CORONAVIRUS IMPACT ON PENNANT AND FUTURE STATE EVENTS

BY TEAM BV

Dear Bowls Victoria Member,

Last Friday, Bowls Victoria made the decision to continue all Pennant matches under the provision that spectators were advised not to enter clubs to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since that announcement, the Victorian State Government has declared a State of Emergency for four weeks in response to this pandemic.

This is clearly a very fast-moving environment, with changes occurring regularly and rapidly. As late as this morning, 18 March 2020, the Federal Government has implemented a ban on gatherings of 100 persons or more in an indoor environment in addition to the ban of 500 or more outdoors.

Specific to bowls, we have continued to regularly consult with key stakeholders including the Victorian Government, VicSport and Bowls Australia, as well as listening to our members.  This assists us in providing the appropriate information and updates on the COVID-19 situation and the effect on the Bowls community.

We understand that Bowls is a large part of our members lives, however our current priority is to make decisions that find the balance between members needs but primarily ensure the health and well-being of all players, coaches, officials, staff, volunteers and all of our families.

Yesterday, our National Body, Bowls Australia, recommended suspending all Bowls until further notice. Their advice was considered by the Bowls Victoria Board last night at a non-scheduled Board meeting, and today Wednesday March 18, we provide the following updates in relation to our future events and activities among our Bowls community:

Events & Competitions
All Club Activities (Including Roll-ups and Social Bowls)
Bowls Victoria and Bowls Australia recommend that all club competitions and events are postponed indefinitely. Please consult your local club if they are permitting Social Bowls and/or Roll-ups, observing at all times the Government’s recommended hygiene practices and social distancing recommendations. All matches including Region and Division matches, as well as Club Events are postponed indefinitely.

Region and Division Pennant
Bowls Victoria are aware that some competitions have continued around the State in Region and Division Pennant. Bowls Victoria recommend that ALL Region and Division Pennant competitions be ceased immediately and matches postponed.

Weekend Metropolitan Pennant

• Premier Division – The Preliminary Final and Grand Final for Premier Division will be postponed.  There are two games to go in this Division but given there is no requirement for them to be played immediately, we will postpone these 2 remaining games until further notice.
• Division One – The Grand Final will not be played, however there are two semi-finals to be played which will enable us to identify the promoted/relegated teams for next season. Each match will be played at separate venues on Saturday 21 March and be strictly spectator free in controlled conditions (any spectators who arrive at the venue will be asked to leave). Any player who does not wish to play has their right to withdraw. Selection of sides are permitted as per the Conditions of Play and Bowls Victoria will consider these exceptionally unusual circumstances when approving any selected players outside the permitted number as per the Conditions of Play
• Division 2 – 7 & 6-a-Side – These competitions will cease immediately. We are aware this competition will not have finished the Divisional Stage, but we aim to play these games at a later date.

Midweek Metropolitan Pennant 

• Given the late notice and clubs having already prepared for hosting tomorrows sectional finals, games will continue, under the following strict guidelines. Please note: Your venue may have changed, to see the updated draw, please click here.
• All Divisions will finish by 6:00pm tomorrow, Thursday 19 March 2020.
• We are aware this competition will not have finished the Divisional Stage, however following Thursday, in the best interests of the competition we will postpone Divisional fixtures and aim to play these games at a later date.
• Venues will be limited this Thursday to one match per venue and will be strictly spectator free (any spectators who arrive at the venue will be asked to leave).
• Finishing at this time will enable us to identify section champions and promotion/relegation for the following season.
• Any player who does not wish to play has their right to withdraw. Selection of sides are permitted as per the Conditions of Play and Bowls Victoria will consider these exceptionally unusual circumstances when approving any selected players outside the permitted number as per the Conditions of Play.

Bowlers Arm State Championships
The Bowlers Arm State Championships scheduled for the City of Frankston Bowls Club (6-9 April) have been cancelled. This is due to the average age of the participants competing, as well as no qualifying event having been commenced to determine the field for this competition. All players’ entry fees will be refunded. For all questions regarding refunds on entries for this event, please contact Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au. All Bowlers Arm Victorian State trials are also postponed until further notice.

Under-18 Championships  
The Under-18 State Championships scheduled for Narre Warren Bowls Club (30th March – April 2) have been postponed indefinitely. The decision regarding this event being postponed rather than cancelled is due to the prior running of sectional matches in the Singles. All players will carry over to the new draw for later in the year. All players that are currently Under-18, that turn 18 between now and the future running of this event will still be eligible to participate due to the delay being beyond their control. If you have any questions regarding the Under-18 Championships, please e-mail bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au

Under-18 Development Day
The Under-18 Development Day scheduled for Moonee Valley on Sunday March 22 will also be postponed until further notice.

Women’s Country Carnival
The Women’s Country Carnival Committee has cancelled the 2020 competition. The Carnival Committee will bring the event back to Echuca/Moama in 2021. For more information please click here.

Disability State Championships
The Disability State Championships scheduled for Golden Square Bowls Club (April 14 – April 17) have been cancelled. This decision was based on no qualifying event having been commenced to determine the field for this competition. All players’ entry fees will be refunded. For all questions regarding refunds on entries, please notify Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au.

Over 60s State Championships
The Over 60s State Championships scheduled for Bendigo Bowls Club (April 14 – April 17) have been postponed indefinitely. The decision regarding this event being postponed rather than cancelled is due to the prior running of Singles and Pairs matches at Division and Region Level. All players will carry over to the new draw for later in the year. If you have any questions, please notify Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au

State Champions Week
State Champions Week at Bendigo East Bowls Club (April 17- April 24) has been postponed. The decision regarding this event being postponed rather than cancelled is due to the prior running of qualifiers at a Division and Region Level and the need for Bowls Victoria to submit Victorian Qualifiers to Bowls Australia for the Nationals in October. All eligible players will carry over for later in the year. If you have any questions, please notify Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au.

Novice Singles Finals
The Novice Singles Championships scheduled for Bendigo East Bowls Club on Saturday April 18 have been postponed indefinitely. The decision regarding this event being postponed rather than cancelled is due to the prior running of Singles matches at Mulgrave in March 2020. All players will carry over to the final for later in the year. If you have any questions, please notify Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au.

Region Sides
As per previous correspondence sent Friday 13 April 2020, the Combined Region Sides event in Shepparton will be cancelled for 2020. All regions have received a $2,800 accommodation subsidy from Bowls Victoria and should keep this for the next Region Sides Event, i.e. the 2021 Competition.

Champion of State Pennant
The Champion of State Pennant Competition at Moama BC (May 2-May 5) has been postponed. The decision regarding this event being postponed rather than cancelled is due to the prior running of Pennant at a Division and Region Level. All eligible players will carry over to the new draw for later in the year. If you have any questions, please notify Bowls Victoria directly at bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au.

Indoor Qualifying (Victoria Wide)
The Australian Indoor Qualifiers around Victoria on May 16 and 17 have been postponed. We aim to play this at a later date due to Victoria needing to submit qualifiers to Bowls Australia for the Australian Indoor Championships later in 2020.

School Sport Victoria Bowls Competitions
As per advice from School Sport Victoria, all School Sport Victoria Competitions have been postponed until further notice. For more information, please click here.

Victoria City v Victoria Country Test Series (the improved State Trials)
Both the Open and Over 60s City v Country at Bendigo Bowls Club have been postponed until further notice.

Victoria v Tasmania Test Series
Victoria & Tasmania have jointly cancelled the annual test match for 2020 with the hope of renewing our bass strait rivalry at a later date.

Victoria v NSW and Victoria v SA Test Series
We will provide a further update to both of these annual test matches in the coming months.

BV Awards Night 
The BV Awards Night is postponed until further notice, a future date has not yet been decided. We will continue to provide updates as further decisions are made.  Winners and finalists for all categories have been decided, however, we will not release finalists’ names yet until further decisions have been made for celebrations later in the year.

General notes for Events and Competitions:
Any event where players meet the eligibility criteria or have already qualified at the time the event was originally scheduled and subsequently postponed will be carried over to the new date where the match is scheduled to be played.

Given the fluidity of this situation, we will endeavour to provide appropriate updates when they arise and do our best to ensure sufficient notice is given if and when postponed events are able to be played.

For any questions regarding Events & Competitions, please e-mail Sean O’Kane at seano@bowlsvic.org.au or bowlsvic@bowlsvic.org.au

Committees & General Volunteer Information

Bowls Victoria Regional Representatives (BVRR) Meeting
The upcoming BVRR Meeting scheduled for Friday April 17 is postponed until further notice.

Tribunal/Disciplinary Hearings
Tribunal matters or hearings are to be deferred until further notice, unless there is an urgent matter. For any queries relating to Disciplinary matters – please contact: Sean O’Kane at seano@bowlsvic.org.au.

The Bushfire Relief Raffle
The Bushfire Relief Raffle will be drawn in the office soon after the closing date for tickets has elapsed (Sunday April 5). The draw will take place under the supervision of suitable persons and will be recorded for transparency. Regions should send back raffle tickets and monies as soon as possible for the drawing to take place.

Office Visitors:
Bowls Victoria is taking further action to reduce the potential risk and spread of COVID-19.

Although we have no reported or confirmed cases of the virus, effective tomorrow, Thursday 19 March, we are implementing restricted visitors to the BV office. Contact is to be via phone or email until further notice. Should any person need to attend our office, we ask that they phone ahead and ensure good hygiene practices.

This includes committee meetings and other meetings which will be moved to an online format.

This decision reflects our priority to keep our people, members and community safe and well. By taking this step now, we are minimising the risk of exposure for our people and the potential spread of the virus in our office and the broader community.

For more information about COVID-19 and ways to keep yourself and your family/friends protected please visit dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.

We will continue to work together to ensure we all get through this challenging time as best we can and ask for your patience in this ever-changing environment.