Merimbula-Imlay on the attack
Club Sapphire (Merimbula Imlay Bowling Club) on the NSW South Coast dedicated four televisions to the Australian Premier League during APL02 and the feedback from the members was so positive the club have now signed up to Jack Attack.
The Jack Attack program is designed to increase bowling participation and give our large number of barefoot bowlers the option to compete in a competition that fills the gap between social/barefoot bowls and competitive pennant comps.
Whilst Club Sapphire have a thriving barefoot program in place that see’s 2000 casual participants try their hand at bowls each year, their current bowling membership has been fluctuating and has dropped by 300 members in eight years.
The road to recovery looks positive for Club Sapphire who has attracted 50 new members in the past 18 months and they are constantly coming up with new ideas to keep membership on the incline.
Club Sapphire saw Jack Attack as an opportunity to encourage barefoot bowlers to join a regular competition over a short period of time; whilst the current bowling members also wanted to adapt the new format into their weekly social comps.
The benefits of Jack Attack to the clubs include assisting with long term growth and sustainability, showcasing other parts of your club and encouraging participants to return after Jack Attack is complete.
Michael Wilks is their Bowls Development Officer and a former Australian representative who is passionate about attracting new members to his club and jumped at the chance to sign Club Sapphire up for Jack Attack.
“We do work very hard attracting new members and offering different programs like business house leagues and barefoot bowls parties, but Jack Attack is right in our target area,” Mr Wilks said.
“Jack Attack already has a brand behind it, so instead of starting from scratch Jack Attack comes with a logo, advertising material and a website, so it’s a program that is ready to go,” Mr Wilks said.
Bowls Australia will provide each club that signs up for Jack Attack scorecards, booklets and 500 promotional flyers to distribute as they wish and 16 Regional Bowls Managers can provide clubs with assistance.
Club Sapphire has opted for a three week program that consists of 2 games a night broken up by a sausage sizzle in between.
The first Jack Attack evening at Club Sapphire will take place on Friday 23rd January, bowls are supplied by the club and friendly members will be there on the night to help you along the way.
“We are targeting a small community so whilst we are looking for 20-30 teams to enter, we will judge the success based on how many new members we can attract,” Mr Wilks said.
Club Sapphire has thought of everything including offering club points as prizes that can be used to purchase food and drinks inside the club and will also use Jack Attack as a prelude to their already successful Business House League.
It is ideas like these that clubs can discuss with their Regional Bowls Managers to ensure they reap all the benefits of Jack Attack and achieve their desired goals.
If you would like more information about Club Sapphire (Merimbula Imlay Bowling Club) check out their website by clicking on this link.
An entire website has been created www.jackattack.com.au that will be able to answer any questions you might have about Jack Attack, if your club wants to sign up or perhaps you want to find ‘my nearest club’.
