As you, hopefully, should be aware by now, the Annual General Meeting for Zone 9 will be held at Belrose Bowling Club on Tuesday, 21 November. I appreciate that a number of members have been enquiring as to the delay in holding this meeting. The simple answer is that the Executive wanted to get a clearer understanding of how Bowls NSW is going to finalise Zone & District unification.
Whilst there is still more details to come from Bowls NSW, we can be guided by the update issued by Tim Rowe (CEO, Bowls NSW) on 20 October. I would encourage all members to read this update and to continue to follow progress on www.zonedistrictunification.com.au.
One of the key messages from Bowls NSW is that it will be moving to a new governance structure consisting of 16 new incorporated associations with uniform Constitutions/Objects and Regulations. This will mean that existing Zone and District administrations will be wound down as the new administration structure is established. The timetable for this change is January to June 2024.
To help make these changes as smooth as possible, Bowls NSW is keen to see current District and Zone executives to remain in place. To this end, I have asked the current executive and committee members to remain in place, at least until the new governance structure is established in the first half of 2024. To ensure we follow our current constitution, each person will need to re-nominate for their respective position prior to the date of the AGM. I hope members can see that this is a reasonable approach given that we will be looking to establish a completely new association early in 2024. Having said this, if any member feels strongly that they should be given the opportunity to stand for a position as part to the procedures for the upcoming AGM, please contact the Zone Secretary for a nomination form.
On the bowls front, we have completed the Zone singles, pairs and triples with the fours competition to start on Saturday, 11 November. Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to the Zone Match Committee and all the volunteers at the host clubs which have helped to make these events a success.
Finally, the Match Committee has sought nominations from our Clubs for participation in the Open Pennant competition to be held in the first half of 2024. This competition is our premier Club event of the year, and we look forward, with your participation, to making it as successful as the 2023 event, which saw the winning sides spread amongst a number of our Clubs.
Gerard Parlevliet
