON), Bruce St. Louis (QC) and Anna Mees (Bowls Canada CEO). The process was lead by Sheffe Consulting Inc.
For more information, please contact:
Anna Mees, Chief Executive Officer, Bowls Canada Boulingrin
amees@bowlscanada.com
About Bowls Canada Boulingrin
Bowls Canada Boulingrin (BCB) is the governing body responsible for lawn bowls in Canada. The BCB mission is to provide leadership that facilitates inclusive participation and excellence for the sport of lawn bowls in Canada. For more details on Bowls Canada Boulingrin and the sport of lawn bowls, visit
www.bowlscanada.com.
