2009 WORLD CUP & WORLD JUNIOR CUP

Congratulations to Leif Selby (Australia) and Jo Edwards (New Zealand),
winners of the 2009 World Cup.

Congratulations to Craig England (Scotland) and Genevieve Baildon (New Zealand),
winners of the World Junior Cup

Full results and placings are listed in the "results" page

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on 18th/19th February 2009 at the Imperial Suites Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In attendance:
John McArdle (President & Chairman),
Margaret Fettes, (Deputy President,
Directors:- Eleanor Allan,
Kerry Clark OBE,
Stephanie Chung,
Barry Fleming
Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary)
Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

Register of Interests.
John McArdle - Vice President C.M.S.B.
Eleanor Allan - Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes - None
Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Stephanie Chung - Honorary Secretary Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association
Barry Fleming - Council member of the Welsh Bowling Association (WBA)
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes.
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 11th /12th September 2008 were taken as read and adopted unanimously.

Matters Arising.
In page 13 under "Other Event Approvals" Ireland had been replaced by Malaysia.

Chief Executive's Report.
2009 Membership Returns update.
Affiliation Matters.
The CEO reported that Samoa's 2008 Annual Return of Registered Members and fees are still outstanding, despite further reminders to the President of Samoa. Samoa continues to be a problem. The lack of returns and non-payment could put their position in participating in the Asia/Pacific in jeopardy. The majority of 2009 Annual Returns of Registered Members and fees have been received. It was estimated there would be 580,000 members - 577,000 were recorded at present with one or two countries still to confirm exact numbers after adjustments were made to provisional number submitted. Other countries included Brunei, Botswana, Cook Islands, Thailand, PNG men and Zimbabwe where information remained outstanding. The CE still awaited on further information from Niue on the construction of their green(s).
The issue of affiliation matters and in particular the ongoing problem of ensuring that the correct number of bowlers were being recorded and the subsequent payment of fees more accurately reflected the actual playing numbers was discussed. Efforts were being made in some countries to address this known problem Consideration should also be given to the possibility of a mix of Club fees and individual member's fees. It was felt there was a need to discuss this issue at the next Council meeting.
It was important from a marketing and potential sponsorship income point of view to be able to reflect the actual number of people bowling, and not just those paying fees at present. It was also debated that consideration should be given to payment of a minimum fee per country.

Manufacturers/Testers issues.
Ron Barron's report was circulated to Directors and covered the university research into the characteristics of the Uniturf, the current test table material, the ongoing study of a prototype chute, particularly the aspect of getting a smooth delivery off the end of the chute onto the test table and the standardisation of table tests. Both the CEO and R Black had attended the meeting at University of Strathclyde where Doctor Liggatt presented initial findings to the representatives of manufacturers and testers from Taylor Bowls, Henselite, Drakes Pride & Pershore Bowls Centre. Research is still ongoing and as such it was resolved that there would be no changes in the Regulations at present.

Correspondence from Bowls England re narrow running bowls.
The CE advised following on from the exchange of correspondence with Bowls England, that no other country had raised similar questions on narrow running bowls. There were very technical and complex investigations going on and until such times as these investigations are concluded, the Board cannot respond further.

Manufacturer's/Testers annual licence fees.
The Board resolved that the annual licence fee should not be increased in 2010 and will remain at present at the 2009 level. The current policy of increasing the license fee in line with the UK Retail Price Index will be temporarily suspended and the policy will be reviewed in 2010. This decision was made in the light of the present economic downturn.

Sundry Matters.
A standard statement/reply had been prepared for issue relating to enquiries from the public on bowling in the London Olympics. It was confirmed there were currently no demonstration sports at the Olympics.

Finance Matters.
Directors had already received draft figures for the financial year ended 31 December 2008 and were advised by the CE that the vast majority of work associated with the preparation of the final accounts documentation for the 2008 financial year had already been undertaken in preparation for presentation to the company's auditors. The latest current balances were detailed to the Board and the CE advised that he had moved £100,000 from the business deposit account to a 3-month term deposit account to obtain a greater rate of interest. The CE will reassess the position at the end of the 3 month period. The business deposit account stood at £27,600 and the current account stood at £26,414 at present.
An outline draft 2009 budget was issued to the Board and after discussion and explanation by the CE, was approved. Specific mention was made of the costs (some £5500) relating to the UOS research project and the reduction of costs of insurance cover for Director's liability and professional insurance cover.
There was a general discussion on the subject of costs relating to the running of events and that in future, a bidding country should be made aware of the costs they would be expected to meet. This would in turn reduce the risks to World Bowls and not expose World Bowls to unexpected costs.

Review of Regulations.
Advice.
The Board were advised that during the course of the previous six months, clarification had been given to National Authorities on several matters - the use of groundsheets, wheelchair dimensions and the policy and the procedures for the umpire examination programme. Holding surfaces in ditches was also raised by one National Authority.

Regulations in Relation to Penalties.
There was now a comprehensive document in draft relating to the Regulations. As suggested in the Laws & Constitution Committee report this matter is still ongoing in consultation with John Clarke, the legal adviser and draft documentation is expected for consideration in due course. In relation to discipline procedures, the Regulations would need to become part of the conditions of play for events and made available to players. Regulations in ring binders should be prepared and a copy issued to each National Authority. Any changes would only then require the issue of individual pages.
The right of appeal required clarification and tidied up and the process clarified. There was also a need to have a disciplinary committee which would deal with a wider number of issues whereas a Jury of Appeal at an event would probably only deal with matters arising from an incident at an event. The entire process required further investigation and clarification.

Review of the Crystal Mark Edition of the Laws.
The report also reminded the Board that in 2006 when the Crystal Mark Edition of the Laws were introduced, it was agreed that the first review would be in 2010. Enclosed with the report was the suggested process for such a review. The objectives and the review process was agreed by the Board as follows:-
1 Review the correspondence received from MNAs and set out the Board's and Laws Committee's own observations on the operation of the laws. Use this information to prepare a list of the laws which should be changed.
2 Prepare and agree changes to the laws listed and submit them to the Board for approval.
3 Issue the proposed changes (version 1) to MNAs for consideration and ask the MNAs to propose their own suggestions for change.
4 Review the responses from MNAs, revise the proposed changes where considered appropriate and submit them to the Board for approval.
5 Issue the proposed changes (version 2) to MNAs for consideration.
6 Review the responses from MNAs, revise the proposed changes where considered appropriate and submit them to the Board for approval.
7 Incorporate any changed laws into the CM Edition to create a new edition.
8 Send the new edition to Plain English Campaign for editing in line with Crystal Mark conditions.
9 Issue the new edition to MNAs for approval at the Biennial Council scheduled for New Delhi in October 2010.
The timetable for conducting the process was also discussed and agreed.
The use of advertising banners on the face of banks was also raised as it had been proved that bowls hitting these boards tended to bounce back onto the green whereas when they hit a normal bank they tended to fall into the ditch. The matter would be considered in the review but there was little doubt they should not be used if they do not comply with the Laws. Much depended on the construction and thickness of the advertising banners.
There were only a few Laws that perhaps required review - the giving away of the jack/mat and the minimum length of a jack were the principle ones. The aim would be to have as few changes as possible. It was also thought that consideration should be given to allow domestic regulations which would prevent wholesale changes to the Laws. Other issues could include the re-spotting of jacks and the consideration of time limits on games.
The Biennial Council meeting scheduled to take place in 2010 at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi would be the meeting at which changes would be considered.

Appointment of International Technical Officials (ITO's).
As enquiries were being received regarding the appointment of International Technical Officials (ITO's) it was thought appropriate to introduce a process for accreditation and documentation as outlined in the report
The detailed process recommended by the Laws Committee was issued to the Board for approval. This would allow countries to follow a clearly defined application process which would result in an assessment of applicants to be tested and examined to become a qualified ITO.
Although it would never be self-financing, it was thought that a fee of £50 should be paid by all applicants.
A limit would also be imposed on the number of ITO's bearing in mind the geographical areas and the countries that tended to host International events. The Board approved all the proposals put forward and agreed the administration of the process would be undertaken at the offices of World Bowls.

Events.
2012 World Championships.
The CE circulated in advance of the meeting his comprehensive report into his attendance, along with the President, at the launch of the 2012 World Championships and associated meetings held in Adelaide, Australia in December 2008. The President added that they were very well received and the 2½ days of discussions proved to be very fruitful. It was agreed that both the CE and the President would continue to look at the detail of the agreement, deal with Bowls Australia and that any alterations to the agreement would be circulated to the Directors. It was thought that agreement was not too far off and that it may be possible to sign off the agreement at the World Cup at Warilla.
The CE's report was formally adopted by the Board.
The Events Director, in her report indicated that the preparation for all 2009 events was well under way as follows:-

2009 World Cup/World Junior Cup.
Initially, the number of entries had been poor but have now picked up and there are now 23 entries for Men, 21 entries for Women in the World Cup. In the World Junior Cup, 14 entries for Men and 10 entries for Women have been received. Several remain to confirm, but the entry from India was particularly welcome and to date there had been no withdrawals.

2009 Champion of Champions - Ayr.
Arrangements are progressing but were not without difficulties, especially relating to the availability of suitable accommodation which was at a premium mainly due to the playing of the British Open Golf tournament at nearby Troon, Ayrshire immediately before the Champion of Champions.
All documentation for this event had now been issued to all National Authorities.

2009 Asia Pacific Championships - Kuala Lumpur.
The original dates had to be changed from those given and the Malaysian Lawn Bowls Federation had been sent all the initial documentation for issue to the eligible National Authorities after consultation with World Bowls as the games are a qualifying event for the 2012 World Championships. It was confirmed that the conditions of play would be identical to that of the Atlantic Championships.

2009 Mediterranean Games.
In conjunction with CMSB the arrangements for these games, where lawn bowls was to be a demonstration sport, still had to be finalised. There appeared to be a lack of information regarding these games and it was agreed by the Board that any demonstration had to be undertaken correctly and to a high standard, probably by using a carpet.

2010 World Junior Cup.
Further correspondence from Bowls Singapore was awaited as to their expressed desire to host this event.

2009 Atlantic Championships - South Africa.
The arrangements for this event are progressing well with 16 entries for Men and 14 for Women. It was hoped to have the draw ready by the end of February 2009 and would be undertaken by the Events Director. The opening ceremony would take place on Sunday afternoon 3rd May with play commencing on Monday morning, 4th May.

2009 African States Tournament.
The Board are awaiting full details from Swaziland B.A. who are due to host the event. It was emphasised that as a qualifier for the World Championships, the same conditions of play must be used.

2016 World Championships - Expressions of Interest.
It was known that China intended to formally bid to host these Championships but it was thought that, with facilities in China not yet in place, it would not be a wise decision for the Board to award such an event to a country that did not at present have the required number of greens constructed to an acceptable standard. The prospects, should suitable facilities eventually be in place would be for the games to take place there in 2020, subject to the consideration of any other bids.
Bowls New Zealand had submitted a written request to be considered as the host for several events in the future, including the 2016 World Championships and after a discussion the Board were unanimous in agreeing that their bid should be accepted. Preliminary discussions had already taken place between Bowls New Zealand and major supporting partners who had all indicated their support to the application. The games would take place in Christchurch, where the clubs and Associations have indicated a commitment to be involved again in hosting the event.
Included in the submission to host the World Championships in 2016 was a proposal to host the 2013 and 2014 Champion of Champions in late November/early December and the 2015 Asia Pacific Championships from 29th January 2015 - 9th February 2015.
Bowls New Zealand would be celebrating their Centennial in 2013 and the Champion of Champions singles in that year would be one of the main Centennial events. Bowls New Zealand would in all probability make a presentation at the Biennial Council meeting during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in support of their bids. The CE would write to Bowls New Zealand confirming acceptance of their proposals.

2012 Champion of Champions.
A number of countries had expressed an interest to host this event. Those expressions are being further explored with a view to making a decision at the next Board meeting.

2009 Mini Pacific.
Kerry Clark is the World Bowls Technical Delegate for the event being held in the Cook Islands and is progressing requirements relating thereto.

2010 Champion of Champions - Norfolk Island.
More information regarding this event would be ascertained during the 2009 World Cup/World Junior cup to be held at Warilla in March 2009 when officials from Norfolk Islands would be in attendance.

Commonwealth Games 2010 - India - update.
It was reported that, despite volumes of paper activity, there has been little evidence of anything else happening up until the present time. There are several critical issues. The first one was to get someone "on the ground" to run the bowls and the position had now been filled and the official will start on 1st June 2009. He will be fully employed with the title "Competition Manager" until after the Commonwealth Games.
The Indian CG have also employed a coach.
There will be one training venue green and the competition venues are said to be due to be completed by the end of 2009. The delay in this aspect has caused a difficulty in the technical training of officials, as those undertaking the training should have been in India at least on two occasions already. The number of technical officials from outwith of India will now increase and the entire area of procurement of equipment like scoreboards, mats, jacks etc need to be looked at.
India is also going to host an 8-Nation event in March 2010 which will be run to give them some experience prior to the Commonwealth Games and the Asia Championships will also take place in August 2010. They will also have a "dummy run Commonwealth Games" in June/July using local sportspersons to test all their facilities in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
The entire tender process has been revisited and will start again to ensure probity. Should the greens installation be carried out properly there was hope that the Games would be a great success and properly constructed synthetic greens would kick start a great deal of interest in the sport. Confidence was much greater now than had before.

Commonwealth Games 2014 - Glasgow.
The bowling event would be held in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow and that the existing five greens, currently not at the required standard, would be renewed in time for the Games. The Glasgow District Council own and run the complex. Contact had already been made with World Bowls by an official in the Special Projects Team and advice given on the best providers of both artificial and natural grass surfaces. They would also be reminded that synthetic surfaces should be seriously considered when replacing the existing natural grass.

2011 Atlantic Championships.
It was agreed to seek expressions of interest from countries to host the 2011 Atlantic Championships.

Miscellaneous.
It was thought that for the 2016 World Championships and beyond, only the host country and the previous overall trophy winner should qualify automatically with all others having to qualify. Twenty-two teams would have to qualify from the qualifiers. It was agreed it would certainly make the qualifiers more interesting, meaningful, competitive and improve the stature of each event.

World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC).
The Board were made aware of the meeting officials of World Bowls had attended with WIBC officials recently, and which was regarded as very worthwhile and positive. It was their view that the WIBC were very keen to become affiliated in some way to World Bowls.

C.M.S.B.
The CE, President and Director Eleanor Allan attended the AGM held in December 2008. In conjunction with this meeting there was a meeting of the members' medical consultants.
Dr Reid's meeting involved the consideration of the revised WADA Code and obligations relating thereto. The CE had progressed the gathering of required information relating to elite squad athletes from the chosen 8 nations who make up our international Testing Pool as per the Regulations. This includes the nomination of one male and one female athlete from each of those 8 nations to be involved in potential out of competition testing with the cost of any such tests being financed by CMSB.
CMSB has now adopted revised Anti Doping Regulations duly approved by WADA and World Bowls will now be required to revise our Anti Doping Regulations to remain in line with CMSB Regulations. At this stage, the CE has dealt with the priority issue, which was to gather the information to meet time deadlines set by CMSB to meet WADA deadlines.
World Bowls now deals exclusively with applications for TUE from International level bowling applicants. It was agreed that National Authorities should be reminded of the need to apply for TUE's in advance of events and that in the conditions of entry for World Bowls events there should also be a reference to the WADA provisions. It was confirmed that CMSB were also prepared to contribute €10000 towards the demonstration of the sport at the World Games in Taiwan. It was hoped that CMSB would also contribute to any demonstration at the Mediterranean Games.

International Bowls for the Disabled.
There was nothing new to report.

Development Committee Report.
Development Enquiries.
The CEO reported that a number of enquiries expressing a degree of interest in developing the sport in current non member nations have been received at headquarters since the last Board meeting and had been duly passed to the Development Committee to respond to and progress as considered appropriate. These include enquiries in relation to Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Gibraltar, Russia and Nigeria. Furthermore, it was noted that current non-members Turkey and Germany are participating in the forthcoming European Bowls Union Team Championships in Cyprus.
Niue have been asked to update the Board on their facilities.
A request for coaching assistance for Fiji was also passed to the Development Committee.
Among the items the development committee discussed was a definition of a bowler, namely who should pay the 28 pence, because it was important that World Bowls needs to harness all bowlers.
It was also desirable to help those countries that show interest and play the sport but do not have the facilities required of them to become associate members. It was suggested that a new class of membership called "Development Member" could be added and introduced to cover these countries. There would be a time frame of say 5 years during which time the country must actively develop the sport and attempt to build a suitable facility so that they could then apply for full or associate memberships. There would be no delegate or voting rights to this class of membership.
An online newsletter is being prepared and should be ready to go on the web in early March. There will be a further newsletter in September.

Caribbean.
Progress in the Caribbean has been slow although contact was made with the Director of Youth and Sports and the Chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees based in Barbados but it had not been possible to set up a meeting due to time constraints. It was hoped that in time for their next meeting, it would be possible to prepare some sort of presentation programme and produce a flyer showing and presenting many aspects of bowling, which could be used for enquiries from any interested party. It was known that efforts to start bowls in Barbados had not met with a great deal of success in the past.
Response had also been made to an enquiry from Dominican Republic and they have a website that includes bowls. There has been no more follow-up.

Dubai.
The prospects for the development of the game in Dubai were very promising and it was agreed to co-opt Roy McCune onto the Development Committee to take forward the development issues in Dubai. Roy McCune was a regular visitor to Dubai and had already established contact with the Dubai officials and had formed a good working relationship with them, having provided training and coaching for them on a tour to Ireland in 2008.

Europe.
Contact has been established with people in numerous countries, but the common theme is that they have no surface to play on and in some cases no equipment. Those who are fortunate enough to have the necessary equipment either play on a synthetic surface which is normally used for another sport or on a mowed piece of green simply because they do not have or are unable to obtain the necessary funding to provide a proper bowling facility.
A contact has been made with Russia so hopefully developments will follow there similar to Hungary and Turkey. In the majority of countries everyone wants to play bowls and eventually form a National Association in order to be part of World Bowls. Individuals in Germany have also made contact with World Bowls.
Attendance at the European Championships in Cyprus at the end of February will not only be an opportunity to meet the representatives of the established bowling countries, but also the likes of Turkey and Germany who are participating for the first time.
It was hoped a meeting could also be arranged with a contact in the North of Cyprus to discuss the progress and development of the project there.

Asia.
There are a number of uncoordinated enquiries from several people in Pakistan regarding the sport of bowls and correspondence from some of the former applicants in Pakistan continued to be processed. It was also felt that there was a need to check the authenticity of bowling clubs in the country.
An enquiry had also been received from the Chinese Taipei Petanque & Sports Boules Association seeking information on lawn bowls greens development.

Africa.
Development for 2008 in Africa was focused on assisting the countries that requested assistance in the coaching and technical officials' qualifications.

Nigeria.
An enquiry had been made from Nigeria with regard to setting up facilities and all the relevant information sent to them. It was ascertained that they do have a bowling facility, which needs to be upgraded. They would like to compete internationally and therefore would need a substantial amount of assistance.
It was agreed that consideration should be given to a visit to Nigeria but that the President, who was familiar with the culture of the country, should attend once further information was obtained from the Nigerian authorities.

Rest of Africa.
Good liaison existed with both Swaziland and Namibia and assistance was provided on an ongoing basis. The costs are covered by both Bowls South Africa and the countries involved, therefore no costs are incurred to World Bowls.

Coaching Development.
Margaret Fettes stated Dr Botha's coaching committee had communicated regularly and referred to the report from Dr S Botha (South Africa) in which the committee were planning to send a questionnaire to each country asking for information on their coaching structure and if assistance was required to establish such a structure. It was agreed that there was a need to establish International standards, albeit there was a great deal of information already recorded and used in countries such as New Zealand and Australia. It was accepted that every country had differing standards and how they approached coaching.
Coaching assistance had been provided to Malaysia at Malaysia's expense and Fiji had requested coaching assistance in order to certify a coach who would then undertake future coaching duties required in Fiji.
It was resolved not to bring the members of the Coaching Committee together at this stage. The President would meet with Dr Botha in the next few weeks to discuss further.
It was agreed to have a development workshop at the Asia Pacific Games on 14th and 15th August 2009 to which all development committee members would be invited to attend to set out strategies and plans for the future. Date of arrival for attendees would be 13th August 2009.
There was a need to pull together ideas and to consider the involvement of manufacturers and companies connected with the construction of greens. The potential for assistance and sponsorship from them should not be ignored.

Any other Business.
Australia had advised that they had amended their domestic regulations regarding the stamping of bowls.
The sale of the umpiring and marking DVD's continues with the English Umpiring Association having recently purchased a number of copies. The Scottish B.A. had disappointingly not been prepared to purchase a quantity to sell on to their members Where National Authorities do not hold a stock, sales would be made from the offices of World Bowls.

Roger Black
Minute Secretary
18th March 2009.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on 11th/12th September 2008 at the Edinburgh Marriott Hotel, Scotland.

In attendance:
John McArdle (President & Chairman),
Margaret Fettes, (Deputy President),
Eleanor Allan,
Kerry Clark OBE,
Stephanie Chung,
Barry Fleming (Directors)
Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary)
Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

The President welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Board.

Register of Interests.
John McArdle - Vice President C.M.S.B.
Eleanor Allan - Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes - None
Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Stephanie Chung - Honorary Secretary Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association
Barry Fleming - Council member of the Welsh Bowling Association (WBA)
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes.
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Christchurch, New Zealand on 29th/30th January 2008 were adopted unanimously.

Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising that are not covered in the agenda.

Chief Executive's Report.
2008 Membership Returns update.
The 2008 Annual Return of Registered Members had been circulated to Directors - only Samoa's fees and annual return remained outstanding and was being actively pursued. Potentially there could be a problem if fees were not paid, as they would need to play in the 2009 Asia Pacific games in order to qualify for the 2012 World Championships but it was thought that there would not be a problem as the fees would in all probability be paid. Solomon Islands had been removed from membership and although fees for Brunei and PNG women had been received, their annual returns are still awaited.

Office - Update re Sportscotland.
The CEO advised that Sportscotland would retain a presence at Caledonia House and that the current lease agreement with Sportscotland would be honoured ie World Bowls would remain in the premises on a rent free basis until the end of the current lease which expires on 5th January 2012.

Testers/Manufacturers issues - Report from Ron Barron.
The CEO advised that the agreed retainer fees had been paid to both Inspectors and that as a result of the Scottish Bowling Association's decision on the re-testing and stamping of bowls at domestic level, the licensed tester, George MacKay of Edinburgh, was now only open for business on Saturday mornings.
The decision of World Bowls on the approval of white bowls was conveyed to manufacturers, together with details of future requirements. Following on a full discussion, it was agreed that the need for World Bowls to be advised of colours was no longer required and that Manufacturers were free to produce bowls of any colour. The Law at 8.1 would be amended accordingly in due course to remove the wording "approved by World Bowls"
Interest in establishing test tables by individuals in Canada and Malaysia had been received and the relevant details and contacts furnished.
Ron Barron addressed the meeting and updated the Board on several ongoing issues and on matters on which he was currently working.

Correspondence from Bowls England re narrow running bowls.
The CEO referred to correspondence dated 23rd April 2008 received from Bowls England, which was to the effect that there was a major concern throughout Britain, and in England in particular, about the use of narrow running bowls.
Bowls England requested the Board of World Bowls to consider the implications of using such bowls, which were licensed by World Bowls and that there was a belief that World Bowls was being heavily influenced by Southern Hemisphere Countries. The perceived problem is caused by the introduction of minimum biased bowls for use on greens in Southern Hemisphere conditions. The CEO had responded on behalf of World Bowls by totally refuting any suggestion that World Bowls is "heavily influenced by Southern Hemisphere Countries" and pointed out that the World Bowls Reference Bowl, representing the minimum bias standard, is used by all World Bowls Licensed Manufacturers and Testers throughout the world. It was also pointed out that the pace of outdoor bowling greens vary within countries and from country to country and from indoors to outdoors. With some outdoor greens running faster than indoor greens, it would be difficult if not impossible, in a worldwide market, to legislate which models of bowls can or cannot be used. The only relevant issue was that the bowls comply with the Laws of the Sport.
It was to pointed out to Bowls England, that if there is a perception amongst their bowling members that the Board is influenced by Southern Hemisphere Countries, then, as a member of World Bowls, they have a duty to correct the perception that bowls is dominated by Southern Hemisphere Countries. They should explain to their members that there is a process in place for the testing of bowls at the Manufacturer's premises that has been in existence since 1988 when there was one bowl that was accepted as being the reference bowl for the whole of the world. World Bowls is responsible for ensuring that there is a process in place that is regularly checked by independent inspectors appointed by World Bowls. World Bowls is satisfied this procedure is carried out correctly. All bowls produced on the market place comply with the test that has been laid down and this has been in place for many years - it is not a new process. If England is concerned about the bias of bowls, Bowls England, like any other National Authority, has the authority to move a notice of motion to either amend the Regulations or suggest a new process.

2007 World Bowls Audited Accounts.
The 2007 accounts had been filed at Companies Registry and with HM Revenue and Customs.

2008 Sport Accord - Athens.
Both the CEO and Director Eleanor Allan had attended a meeting in Athens in order to assist the Commonwealth Games Association put pressure on the 2010 Commonwealth Games Indian officials to deal with urgent matters detailed in Kerry Clark's report following on his visit to India in February 2008.

Sponsorship.
Following on negotiations with Winter & Co, based in Glasgow, sponsorship of £5k was obtained for the 2008 Champion of Champions and a further £5k for the 2009 Champion of Champions.
The arrangements with Fay Bayo at Warilla in 2008 realised in excess of £5,700 worth of sponsorship for the World Cup.

Atlantic Championships 2009 - South Africa.
It was confirmed that the proposed venue is the Wanderers Country Club, Johannesburg, South Africa. All information relating to the event, accommodation, transport and "Intent to Enter" forms have been issued to all eligible National Authorities.

Web Site.
The latest information on the number of "hits" on the World Bowls website had been received which continued to be very encouraging. During the playing of various World Bowls events, there was a considerable increase in the number of enquiries and figures showed, for example, in July 2007 during the Atlantic Championships, the number of enquires reached 380,663. In November 2007 during the Champion of Champions, there were 271,157 requests for information. Other details of monthly hits over the year were available but the average monthly number of hits on the web site was just over 100,00 per month.

Finance, Sponsorship & Marketing Committee Report. 2008 Accounts & Performance against budget.
The CEO had circulated documents in advance of the meeting - the Consolidated Financial Forecast for 2008, Profit and Loss account through to August 2008, and the Balance Sheet to August 2008. The Champion of Champions in Aberdeen was a particularly expensive event mainly as a result of accommodation costs. Sponsorship from Winter and Co greatly assisted in the running costs and it was anticipated this would continue with the 2009 Ayr event.
There is an outstanding endorsement fee of £2000, and had been for several months. This was being actively followed up. Some test fees were also outstanding and being chased and, again, it was anticipated they would be paid by the end of the year. A tax refund of £2379.77 had been received as a result of tax being deducted incorrectly from interest.
It was anticipated that at the end of the year a small profit overall would be shown. Committees were reminded to produce budgets for next year.

Laws and Constitution Committee Report.
Kerry Clark tabled his report prior to the meeting in which he advised of several referrals to the Committee on a variety of subjects as follows:-
Accreditation of Umpires.
There were a few issues globally with some countries who were not entirely in agreement with the new system of examination of umpires, mainly because it was a new procedure to them. There were issues concerning tutoring, accreditation and examination but they were being worked through and it was hoped would be resolved in due course.

Approval of Wheelchairs.
The original enquiry from Hong Kong on the use of wheelchairs had served to highlight a number of issues. It was thought that some basic advice could be given by World Bowls but that individual countries would need to look at the issue taking into account their own Laws on subjects like discrimination, disability etc. There were many questions still to be answered on the subject and more information would be obtained from the countries involved before a considered response could be made. There a draft set of policies that work well in Australia, the IBD have been very helpful, as has the British Wheelchair Bowls Association and as a result of the input from these organisations, a policy is being developed which will be used to deal with issues on a case by case basis.

Bowling Aids.
All National Authorities had been advised of the decisions of the Laws Committee on the subject of "bowling aids".

Groundsheets.
All National Authorities had been advised of the decisions of the Laws Committee on the subject of "groundsheets".

Regulations in relation to penalties.
Arising from an incident during the 2008 World Championships in New Zealand in which a letter of protest had been submitted by Scotland concerning a game involving New Zealand and Ireland, the Regulations were being looked at with a view to inserting something in relation to a code of conduct. There was also a suggestion that a basic code of conduct should exist for all World Bowls events which players should sign up to which would include fair play matters. When this was in place, the next move would be to consider misconduct and then how such misconduct was dealt with. It was felt that players/officials should be fully aware of the Regulations and that all such matters should be available in one source in a manual and would include references to the Regulations, WADA related matters, Articles of Association, etc. All countries should be supplied with a concise document covering all the information that was required for all World Bowls events.

Miscellaneous.
It was also agreed that at a suitable time in 2009, National Authorities will be advised that an opportunity will be provided to them to consider the current Laws of the Sport and that for the Council meeting in 2010, any proposed changes will be considered. Correspondence has also been issued from the CEO following on consideration by the Laws Committee on the following issues -
Bowls Canada re Ontario LBA refusing to follow the provisions of Law 18.4 -play in other ends.
Bowls Australia re the minimum distance law and the by RNSWBA to not comply
The Board approved the appointment of Mark Cowan (Australia) to serve on the World Bowls Laws Committee to take the place of Doug Corben.

Events & Competitions Committee Report.
2008 World Championships review.
The recent World Championships held in New Zealand earlier in the year had been a great success. The experiment of holding men and women's Championships over three different venues had worked extremely well. There was no doubt the Championships had been a huge undertaking but it had been well organised, the results service had been excellent and overall, there were no insurmountable problems encountered.

2012 World Championships - Format & Qualification considerations.
The CEO advised that each National Authority has been supplied with the events constituting the qualification events for 2012, showing the nations which have pre-qualified for the final event in both the men's and women's 2012 championships, the official qualification event for those nations needing to qualify and the number of qualification positions available at each qualifier.
The traditional format for play at these Championships has been widely welcomed, although the Board has still to finalise certain issues relating to the schedule of play and discuss a revision of the knockout stages of each discipline and medal play format.
There was concern over play offs, regarded as unnecessary, at the same time as quarterfinal ties. It was agreed that section play in each discipline should be played to completion, albeit it was accepted that all discipline finals could be staged at the end of the Championships. Bowls Australia were advised on 30th May 2008 that whilst it was agreed that all finals be played at the end of the event, the Board did not agree with the proposed scheduling of games which involved players changing from one discipline to the next and back again on a daily basis. They were asked to submit a revised schedule for consideration.
Bowls Australia were to be advised that World Bowls agreed that all finals should be played at the end of the event schedule as previously agreed and that there would be no position play-offs. Double bronzes would be awarded in each discipline. They should be asked to submit a second draft for both men and women's events along similar lines to that used in the 2008 Championships in New Zealand ie two sections of twelve countries with the top four in each section qualifying for quarter final knockout stages. Following on from this, there was a very lengthy and detailed discussion on the format for the final stages of the games and whether or not the top four in each section should qualify or whether or not this should be reduced to the top two or three.
Finally in relation to the tender agreement to be agreed between Bowls Australia and World Bowls, there were a number of major decisions and area that had to be addressed. The finalised formalised letter of agreement should be ready in time for the official launch of the World Championships in November 2009.
The actual conditions of play and the schedule of play, as agreed by World Bowls, would be attached as an appendix to the letter of agreement.
Accreditation issues would be down to the organising committee with the recommendation from World Bowls that it would be restricted to 5 players, manager, coach, President and Secretary.

2016 World Championships - Expressions of interest.
Bowls New Zealand indicated that they would be interested in hosting the World Championships in 2016, running the event on similar lines as to the 2008 World Championships. It was also thought that the event with only the top 16 Countries participating could be a discussion point at the 2010 Council meeting in Delhi with Countries being given a opportunity to debate the proposed change. This stemmed from the comment that hosting both men and women's Championships at the same time restricted greatly the number of countries that could host the games. It was agreed that written expressions of interest would be considered at the next Board Meeting.

2008 World Cup and World Junior Cup review and arrangements for 2009.
The Tournament Director reported that the 2008 World Cup and World Junior Cup had again been very successful. It was hoped that the number of entries into the World Junior Cup would have been greater as it was held outdoors but this was not the case. Both the semi-finals and final of the World Cup were televised by ABC TV but, even so, sponsorship had proved difficult to obtain.
The number of entries in the Junior Cup, particularly for women, was disappointing and it was thought that National Authorities were not making enough effort to encourage participation. It was felt that National Authorities should give their players an opportunity to enter, albeit in many cases, at their own expense. It was felt that at the very minimum, National Authorities should offer a place to a player, explain that the costs cannot be met by the National Authority, and have to be met by the participant and that it would be up to him/her to meet the costs involved.
Warilla will again host the events in 2009 with a condensed playing programme. The dates for the 2009 event were 25th March - 3rd April 2009.

2010 World Junior Cup - hosting proposal from Bowls Singapore.
Bowls Singapore had indicated a wish to host the 2010 World Junior Cup. They would regard it as a good opportunity to promote the sport in Singapore as the Youth Olympics in 2010 will be held in Singapore. The separation of the World Junior Cup from the World Cup meant substantially increased costs to World Bowls and financially it was far better to keep the two events together as it cut down transport and accommodation World Bowls costs considerably.
Information provided indicated that the event would take place on a reconditioned green at Lallang Lawn Bowls Club and that funding will be applied for from the Singapore Sports Council. Other sponsorship opportunities are being sought. The proposed dates would be early April 2010.

2008 Champion of Champions Aberdeen, Scotland review.
Late withdrawals from the event were causing unnecessary work for everyone concerned and after a detailed discussion, the Board agreed that fines should be imposed on those National Authorities withdrawing from the event within 21 days of its starting date in accordance with the existing agreed conditions. The minutes of the Board meeting held in Australia in November 2004 and issued to all National Authorities, clearly spelt out the fine to be imposed for a late withdrawal.
All entry forms for all World Bowls events in future would clearly show the penalties for late withdrawal. It was also felt that confirmed entries should not be recorded until such times as flight details were confirmed.
Inconsiderate players arriving late and or not in accordance with their submitted itineraries also caused minor problems with transport and meeting arrangements. National Authorities should also be asked to nominate and confirm the authenticity of any coaches/managers that accompany players.
Players leaving the event early after having been eliminated was also to be discouraged and the National Authorities would be asked to refund the accommodation costs met by World Bowls in these cases.

2009 Champion of Champions - Ayr, Scotland.
The Scottish Bowling Association are also hosting this event in Ayr and close liaison would be maintained with them in the run up to the event. Minor matters that had surfaced at the 2008 Champion of Champions would be taken up with the Scottish Bowling Association.

2010 and 2011 World Singles Champion of Champions and beyond.
It had been confirmed that the 2010 Championships will be held in Norfolk Island with dates and negotiations still being progressed. Preliminary discussions had already taken place between World Bowls and Norfolk Island officials. It was thought that with the effort being put into the event by the Norfolk Island officials, it would be a very successful event. Leaflets were handed out about the Norfolk Island Champion of Champions at the Aberdeen event and had prompted a fair degree of interest. The 2011 Championships will be held in Hong Kong, China, following on Hong Kong's agreement to relinquish their proposal to host the 2011 Asia/Pacific Championships in order that these may be held in Adelaide, Australia, a gesture much appreciated by Bowls Australia.

2008 African States Tournament cancellation - Zimbabwe.
All the relevant correspondence relating to the cancellation of the event had been circulated to the Board and it was agreed that the President, John McArdle, would update the Board after discussing the matter of where and when the next African States qualifying event for the 2012 World Championships would take place.

2009 Asian Lawn Bowls Championships & Bowls Asia Governors' meeting.
The CEO is to attend the 2009 Asian Lawn Bowls Championships and the Board of Governors meeting of Bowls Asia being held during the Championships as requested by President Tun Ahmad Sarji. The organisers had been informed that the 2009 Asia Pacific Championships were to be used as a qualifying event for the 2012 World Championships and that as such the format of the games had to be the same as for the World Championships.

Expressions of Interest for hosting future Champion of Champions.
A number of informal expressions of interest have been received to host this event in 2012 and beyond. It was known that Portugal, Cyprus and Canada have all expressed an interest in the event for 2012. New Zealand would be willing to host the event in 2013 and 2014 and if they were to host the World Championships in 2016, they would also be interested in bidding for the 2015 Asia Pacific Championships.

Commonwealth Games 2010 India - update from Kerry Clark.
Kerry Clark advised that there was very little to report - everything appeared to be on hold despite meetings that took place in Athens at Sport Accord with Indian Officials and the follow up letter that had been sent by the CEO to Mike Hooper of the CGF. There was now a real concern about the capabilities of those in authority to be ready for 2010.
It was also known that they wished to hold the World School Games in 2009, accommodation being provided at the Delhi Public School and World Bowls was pleased to give approval and sanction the event. It would however, be necessary to ascertain the dates in case of a clash with other events prior to giving approval.

2009 Atlantic Championships - South Africa.
It was noted that 15 entries had been received to date but that the final date for the receipt of confirmed entries was 30th November 2008. The schedule of play could not be considered until 30th November 2008. The dates of the event were from 3rd May - 16th May 2009.

2009 Asia/Pacific Championships - Malaysia.
The dates for the Asia Pacific Championships were 19th August - 30th August 2009 and would be attended by Eleanor Allan, Events Director, as these games were a qualifier for the 2012 World Championships. They were also to be reminded that only full teams were allowed to participate in the games.

2008 Sport for All-Trex Games - Busan, Korea.
It was noted that Korea were attempting to have bowling in the event with or without the permission of World Bowls and communications with the Korean authorities was proving difficult. No information was available on the format and at present the event could not be sanctioned by World Bowls.

Miscellaneous.
Mediterranean and World Games.
The CMSB were instrumental in getting bowling played in the Mediterranean Games due to take place in Pescara, Italy and it was hoped that teams from Spain, Cyprus and perhaps France will participate. Malta would also be approached although it was known their players were mainly based in Australia. Two from each country playing both pairs and singles was thought appropriate.
World Games were to be held in Taiwan in July 2009 and World Bowls was asked to have a presence at the games and to use them as an opportunity to demonstrate bowling to the Taiwanese people.

Medals.
It was decided that in future events gold, silver and bronze medals would be presented at all World Bowls events.

Other Event Approvals.
World Bowls approval had been given to Bowls Australia to host a four nation outdoor event in Perth in early March 2009 with England, Scotland and Malaysia to be invited.
Approval had also been given to the European Bowls Union for an event with Asia proposed to be held in Portugal in early November 2009.
Namibia were known to be contemplating running a tri-nations event on 9th - 11th October 2008 and fuller details would be obtained.

World Bowls Ranking List.
The CEO provided an up to date ranking list following on the 2008 World Champion of Champions.

Development Committee Report.
Reports had been received in advance of the meeting and covered various aspect of work being undertaken by the Development Committee. All members had been given a set of Hard Court Bowls to be used as an introduction to flat green bowling primarily in schools, community centres etc. They are designed to be used on hard surface area such as paving, concrete, indoor halls etc.
They were trialed in Hong Kong but several problems were encountered with the bowls and the conclusion was that the initial costs and the maintenance costs of the bowls may prove prohibitive to developing countries. Whilst they should not be dismissed as a development tool they were not suitable for development in Hong Kong which was already a country with well managed facilities and equipment. It was suggested further trials were required.
Hard court bowls had also been taken to an indoor venue in Invercargill, New Zealand to demonstrate bowls in a stadium primarily used for netball and the upshot was that it was seen as an excellent opportunity to introduce bowling to the area, so much so that it was thought an order had been placed for 36 sets of bowls. Primarily hard court bowls were to be used simply to demonstrate the sport in the hope that potential members would go and join bowling clubs. They were not to be viewed as a separate game from traditional lawn bowling.
There was also an explosion of interest and considerable activity in Pakistan with a number of people interested in setting up bowling organisations and who had all contacted World Bowls for advice and guidance.
In order to progress the matter, the Pakistan Olympic Committee were advised of all the applications and invited to provide any information and advice that they might have. It was thought that the most likely and organised body was the current Pakistan Lawn Bowls Federation but they have not to date provided proof of the existence of a green.
There was debate on the criteria for membership of World Bowls where a facility was not yet in being for bowling - the original criteria for membership of World Bowls was that there had to be two clubs in existence.
In order to encourage the game it should be possible for a country to become an affiliate member, which could be reviewed after a period of five years. This principle was agreed by the Board. It was accepted that not every country could afford initially to construct a bowling green but in the fullness of time it was possible for these countries to compete in International events. Only those authorities that were recognised nationally by their national sporting authorities within their country could become full members of World Bowls.

Commonwealth Development - Caribbean.
The Caribbean nations of the Commonwealth have also been identified as a vital area for development of the sport. As bowls is a core sport within the Commonwealth Games, it was believed that any development may best be achieved in partnership with the CGF and the Board were prepared to ring-fence a proportion of the annual development budget over the next four years to support a development strategy. It was known there were 15 CGA's within the Caribbean. It was known that there was some interest in the Bahamas, Antigua and the Cayman Islands and that hard court bowls could be considered to introduce the game.

Dubai/United Arab Emirates.
A detailed report was made available to the Board of several meetings that had taken place in Dublin with officials of a touring UAE bowling team. The UAE had arranged for a group of 14 players to visit Dublin for a week and to receive coaching from Irish officials. This was a follow-up to a tour to Scotland two years previously when contact by World Bowls was initially made with UAE officials keen to promote the game in the UAE. There is a bowling club within the UAE at present but they do not have proper facilities and are in the early stages of the development of an indoor stadium.

World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC) World Bowls Tour (WBT), Professional Bowls Association (PBA).
The CEO furnished a report on an informal meeting held with two WIBC officials, Secretary Gordon Woods and Deputy President Anne Easton, at Ayr, Scotland in August 2008.
The CEO advised the board that the Chief Executive of the WBT had been informed of the dates for the 2012 World Championships.

CMSB. Update on Rome complex.
Both the CEO and Director Eleanor Allan attended the annual Bocce awards ceremony in Ancona, Italy, at the invitation of President Rizzoli, CMSB. The presence of World Bowls was highly appreciated by all attendees and was well covered by the media in Italy, which included live streaming of the ceremony on the web. Meetings were also held in Rome with President Rizzoli and a visit was made to the new Rome complex, which has suffered delays in construction for a variety of technical reasons but the expectation is that it will be completed by the end of 2008. It was noted that Dr Colin Reid was to attend a meeting of all the member medical consultants of CMSB on 3rd/4th October 2008. Arrangements for processing World Bowls TUE's were now working satisfactorily. Overall, good progress was being made by C.M.S.B. and they were pushing for bowls to be a demonstration sport in the World Games in Taipei.

International Bowls for the Disabled.
There had been a approach via the World Bowls President from the IBD that they hold a World Championship in the same city and at the same time as World Bowls. They were not seeking to use the same venue nor were they seeking financial or logistical support but would share in publicity and they thought this would add to the prestige of World Bowls as a progressive International Sporting Body and would impress the International Paralympic Committee on which they sat. They thought it would attract more spectators to bowling and the IBD opening ceremony would be held after the World Bowls opening ceremony. There was a full discussion by the Board on the merits or otherwise of the proposal and the conclusion was reached that the World Championships was the "Olympics" of the sport and therefore World Bowls did not allow or encourage another major international event to be held at the same time. Nevertheless, World Bowls agreed and would suggest that the principle of the "Olympics/Paralympics" be adopted in relation to timing ie the Paralympics does not commence until after the conclusion of the Olympics and this would be still be seen as a positive step to encouraging the sport for the disabled.

Any other Business.
The CEO advised that the Hong Kong Classic in December 2008 had added to the event a mixed fours tournament on 3rd and 4th December 2008.

Roger Black
Minute Secretary
12th September 2008

2008 CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to Lief Selby (Australia) and Kathy Pearce (Wales),

winners of the 2008 Champion of Champions (men and women)

held in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Full results and placings are listed in the "results" page.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on 29th/30th January 2008 at the Copthorne Commodore Hotel, Christchurch, New Zealand.

In attendance:
John McArdle (President & Chairman),
Margaret Fettes, (Deputy President,
Eleanor Allan,
Kerry Clark OBE,
Stephanie Chung,
Barry Fleming (Directors)
Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary) and
Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

Register of Interests :
John McArdle - Vice President C.M.S.B.
Eleanor Allan - Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes - None
Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Stephanie Chung - Honorary Secretary Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association
Barry Fleming - Team Manager Wales (until 23rd April 2008), Council member of the Welsh Bowling Association (WBA)
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes :
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Ayr on 10th/11th July 2007 were adopted unanimously.

Matters Arising:
There were no matters arising that are not covered in the agenda.

Changes to existing Committees and creation of new Committees:
The President advised that he had reviewed the current committees, looking ahead to the next two years. He proposed the following changes:-
Amend "Finance Committee" to read "Finance, Sponsorship & Marketing Committee" under the chairmanship of President John McArdle with the assistance of the Chief Executive.
The "Events and Competition Committee" to remain chaired by Eleanor Allan but that Deputy President Margaret Fettes should "shadow" Eleanor Allan in view of the latter's decision not to stand for re-election after her current term of office and, recognising that Margaret Fettes has a further two years to serve after 2010, this would provide a degree of continuity.
World Bowls events would be attended by the President, Deputy President, Eleanor Allan and the Chief Executive, Gary Smith. In addition the Deputy President would cover for any absence of the President. The Chief Executive would be responsible for media and commercial aspects at World Bowls events with an emphasis on increased media awareness at events.
Kerry Clark would continue to chair the "Laws & Constitution Committee" for the next two years, after which it was agreed the chairmanship would be looked at depending who was in place at the time. Kerry Clark added that there required to be changes in the personnel of his committee.
The Board were also advised in response to a question from the CE that during the next two years an opportunity will be afforded to National Authorities to submit amendments to the existing Laws in time for the Biennial meeting in 2010 but a complete review and re-write of the Laws was not thought appropriate at that stage.

In relation to development, it was felt that there should be more emphasis on positive action in the future. It was also felt that "Development" was too big for one person and there needed to be better use of the personnel located in the geographical areas. To revamp and kick start the subject the following was recommended:-
The overall chairmanship for development would sit with Margaret Fettes but the various responsibilities would be divided as follows:-
Europe - Barry Fleming.
Middle East/Asia - Stephanie Chung with assistance from Vincent Cheung if required. Americas/Caribbean - Margaret Fettes. John McArdle added that it was important to establish some sort of foothold in this area because of the Commonwealth Games influence.
Africa - Debra Ferguson.
India - remain with Kerry Clark in light of his Commonwealth Games connection.
Pacific - Bowls Australia Development Manager will be co-opted.
A fully budgeted action plan should be produced by Margaret Fettes after due consultation with the area representatives. Incorporated into the development budget should be estimates for coaching costs. "Coaching" would be chaired by Margaret Fettes with an emphasis on the need to produce international standards for coaches.

Included within the Development budget would be CMSB costs and the requirements of the Laws Committee in relation to accreditation of international umpires and India development costs,

The CE would chair Media & Communications/Commercial aspects. This will embrace media relations, discussions regarding television coverage for events and TV rights negotiations. Comments to media on behalf of World Bowls will be provided by the CE, after, where necessary and relevant, consultation with the President or relevant Director. The Chief Executive will also be authorised to respond, as he considers appropriate and necessary to any articles referring to World Bowls, its decisions and policies, appearing in any publication. The CE will also be responsible for media matters at World Bowls events. Within this portfolio will be the maintenance and administration of the World Bowls web site.

It was considered that both new Directors would be given time to assimilate World Bowls matters before being given responsibility for chairing any particular Committee. Development in Asia and in particular China and India would play a key role in their activities.

Kerry Clark would continue in his role as the IF Technical Delegate to the Commonwealth Games plus overall responsibility for the India project.

The CMSB delegates would be Eleanor Allan, Gary Smith and John McArdle. The CE provided a brief description of the functions of the CMSB, their responsibilities and the reasoning behind World Bowl's membership of CMSB to the new Directors for background information.

Headquarters matters would continue to function as at present with Roger Black covering for any CE absences. Directors were reminded by the CE the office phone system was always covered during any absences with call divert to mobile phones in operation and access to e-mails was maintained at all times.

Chief Executive's Report
Matters arising from Biennial Council Meeting:
There were no matters arising out of the Biennial meeting other than to update the Board on the amalgamation of sportscotland with the Scottish Sports Association and the re-location of the offices to Glasgow. The latest information was that the move would be initially to temporary accommodation prior to the purpose built accommodation being available in the east end of Glasgow. It was hoped that the same lease conditions as exist at present would continue but this was unknown at present.

Adoption of report on visit to Malaysia/Asian Lawn Bowls Championships July 2007.
The report prepared on the CE's attendance at the 6th Asian Lawn Bowls Championships was formally adopted.

2008 Membership Returns update:
The CE provided the Board members with the updated membership details. The bulk of the returns had now been received. A major disappointment was the return from Australia showing a fall in registered membership to below 250,000 which in fact now entitles them to only 20 votes from a previous level of 24. Budgeting for 2008 was based on an estimated membership figure of 600.000 (down from 611,000 last year) and this would now be difficult to achieve. One or two countries had problems with the payment of fees and it was agreed that World Bowls would take a lenient view with the countries involved - Zimbabwe in particular was mentioned. With regard to the Solomon Islands, it was confirmed that they had not paid fees for three years

Testers/Manufacturers issues including "white bowls" issue:
The CE provided detailed background information for the benefit of the new Directors on the functions of the two accredited inspectors of the test tables, Prof Ron Barron, based in Glasgow and Prof Bruce Barry, based in Melbourne, Australia and their role in relation to the regulations. They were also involved in the approval of new models of bowls and they reported regularly to the Board of World Bowls.
Kerry Clark advised that Bowls NZ had given notice that they intended to re-introduce bowls testing domestically in 2009 but this had resulted in a fair bit of flack from their bowlers.
In relation to the matter of the manufacture of white bowls, Kerry Clark provided the background that had lead to the present discussion and position viz a viz white bowls. During the Australian Open qualifying event held in Sydney, a player used white bowls. This was drawn to Kerry Clark's attention and following on a discussion a decision was made that white bowls were not permitted and Bowls Australia consequently told the player concerned he could not continue to play with white bowls. Minutes had subsequently been produced to show that any colour was approved by the old Board. The dispute now centered around whether or not an instruction by the old Board is still a valid one.
Following on the last Board meeting when the subject of the colour of bowls was raised, the only manufacturer to respond to the CE's request as to what colours they used in the manufacturing process was Drakes Pride, who simply provided a chart showing the colours they could make, not necessarily the colours they did manufacture.
Following on a detailed comprehensive discussion on the matter, it was accepted that, by default and without apportioning blame, all colours at present in use, including speckled bowls had in effect received tacit approval and were currently in the market place. The approval given in 1998 by the old Board was very far and wide reaching, and the Board should now ask all manufacturers for a full list of the colour of bowls that are currently being manufactured. In relation to white bowls, it was suggested that it would help if the rings on these bowls were coloured. Other factors that were mentioned as worthy of further consideration and reference to manufacturers included a question on how white bowls were to be "chalked" and if there was any effect on partially sighted players.
A register should be set up and maintained of all the bowls and colours utilised by manufacturers and that any additions to the currently approved colours should receive the approval of World Bowls in advance.

Performance standards re Artificial Surfaces:
The CE provided a comprehensive updated report on performance standards for artificial surfaces and advised the Board that the point had been reached where, after discussion with Kerry Clark, extra detail had been required to be put into the performance standards document and Bob Jones from the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute had been informed accordingly. Additional information needed to be finalised and recorded into a revised document and agreed with Bob Jones, NZSTI and CST in London. The report was a critical document for Kerry Clark for his negotiations India and needed to be finalised by the next Board meeting in September 2008. The CE would follow up the issue.

Finance Committee Report
2007 Accounts:
The draft accounts for 2007 were provided for the Directors with a reminder from the CE that the 2007 interim accounts were not yet finalised as some test certificate and endorsement fees were still outstanding and remained to be paid.
The shortfall in income was down primarily to the lack of income from sponsorship, which had originally been shown potentially as income of £30k. No income of any kind was received as a result of the Company's association with 110sport and their services had been dispensed with accordingly.
The overall costs of the DVD preparation/production was just over £10k and there was a very good opportunity to recoup these costs and make a profit.

2008 Budgets:
The financial forecasts papers were issued to the Board members. The income from registered members, estimated at 600,000, may have to be adjusted downwards slightly due to the fall in membership to under 600,000. The result of this would be a slight adjustment to each of the areas of expenditure for which a proportion of the 28p allocation had been made.
Membership applications were kept in line with expectations - one new full member and two associate members.
Endorsement fees were based on current levels although there was a possibility of a increase on this next year.
Income from the testing of bowls had to be reduced mainly because of the position in Scotland.
Income from the sale of DVD's was not shown as the expected sales were not known and could only be guessed.
Other items were based on current projections and current figures.
£5k was raised at Warilla Bowls Club for the 2007 Champion of Champions, an amount that was greatly appreciated in view of the short time span that was available. A figure of £10k would be included in the 2008 budgets from the sale of DVD's. It was felt appropriate to reduce sponsorship income budget from £30k to £20k.

Laws and Constitution Committee:
Report Matters arising from Biennial Council Meeting - the changes to Law 15.2 that were agreed at the Biennial Council Meeting now needed to be notified to all the National Authorities via the web site and normal distribution methods.
There was no need to reprint the Laws of the Sport.

Umpiring/Marking DVD:
It was reported that the project was now all but completed and had been an excellent exercise resulting in a quality product.

Umpires accreditation:
A lengthy, detailed booklet had been prepared and was nearing completion with just a few minor items requiring to be tidied up. Copies were issued to the Board members. The stage had now been reached where final editing was appropriate and thereafter the contents would be used by all Countries for the training, examination and accreditation of umpires. The background to the project was to have all umpires in all countries trained and accredited in accordance with a World Bowls approved process and to have all umpires at World Bowls events operating to a universal standard. The document would be available on the web site for access by all National Authorities and the aim of the committee would be to finalise the document by the end of March 2008. It was agreed by the Board, nevertheless, that the sections relating to examinations, including agreed questions and answers would not be published on the website but would be made available to National Authorities on demand. The Board agreed there would be no restriction on the number of umpires sitting the examination.
The Board was happy to approve the document.

Bowls Australia submission - Minimum Distance Law:
The Board were given a resume on the process that led to the current edition of the Crystal Mark Edition of the Laws of the Sport and the involvement that all countries had in submitting various proposals etc. It was known at the time that there were concerns in certain parts of the world over the minimum distance of the jack. It was explained that although there was provision in the Laws (Law 17) for countries to have domestic rules and regulations there was no scope to have a basic change to the Laws and how the game should be played.
Bowls Australia had submitted a paper on the minimum distance of the jack and wished the Board to consider changing the minimum distance from 23m to 21m.. Following on a discussion it was agreed that as there would be a major review of the Laws in 2010, if Bowls Australia wished to have a change made to the minimum distance of a jack then that was the time to make a formal proposal to change the Laws.

Bowls New Zealand submitted a paper on the Law 23(2) - the re-delivery of the jack - and Law 31 when applied to time limit games. Bowls New Zealand requested that there be a change to Law 17.1 (domestic regulations) to allow in time limit games that the controlling body may have the authority to permit that in Law 23 if there has been one improper delivery of the jack in an end, then the opposing skip may direct the lead where to place the mat within the limits detailed in Law 19 and then place the jack in a legal position on the centre line and that in Law 31, any end declared dead after the time limit bell had gone would be counted as a played end.
It was agreed that Bowls New Zealand could experiment with their proposals and report back to the Board.
It was thought that in early 2009 countries would be reminded to make any submissions on changes to the Laws of the Sport to be considered at the Biennial Council meeting in 2010.

Marketing, Media and Sponsorship.
Sponsorship Matters
The CE reported on the successful outcome of discussions with Fred Winter of Jack High Insurance regarding sponsorship of the 2008 and 2009 Champion of Champions. Fred Winter had agreed to sponsor £5k each year which would be potentially increased if television was involved in the events.
The President will obtain a letter from Zurich Insurance Africa (SA Eagle) introducing the CE to their London office in order to organise a meeting to discuss potential sponsorship using the SA "Perfect Delivery" short term insurance scheme as a potential model to roll out on an international level where possible and where no conflict exists with national sponsors.

An update was provided by the CE to the new Directors on the current arrangements relating to sponsorship via Warilla Bowls Club.

Events & Competitions Committee Report
Matters arising from Biennial Council Meeting.
The only matters arising from the Biennial meeting was confirmation that in tie breaker ends, shots would now count in each end.

2008 World Championships Review.
The Championships have just been completed and were regarded as a great success. There were no difficulties for the players with the games being played over three venues and many expressed their appreciation to the Events Director, that the arrangements were excellent. The only issue that is worthy of further consideration was the post section play and how it was defined. There is no provision in the conditions of play in the case of both semi final games resulting in a 21-20 score and the results were then recorded as a draw. This would need to be revisited, particularly when the future format of games could be in sets play. There were many issues that needed to be discussed and debated - drawn games earning one point for each team instead of playing tie breaker ends to produce a winner and premiums for winning medals were points mentioned. There were a great number of scenarios that required further debate and consideration. Winning a section was rewarded with nothing other than an opportunity to progress further and perhaps there was a case for the section winners to be automatically through to the semi-final with the other qualifiers playing off.
It was proposed in the final analysis that the conditions for play should be reviewed for the events in 2012 once the formats are known. Many issues were discussed over the scoring system which required an overhaul.

2012 World Championships - Format & Qualification considerations.
As is reported in the minutes of the Biennial Council meeting, Bowls Australia have agreed to look at their proposed formats for the 2012 World Championships and it was agreed that the President would meet with the CEO of Bowls Australia, to progress the matter. In response to a question, the number of countries qualifying from the qualifying events (Asia Pacific, Atlantic Championships and African States) had still to be decided and the Board would be provided with a paper in due course. The numbers were decided on a pro rata basis depending on the number of countries already qualified by virtue of the 2008 finishing positions.

2008 World Cup and World Junior Cup
Both events are to be staged at Warilla Bowls Club. Entries for the World Cup to date were 22 men and 22 women, slightly down on previous years. The Junior Cup is to played outdoor this year in an attempt to create more interest from National Authorities and it was stated that under membership of the IOC and CMSB, World Bowls is required to hold a junior event. Entries at present are 11 men and 10 women.

2007 Champion of Champions Review.
The Board was very grateful to Warilla Bowls Club for stepping in at the last minute and agreeing to host the event. Accommodation was a problem at the time but the event was run very successfully.

2008 Champion of Champions.
The "old" rules and conditions of play would remain for the 2008 Champion of Champions except for the tie breaker ends when actual shots would be taken into account.

Expressions of Interest for hosting Champion of Champions.
Norfolk Island had expressed interest in hosting the champion of champions in 2010 and Samoa in 2011. Until such times as the conditions were issued to the countries, no award could be made. The CE reminded the Board that Norfolk Island had offered to assist in the past when there was a problem with Fiji hosting the event. It was agreed to ask National Authorities for expressions of interest from 2010 onwards.

Commonwealth Games 2010 India - update from Kerry Clark.
Kerry Clark reported that Ian Munro and Alastair Douglas from Scotland were in India at present conducting technical training courses in Delhi and Ranchi (30/40 persons attending each course). There were to be 4 greens and 5 or more rounds would be held each day. There was also to be a disabled competition. It was also important to get young people involved and school children in the age groups 16 - 19 involved. A model similar to that used in Malaysia would be utilised.

2009 Atlantic Championships - South Africa.
Both the President and the CE had visited the Wanderers, Johannesburg with the Bowls South Africa President. Wanderers is the venue for the 2009 Atlantic Championships and has four greens and superb facilities with a magnificent multi functional clubhouse.
It is proposed to use the Protea Hotel to accommodate all the players and World Bowls Officials and the President was confident that an advantageous room rate could be secured. All teams would have to stay at the hotel. A Tournament Committee led by Chester Hollis has already been formed to progress the arrangements.
It was envisaged that teams would arrive on Saturday 2nd May 2009 and depart on Sunday 17th May 2009 with playing dates proposed from Monday 4th May 2009 - Saturday 16th May 2009 depending on the final number of entries.
Zurich Insurance Africa (formerly SA Eagle) will sponsor the event.

African States
The African States tournament in 2009, a qualifier for the 2012 World Championships, was intended to be held in Kenya but it was unlikely to be held there in view of the current unrest.
The CE advised that he had received correspondence from the Zimbabwe Bowling Association asking if tobacco sponsorship was acceptable. It was agreed to advise Zimbabwe that it would be left to them to decide on the offer of sponsorship.
In response to an enquiry from Zimbabwe Bowling Association regarding financial assistance toward running a tournament, the Board re-confirmed that they were unable to supply any financial support.

2009 Asia/Pacific Championships - Malaysia.
The CE advised that he had received a communication from the Malaysian LBF that the Asia Pacific Championships would take place from 19th August 2009 - 30th August 2009. As a consequence, the SBA had been written to advising them that the dates for the 2009 Champion of Champions would have to avoid the Asia Pacific Championship dates. As the Asia Pacific games were a qualifier for the World Championships 2012, it was felt that World Bowls had to be involved in the running of the event.

2008 Sport for All-Trex Games - Busan, Korea
The President provided the Board with an update on the meetings he had held with the Korean delegates following on their presentation at the Biennial meeting. Essentially the first matter to be resolved with was that Korea had to send a formal invitation to World Bowls, and a picture of the green facilities was required, as it was not certain the green was up to an approved standard. The idea was that two players from each continent would participate. It was suggested an allocation of countries as follows:-
USA/Canada
Malaysia/Hong Kong/China/Philippines/Korea
South Africa/Botswana
Fiji/Australia
England After a discussion it was agreed that, initially, the green had to be inspected before any further action was taken. It was decided to ask Vincent Cheung from Hong Kong to visit Korea and report accordingly. If the green was not up to standard then the games could not proceed.

Arafura Games - Correspondence from Bowls Australia.
For a number of years the Northern Territories in Australia had conducted an annual event called the Arafura Games. The Board gave approval to Bowls Australia to become involved in the running of the Arafura Games in order to have a degree of control over the event. The games had been played for several years but never seemed to be under any authority's control and conditions of play were never published. It was similar to an open competition and Bowls Australia wished to become involved to encourage bowling. The event would be promoted internationally in the future under the badge of Bowls Australia, and the games included on their event calendar. The Australian States were encouraged to endorse an under 25 men's and women's team and to provide an amount of expertise to the organisers. Bowls Australia were simply seeking an endorsement from World Bowls to become involved in the event..
The Board agreed.

The CE advised that Malaysia had produced their 2008 sports calendar with the Asia Pacific Indoor Championships now taking place from 8th August 2008 - 13th August 2008 - originally the dates clashed with the World Bowls Champion of Champions.

The dates for the World Cup to be played at Warilla Bowls Club (indoor) in 2009 were confirmed as 24th March 2009 - 3rd April 2009 and had been confirmed with Bowls Australia.

The World Team Cup for 2008, organised by Bowls Australia, had been shelved.

Development Committee Report.
Once all the information was to hand and other members of the development committee consulted an action plan would be drawn up by the end of March 2008 for the remainder of 2008. This will then be forwarded to the Board members. At the September 2008 meeting they will develop further their action plan.
Unregistered players throughout the world were a problem and it was hoped in the development programme to come up with a definition of what a bowler was in order to increase the membership numbers.
A draft budget was to be prepared with the setting aside of £6k for CMSB, £1k for Laws, leaving £2k for marketing and media. £5k was allocated for India as it was uncertain what would happen in India with technical officials, umpires etc. £22k was then left for general development. Coaching was mentioned as an area requiring funding and the names of the coaching committee relayed to the Board.
Korea was regarded as a development issue and incorporated into the budget would be an amount for the promotion of the sport, including hardcourt bowls. £10k would be allocated for the attendance at events.

World Indoor Bowls Council/WBT/PBA
The CE confirmed that there had been no contact with the WIBC, WBT or PBA. As the dates were known for the 2012 World Championships, it was agreed as a matter of courtesy to advise Nigel Oldfield, CEO of the WBT, of the dates.

CMSB
Copies of the minutes from the CMSB Steering Committee and the CMSB General Assembly meetings had been issued to Board members prior to the meeting. One of the CMSB proposals was to issue a newsletter, "Univers Boules" to each of the four members and copies were available for the Board. There appeared to be a fresh impetus from the new President of CMSB to the benefit of World Bowls.
There was an effort on their part to promote bowls in the events in which they participated and it was only a matter of time when World Bowls would have to provide a facility for them to demonstrate one of their sports at a World Bowls event. The Board were advised there was a petanque court at Northfield where the 2009 Champion of Champions was to take place.
It was also agreed that lawn bowls would be a demonstration sport in the World Games in Taiwan in 2009 and CMSB were keen to have bowls promoted in China and they are to come back to World Bowls with a suitable venue.

International Bowls for the Disabled
The President reported that he and the CE had a meeting on 31st December 2007 in Johannesburg with the new IBD President Brian Sneag to discuss their position. It was confirmed that no correspondence had been received from Bob Tinker in response to World Bowl's previous correspondence but World Bowls now had received copies of their Articles of Association and certificates of incorporation following the above meeting.. As World Bowls had been waiting on these documents prior to recognising the IBD and they were now to hand, it was agreed by the Board to list them as a recognised Association, subject to receipt of evidence that they are signed up to the anti doping Regulations.

Review of Strategic Plan.
Copies of the Strategic Plan were made available to the Board and the following comments/alterations/additions agreed:-
England would now be shown as a unified association.
France had to be included under the heading "Associate Member National Authorities".
The Solomon Islands are to be written to regarding payment of fees and if no payment is received by return they would be removed from the list of Member National Authorities.
IBD will be added to the list of Recognised Associations once the anti doping policies were known.
The PBA were now a Recognised Association.
At item 5.4.2 of the plan, the 2007 entry for the education programme for umpires had now been introduced and this would be recorded accordingly.

Any other Business
After a short discussion it was agreed by the Board that if Board members were chosen to play in International events or play a Management role in an International team for their country there was no problem in this providing the event was not a World Bowls event or Commonwealth Games.

The appointment of Dr Colin Reid was re-confirmed and he would be approached to ascertain if the level of fees payable was acceptable.

John McArdle raised the subject of non unified bodies but it was thought that there was little World Bowls could do other than encourage Associations to unify and provide any help that was required.

Expressions of interest in hosting the 2016 World Championships were to be sought in the near future.

It was agreed to look at the regulations to include penalties for infractions and misconduct on the green where there was no Law in place. The President raised the thorny issue of membership numbers and that throughout the world it was known that there was a considerable number of players who did not pay anything to play and he outlined the successful arrangements that existed in South Africa. Primarily it was thought that it was down to Nationals Authorities to ensure their playing numbers were properly recorded and that 28p per member was remitted to World Bowls.

A definition was required of what constitutes a paying bowler.

Roger Black
Minute Secretary
21st February 2008

WORLD BOWLS UMPIRING & MARKING SKILLS DVD

World Bowls has prepared a DVD video on umpiring and marking skills. The DVD has now been issued to every Governing Body throughout the world and is available for purchase. Enquiries on costs etc should be directed in the first instance to your National Governing Body. This will be a valuable asset not only to any aspiring umpire but also to the "ordinary grass roots bowler". The running time of the DVD is 42 minutes.

Minutes of the Biennial Council Meeting of World Bowls held at the Copthorne Hotel, Christchurch, New Zealand on 24th January 2008

In attendance:
Betty Collins OAM (President), John McArdle (Deputy President), Eleanor Allan, Margaret Fettes, Kerry Clark OBE, (Directors) Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary), Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

35 Delegates from 25 National Authorities and a further 5 National Authorities were represented by proxy.

The President welcomed all in attendance remarking that it was gratifying to see so many countries represented at the meeting. A number of additional National Authority observers were in attendance.

The acceptance of apologies was taken as read and moved by Bowls New Zealand, seconded by Bowls Guernsey.

Minutes of Previous Council Meetings
The minutes of the Annual Council Meeting and Biennial Council Meeting held in Melbourne on 25th March 2006 and the minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held at Ayr, Scotland on 12th July 2007 were moved as a correct record of proceedings by the Scottish Bowling Association, seconded by the Fiji Bowling Association and were unanimously adopted by a show of hands.

Matters Arising
Betty Collins referred to the minutes in which Kerry Clark OBE, Chief Executive Bowls New Zealand had provided a report on the progress for the arrangements for the 2008 World Championships. The event was now in progress and all that had been said had now come to fruition, promises met and that Championships had been a great success.

President's and Committee Reports
Betty Collins then referred to the various reports that had been circulated in advance to all National Authorities, hoping that they had all been read by the attending delegates. Whilst not wishing to go over the detail to the meeting, she referred to her own President's report and read the last paragraph to the meeting which she felt was important:-
"I wish to express my thanks and appreciation of the support given by all Directors, the Chief Executive, Gary Smith and office assistant Roger Black during this term. Each Director is dedicated to the advancement of the sport, generously giving their expertise and time in a voluntary capacity to create a governing organisation of the highest order. Chief Executive, Gary Smith, is meticulous in his work for World Bowls and, with the assistance of Roger Black, business at headquarters is conducted most ably and is greatly valued. World Bowls is privileged to have a team of Directors and staff who work well together for the advancement of the sport of bowls".
The Events Committee Report was then referred to. World Bowls continues to organise a World Cup, World Junior Cup and World Champion of Champions all of which were well received. World Bowls would like to see more entries in the World Junior Cup being staged on outdoor on grass greens in 2008. It was hoped that this would appeal to more Nations as it is a requirement under the terms of membership of the CMSB and IOC that junior events were organised. Kerry Clark OBE was asked to speak to his report on the Laws and Constitution Committee report, paying tribute initially to the work of Doug Corben, Chief Umpire at Melbourne in 2006, who had passed away recently following on a short illness. His contribution had been considerable. The Committee had been working for the past four years and had produced the crystal mark edition of the Laws of the Sport in the first two years which are now being used universally throughout the world. The second project had been the development of a training programme for umpires throughout the world and he was happy to report that a DVD had now been produced on umpiring and marking skills which was now available. It was regarded as a universal programme for umpiring and marking. The launch was also imminent of a comprehensive international education programme for umpires, which would include the training and examination process for all umpires. Umpires would be trained and accredited in accordance with a World Bowls approved process. The approval of the Board would be sought next week and thereafter the documentation would be available for all countries to use on the World Bowls web site.

The Development Committee report was then referred to briefly with the President advising the delegates that the Chairman of this Committee, Ivan Kantor (Israel) had resigned from the Board due to pressure of business.

Chief Executive's Report
Gary Smith then spoke briefly on his Chief Executive's report and advised the meeting that within the last few days he had learned that sportscotland based in Edinburgh and where the offices of World Bowls are located had indicated a merger with the Scottish Sports Institute and that this would entail a move to new offices based in the east end of Glasgow. Although World Bowls is fortunate to receive rent free accommodation within Sportscotland at present, this is not guaranteed in the future.
The CE also reminded the delegates of the World Anti-Doping Regulations and the requirement for elite athletes to apply for TUE's where appropriate. It was also important to ensure that the TUE was renewed as appropriate.
As there were no questions on any of the reports they were accepted on the proposal of Bowls England, seconded by Bowls Australia.

Resolution to amend the Laws of the Sport of Bowls
Amendment to Law 15.2
The President then referred to the notice of motion to amend Law 15.2 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls and the proposal read as follows:-
15.2 Tie-breaker
1 If the game is tied after the two sets have been completed (each player or team having won one set or both sets having been drawn), a tie-breaker consisting of three ends should be played to decide the winner.
2 The winner of the tie-breaker will be the player or team with the highest number of shots when the third end is completed.
3 There should be no further play in the tie-breaker if, at any point, it becomes impossible for one player or team to draw or win the tie-breaker, given the number of ends left.
4 If the shot scores are tied after the third end of the tie-breaker, the players or teams should play a fourth tie-breaker end to decide the winner.
5 If the fourth end of a tie-breaker is a tied end, the players or teams will play more tie-breaker ends until a winner is found.

The reason for the proposal emanated from a debrief session held during the World Bowls Biennial meeting at Melbourne in 2006, it was recommended by those present that the tie breaker law for sets be amended to allow all shots scored on tie breaker ends to be counted.
World Bowls subsequently made this recommendation to The Commonwealth Games Federation who subsequently accepted it to apply in 2010.
Permission was granted by the Board of World Bowls in March 2007 for Member Countries to experiment with the change.
Bowls New Zealand moved that the motion should be adopted, seconded by Zambia. Bowls Australia moved that the proposal be voted on by a show of hands, seconded by Bowls South Africa, and on a show of hands the motion was well carried.

World Championships 2012 - format and qualification.
The Chief Executive Bowls Australia, was introduced to the delegates. He provided a short promotional film on DVD to the delegates, following on which he stated that Bowls Australia was very pleased to be hosting the 2012 World Championships in Adelaide. Partners in the event included were Bowls South Australia and, Events South Australia an Australian Government Body. He then referred to the format of the event of which he was aware there had been some discussion. He advised the delegates that over the past twelve months Bowls Australia had made presentations at the Atlantic Championships, (Annual Council Meeting), African States Tournament and the Asia Pacific Championships and that they had sent out a copy of their discussion paper to all National Authorities, copies of which were available to delegates who may not have seen the paper before. They had at the time requested feedback on the content of the discussion paper and had only received positive feedback to date.
He explained to the meeting the background to having sets play in that from a financial perspective it was the main driver, as the television authorities/broadcasters were a tool to advertise bowls and to raise the profile of the sport in Australia and the vehicle whereby the game was advertised in an effort to attract new bowlers to the sport. Membership throughout the world was in decline and specifically in Australia, the numbers had gone down from 350,000 ten years ago to less than 250,000 at present. Bowls Australia are not going to impose a levy on their members and they are being supported by Events South Australia, but this support is based on commercial activities and television. The bottom line is that if there is no television, Events South Australia will not support the event and therefore the event will not take place in Australia. Television is needed to run the event and sets play is the only format for play as it is the only format that ABC television will show. He was looking for the support of all countries for the event.
The President of World Bowls confirmed that World Bowls endorsed the format of sets play and asked for comments on the presentation.
The Chief Executive Bowls England responded by stating Bowls England had a number of reservations on sets play for the whole event. He stated that contained within the document is a section on player welfare which states that if a player is good enough they will win regardless of the format. He did not agree with this and thought the statement made was naïve. He was convinced that sets play did not give the best player in a game an opportunity to win. In some aspects they accepted sets play as it did advertise the game - it gets television particularly indoor. Sets play in his view should be restricted to singles play. The Board of Bowls England was opposed to sets play across the board and Bowls England would only be prepared to consider sets play in singles and perhaps pairs but not for triples and fours. It was noted by his Board that a question had been asked of the Commonwealth Games Federation for their opinion on sets play and he hoped that a decision had not yet been made .He also wished to know who would make the decision on the format of play for the World Championships in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 and when. The President confirmed that the CGF had already indicated they wanted the bowls competition to be played in sets. The World Bowls Events Director added that in the CG sets were in place for 2010 - singles, three bowl pairs, and two bowl triples and that tie breakers will be decided on shots rather than single shots at each end. As far as World Bowls are concerned the format for the World Championships in 2012 will be sets. The Welsh delegate spoke to agree with Bowls England's views and that he was prepared to compromise with sets in singles and pairs only. Sets in triples and fours were not acceptable. All qualifying events will be played in a similar format. The Scottish Bowling Association (SBA) President agreed with Bowls England in that sets should only be played in singles and pairs with triples and fours being played over 18 ends. The Irish delegate and Bowls Canada also concurred with the previous speakers. The SBA asked if the games would be shown live on television throughout the world or restricted to Australia but the response from Bowls Australia was that this would be down to on-selling and was still to be negotiated. There are no guarantees at this moment in time.
The Welsh delegate felt the decision on sets play seemed to have already been made and wondered why the delegates were present even discussing the matter. He thought the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the format for 2012. The President responded that the decision was made on the recommendation of Bowls Australia and by World Bowls, the governing body, which is authorised to make the decision. Bowls England thought that the member National Authorities had the power to ask the Board to reverse their decision otherwise there was no point in attending the meeting. Bowls Australia contributed by advising the members that from a Bowls Australia perspective, if the format was changed, the event would be placed in doubt. They would need to go back to negotiate with their backers and reminded the members that in the past twelve months there had been no feedback until today. Namibia wondered what the alternative was and if Australia did not host the event, then what country would as there had been only one bid. In response to a question from Bowls Guernsey as to when the decision was actually made it was confirmed that the decision was made in January 2007 prior to a presentation at the Asia Pacific Championships and indicated to the member National Authorities following on a Board meeting in February 2007. Kerry Clark reminded the delegates that the Board also had a responsibility to ensure that World Championships took place every four years and faced with only one bid with conditions as to the format, there had been very little alternative but to accept the offer made.
In conclusion, President Betty Collins, having allowed the objections to sets play to be aired from the four UK countries, confirmed that the decision had been taken in the best interests of bowling and to safeguard the World Championships. There were many people who believed that sets play is the way to advance and promote the sport. Additionally Betty Collins stressed that World Bowls did not dictate to the CGF to play bowls in sets play, but the other way round. If this had not been agreed, bowls was likely to be removed as a core sport in the Commonwealth Games.

NOTE Subsequent to the Biennial Council Meeting on 24th January 2008 and following on the Board Meeting on 29th January 2008 further discussions are being arranged with Bowls Australia on the formats for the World Championships 2012

Declaration of the Results of the Election of World Bowls Office
Bearers/Directors
The Chief Executive confirmed the results of the elections as follows:- John McArdle (South Africa) was elected as the new President of World Bowls.
The Deputy President from Canada - Margaret Fettes.
Director (male) for the next four years - Kerry Clark OBE (New Zealand).
As previously announced, Director Ivan Kantor (Israel) had resigned from the Board.
Barry Fleming (Wales) was elected to replace Ivan Kantor for the remainder of Ivan Kantor's term of office - through to 2010.
Eleanor Allan (Scotland) remains a Director until 2010.
Stephanie Chung (Hong Kong China) was elected for a period of four years.
Prior to demitting office Betty Collins addressed the meeting saying it had been a privilege to be President of World Bowls and thanked all member nations and Bowls Australia for the courtesies and kindnesses that had been extended to her. When World Bowls started in 2001 there were 36 countries registered as members, now there are 47 and although the numbers are not increasing, the number of countries playing the sport are. All bowlers throughout the world, regardless of where they came from are equal in her eyes. She thanked the Board and the CE for their support over the years and congratulated John McArdle on his appointment.
President John McArdle addressed the meeting, stating that it was also a great honour for his Country, South Africa. He then presented badges of office to the Deputy President and the new Directors. The meeting agreed the President's request to allow Betty Collins to continue to host and be involved in the World Championships until its closure on Sunday evening 27th January 2008.

Life Membership - Betty Collins OAM.
The Board had no hesitation in recommending life membership for Betty Collins OAM and this was agreed unanimously by the meeting.
President John McArdle then presented a small gift on behalf of the members in recognition of all her services, friendship and leadership in the past. Betty replied in suitable terms

Any other Business
A presentation was then made to the meeting by delegates from Korea, Mr Cho and Hong, Secretary General of 4th Busan TAFISA World Bowls for Sports. There would be a follow up meeting with both gentlemen with a view to having a competitive bowls competition in the September/October 2008 games.
The Secretary of Korea L.B.A., Jimn Lim thanked the Board and delegates for affording the delegation from Korea the time to make their presentation on the Busan games.

The President, Bowls Australia, advised the meeting that he had invited Betty Collins to join the organising committee for the World Championships in 2012.

In response to a question from the Secretary, Welsh Bowling Association, Eleanor Allan advised the delegates that the qualifying events for the 2012 Championships would be held in 2009. The Atlantic Championships would be held in Johannesburg , South Africa, the Asia Pacific Games in Malaysia and the African States at a venue yet to be decided. Countries who decline to participate in the qualifying events and who have not qualified automatically are removed from entry to the World Championships 2012.

In response to a question from Bowls Guernsey for an update on developments with the WIBC, the CE advised there had been no further contact by the WIBC with World Bowls.

The delegate from Canada was informed by the CE that the marking and umpiring DVD that had been supplied to all member National Authorities retailed at £10 plus postage and package.

The Samoa delegate addressed the meeting and advised that his Country had bid to hold the World Champion of Champions in either 2010 or 2011 and was advised that this would be considered at the Board meeting to take place the following week.

The President thanked all in attendance for their contribution and the meeting closed at 2010 hours

Roger Black
Minute Secretary
24th January 2008

WORLD BOWLS SINGLES RANKING LIST

Following on the recent World Championships, the World Bowls Singles Ranking List has been updated and can be found by clicking on "Ranking List" in the left hand side.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on 10/11 July 2007 at the Ramada Hotel, Ayr, Scotland

In attendance:
Betty Collins OAM (President & Chairman), John McArdle (Deputy President), Eleanor Allan, Margaret Fettes, Ivan Kantor, Kerry Clark OBE (Directors) Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary) and Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

The President welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Register of Interests
Betty Collins OAM-Vice President/Council Member-C.M.S.B.
John McArdle - None Eleanor Allan - Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes-Chief Umpire Bowls Canada
Ivan Kantor-None
Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Edinburgh on 22nd/23rd February 2007 were accepted and agreed unanimously.

President's Report
President Betty Collins thanked Deputy President John McArdle for deputising for her by attending the Lion City International Youth Lawn Bowls Championships hosted by Singapore in April 2007 and for deputising for the President at the World Junior Cup in Hong Kong. The Deputy President provided a full written report to the Board on the Lion City Cup in which he commented on the high standard of the organisation, the sponsorship provided by the Lion City Hotel and the hospitality and friendships made amongst the participants. Director Margaret Fettes also provided a written report on her attendance, by invitation, to the US/Canada North America Challenge event held in Sun City, Arizona. The opportunity also was taken at a closing banquet to advise the attendees of the role of World Bowls which was received with interest by many who were unaware of the various functions of World Bowls. The advantages of the total registration of all bowlers and complete affiliation of playing members were raised and discussed.

Chief Executive's Report
The CEO provided a full and comprehensive report on a variety of matters as follows:- .
Board Nominations All the relevant documentation had been issued to National Authorities for nominations to the Board in accordance with the constitution and dates for submissions. Replies had to be returned by 25th August 2007. It was decided that the closing date for voting returns would be 20th November 2007.

Applications for Membership:- Perigord LBC, France
The application for Associate Membership from Perigord LBC in France was accepted subject to minor adjustments/changes/additions in their constitution

Macao
The application by Macao was formally approved.

Manufacturers and Testers
The CEO reminded the Board that at the last Board meeting a decision had been made to ask Countries for their domestic regulations relating to the stamping of bowls. The returns from countries on their domestic regulations had been very poor. In events such as World Championships and Commonwealth Games there was no argument against testing. Standards had to be set and maintained and as long as there was a provision for stamping of bowls then it was essential the laws were complied with. At present most of the events organised at World Bowls level took place at locations that had bowls testing facilities.
Dr Ron Barron attended the meeting and furnished a report to the Board on his activities and findings over the past six months.

Artificial Surfaces
A report was furnished by the CEO to the Board advising that a revised edition of the World Bowls publication "Performance Standard for Artificial Green Bowling Surfaces" was almost finalised and that the endorsement scheme remained relatively buoyant. It was confirmed the endorsement side covered the recommendations for the sub-structure of artificial surfaces.

WADA Regulations - Dr Reid
It was encouraging to record the positive action taken by the incoming President of CMSB, Romolo Rizzoli in relation to issues such as alcohol With regard to TUE applications, there had been 25 applications for TUE's which had been referred to Dr C Reid and it was encouraging to note that National Authorities had been alert to TUE issues and seemed to carry out their responsibilities in this area. TUE system Three Doctors had to be involved in the process of issuing TUE's, Dr Reid had, through his many contacts, engaged the services of his own colleagues to counter sign applications for TUE's. The relevant application forms were downloadable from the web site which also had links to WADA, were sent to the offices of World Bowls, registered and then forwarded to Dr Reid for consideration. All the names of the elite athletes from the 8 nominated countries were now to hand. In relation to testing at future World Bowls events, it was thought appropriate to test the finalists in all events plus 2 random tests.

CSMB
The appointment of new officials within CMSB had been an encouraging sign and already steps had been taken by CMSB at the request of World Bowls to have alcohol removed from the prohibited list of banned substances.

Developments in Rome and Denmark
Enquiries had been made of the progress of the complex in Rome which was possibly to include an indoor bowling green but the information was that the complex was being delayed. The situation in Denmark was fully covered in the CEO's written report to the Board following on his visit to a new indoor facility in Copenhagen and a report had been received from Richard White of Dales to the effect that the short carpet mats that he had supplied were being well utilised. It was encouraging to record that two further facilities are being considered for the Copenhagen area and that there was interest in establishing an outdoor artificial green in another part of Denmark.

WIBC
The WIBC web site continues to have a link page indicating countries that are no longer members of the WIBC and the CEO had written to David Phillips, Secretary, asking that they review the entries on their site.

IBD/IBBA
Nothing further had been heard from IBD or IBBA and it remained the policy of World Bowls to recognise only one umbrella organisation for all disabled bowlers but the policy would be kept under review.

Web Site
The web site continued to be regularly visited and the number of hits were recorded as follows:-
January 2007 139974
February 2007 116518
March 2007 115963
April 2007 186348
May 2007 240900
June 2007 123577
Such information should be of value in the continued search for media cover, advertising, sponsorship opportunities etc.

It was agreed to place the details of the life members on the web site.

Finance Committee Report
The Finance Director referred to her written report and that overall she was very happy with the state of World Bowls finances. The lack of performance from 110sport management was a huge disappointment.

Laws and Constitution Committee Report
Constitutional Amendments Proposals
The Board approved the amendments and updating of Regulation 8 relating to the Laws of the Sport. It was agreed that a total restructuring of the Articles 19 and 20 was required in the future. Umpires Accreditation The Constitution & Laws Director had circulated his lengthy and detailed reports to the Board. He reported that excellent progress was being made on the umpire's project of establishing uniformity on umpire accreditation and the material for the training of umpires. The stage had already been reached on the examination process that had now been finalised and agreed. Later in the year it was hoped that the process required to become an umpire would be standard throughout the world. The Board had already been furnished with the various papers that had been prepared by his sub committee. It was hoped the project would be finalised by the end of 2007. In conclusion, it was agreed that Kerry Clark would prepare a paper for the Board's consideration and input on the methodology and costs of the project. The Board were impressed with the work undertaken to date and wished to record its thanks to all those involved in the preparation of the relevant documents. They also signed off the documentation relating to measuring procedures and the Laws of the Sport examination document

Sport Accord
Kerry Clark thanked the Board for the opportunity provided to attend Sport Accord in Beijing which was to primarily meet with officials from India and CGF regarding the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. He was of the view that World Bowls should maintain a presence at this conference which he found to be most illuminating, challenging and educational. Additionally he felt that World Bowls should attempt to become members of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) within our own right and not through being members of CMSB. One of the many attractions of membership was the opportunity to learn of countries willing to host events and the expertise that was available within to assist in the running and organisation of such events.

Delhi 2010
It was confirmed that the greens would be synthetic and of the highest quality.

World Bowls 2008
Kerry Clark referred to the World Bowls web site that contained all the latest information on the World Championships together with the issue of newsletters to the participating countries keeping them up to date with the latest information. He was aware that all countries had been written to by World Bowls seeking their assurance of attendance in New Zealand. Confirmation had now been received from almost all countries and steps were being taken to chase up those that had not responded. Zimbabwe women had withdrawn and their place accepted by Namibia. There was considerable discussion on the criteria to be used to offer a place to another country as it was known that some countries were more than willing to participate, even at short notice. The Board agreed that the last World Championships results (men and/or women) would be consulted in the event of having to invite a country to play in New Zealand.
Accreditation issues as reported in the last minutes were clarified as follows:-
Accreditation is for the Manager and Coach of each side of five men and/or five women (maximum of two accreditations for the men's side and two for the women's side). This accreditation is not transferable. The accredited manager and coach will be permitted access to the rink side during play and therefore access to their players. This accreditation includes lunches at the venues on playing days and transport to and from venues from official accommodation. It also allows free transfer on the shuttle service between venues. In addition to the above, the President and the CEO (or equivalent) and their partners of each of the competing nations will be offered accreditation. This accreditation will not be transferable. It will entitle the holder to a season admission pass to all venues, and invitations to main tournament events such as the Welcome Cocktail function and the Final Farewell function. Transport to Burnside will be provided daily to those staying at the HQ hotel - Copthorne Hotel Commodore, 449 Memorial Avenue. The accreditation tag will allow free transfer on the shuttle service between venues. This accreditation will not entitle the holder to lunches at the venues. Meals will be available for purchase at each venue. It will not allow access to players at rink side.

Development Committee Report
Ivan Kantor reported on several issues contained in his comprehensive written report to the Board on what was happening throughout the world under the heading "Development" Contained within the report was a reference to the visit to Scotland in 2006 by a group from the UAE who had expressed an interest in learning about the sport of bowls.

Top Team
Further consideration was required on the future of the concept of Team World Bowls and their role in development. Coaching Coaching was considered as an extremely important part of development and various National Authorities have made approaches for assistance in coaching. There was a demand throughout the world for assistance and it was thought it could be appropriate to nominate someone to take control and develop this in a similar fashion as to the procedures and function of the Laws Committee re the international umpiring accreditation standards.

High Performance Coaching - offer of assistance
A paper had been received from Bowls Australia and Bowls New Zealand outlining their views based on the need to continue to improve the development of athletes and coaches in the developing countries in the Asia Pacific following proven high performance principles already employed in the Southern Hemisphere. Areas such as India and China were crying out for coaching to develop the sport, the former more so because of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. There was no doubt that World Bowls should be the front runner in providing coaches to develop the potential that existed in these countries. Japan was another area that could benefit from coaching although it was recognised there was a language problem to overcome. Korea was another eastern area that would be ripe for development but probably only if both China and Japan were seen to be making forward strides. Underlying both papers was the need for considerable funding, much of which may need to come from the countries themselves. A memo from Bowls South Africa requesting World Bowls to establish international standards for coaching along the same principles as are being established for umpiring had been received and was receiving attention.

Samoa Assistance
Kerry Clark advised that a greenkeeper from New Zealand had visited Samoa, at World Bowls expense, to assist in their greens development. This was to prepare the greens in readiness for the South Pacific Games after problems were encountered due to prolonged inclement weather.

Events & Competitions Committee Report
Eleanor Allan prepared a full report on events which had been circulated to the Board in advance of the meeting

Commonwealth Games 2010 - India
There was little to report other than what was already recorded in earlier minutes.

Commonwealth Games 2014 bids
There was a brief discussion on the bids that had been made to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, namely Abuja in Nigeria and Glasgow in Scotland. The outcome of the bids would be known in November 2007.

Champion of Champions 2007
It was with some relief that Warilla Bowls Club had agreed to host the 2007 Champion of Champions at relatively short notice due to a change in venue being brought about due to the political situation in Fiji, where the event was originally scheduled to take place. The latest indications were that there had been 26 entries from men, 22 from women. It was pleasing to report that Norfolk Island had also offered to step in at short notice to host the event.

Champion of Champions Scotland 2008 and 2009
There is very good support being given by the Aberdeen City Council and it is expected that they would provide a farewell dinner as well as a reception for all players and officials. A further meeting was due to be held with all parties in September 2007. The event was scheduled to take place from 30th August 2008 - 6th September 2008. In 2009 the venue would be the Northfield Bowling Complex in Ayr and would be supported by South Ayrshire Council. The Championships would coincide with bi-centenary celebrations in Ayrshire for Robert Burns.

World Cup 2007 and 2008
It was reported that the Warilla Bowls Club had once again provided an outstanding service and facility for the 2007 World Cup. The format was altered from previous years to two sections instead of four which was appreciated by the participating players but this meant the World Junior Cup had to be held in Hong Kong due to green/time constraints. Television covered the semi-finals and final which has already been shown on Australian TV. The venue for 2008 would again be Warilla Bowls Club. World Junior Cup 2007 and 2008 The event had just taken place in Hong Kong as Warilla Bowls Club had been unable to host the event along with the World Cup. The 2008 event would take place at the indoor facility at Bainfield Bowling Club in Edinburgh from 26th April 2008 - 3rd May 2008. In 2009 efforts would be made to have the Junior World Cup played outdoor at Warilla Bowls Club. It was also thought that there could be a better entry for the Junior Cup if it was outdoors and played along side the indoor World Cup.

World Team Cup 2007 and 2008
Although this was not a World Bowls event, World Bowls nevertheless endorsed the event. It was agreed that the title had caused confusion throughout the bowling world and that re-naming it would be helpful to World Bowls to remove doubt as to who were the organising body.

Atlantic Championships 2007 and future hosting
The Board were advised that the running of the Atlantic Championships by the SWBA was "difficult" mainly due to the lack of sponsorship. Late withdrawals by the Isle of Man (men and women) and Namibia (men) did not help as the draw for the order of play had already been made. Sponsorship "in kind" was being provided by South Ayrshire Council but the SWBA were doing everything they could to ensure a successful event. Additionally the women bowlers in Scotland had contributed financially to the costs of the games. The next Atlantic Championships would be used as a qualifier for the 2012 World Championships.

African States Tournament 2007
Seven countries are due to participate in this event in Namibia in September.

Update on 2008 World Championships.
Although covered earlier in the minutes, all the up to date information was now contained on their web sites and that information on ticket sales was now available from the Bowls Events Office or from Bowls New Zealand at www.bowlsnz.co.nz In response to a question from the CEO, it was confirmed that there cannot be any branding on team clothing which conflicted with the tournament's major sponsors. However it was open to countries to contact Bowls New Zealand to discuss and resolve any problems that may arise.

2009 European Team Championships
The next European Team Championships are to take place in Cyprus from 22nd February 2009 - 1st March 2009.

2012 World Championships
Bowls Australia had now produced a document for general circulation on the format for the 2012 World Championships and World Bowls supported and endorsed the proposals. Ultimately World Bowls would have to make the decision on the format of play. The view is that the format being put forward is regarded as the only way forward for the sport. The Board were also aware that a major factor is that Bowls Australia is the only country to offer to host the Championships in 2012 and the economics of the event are such that Bowls Australia need to have this format for television and other sponsorship opportunities.

Marketing, Media & Sponsorship
A Marketing Report prepared for the Board confirmed that the contract with 110sport Management had been terminated with immediate effect. There are officials throughout the world who have contacts that may realise potential sponsorship. Areas such as Hong Kong, Australia and the UK are thought to be ripe to investigate.

Merchandise
It was agreed to continue with the investigation of the potential in merchandising for items such as shirts, caps etc at world events.

Any other Business
The Board were advised that Recognised Associations such as the African Zone V1, BIBC, EBU, Asian Lawn Bowls Federation and PBA are now receiving, for information, copies of minutes etc.

Roger Black
11th July 2007

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING AND SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 24th JULY 2007 IN THE RAMADA HOTEL, AYR, SCOTLAND

In attendance: Betty Collins OAM (President) John McArdle (Deputy President) Eleanor Allan, Margaret Fettes, Kerry Clark OBE, Ivan Kantor (Directors) Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary) and Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

22 Delegates from 14 National Authorities attended and a further 10 National Authorities were represented by proxy. A number of additional National Authority observers were also in attendance.

The President welcomed all in attendance and asked the delegates present to be upstanding for a few moments of silence in remembrance of Mrs Dora Crudge, (Scotland) Past President of the International Women's Bowling Board who had passed away earlier in the year.

Apologies for absence had been received in advance by the Chief Executive from Honorary Life Member Mrs Nancy Colling OBE and further apologies were received on behalf of Tony Allcock MBE, (Chief Executive, English Bowling Association), Pauline Biddlecombe (Chief Executive, English Women's Bowling Association), Cyril Renouf (President Bowls Guernsey) and Jean Fleming (Secretary Irish Bowling Association).

Annual Council Meeting

The resolution to approve the audited financial accounts of World Bowls for the financial year ended 31 December 2006 was moved for adoption by The Scottish Bowling Association, seconded by Bowls Guernsey.

The financial accounts were duly approved unanimously by a show of hands.

The resolution to re-appoint Westmore Brennand Chartered Accountants as Auditors was moved by the Lawn Bowls Association of Israel and seconded by Bowls Guernsey and was carried unanimously by a show of hands.

The President declared the Annual Council Meeting duly closed.

Special Council Meeting
President Betty Collins then opened the Special Council Meeting by introducing World Bowls Directors advising that each would be asked to speak briefly on their portfolios at a later stage in the meeting.
The Special Council meeting was called to consider the following Resolutions to amend the Articles of Association of World Bowls.

Resolution 1
Article 20. Election of Directors
Article 20.5 - after the word shall in the first line add the following words "subject to Articles 20.6 and 20.6A" so that Article 20.5 now reads as follows -
After the close of the ballot, the Returning Officer shall subject to Articles 20.6 and 20.6A count the valid votes for the candidates and declare to the Board the result of the election for each office in order, commencing with the most senior. For the Ordinary Directors, the 2 candidates of each gender with the highest number of votes shall be elected.

Following Article 20.6 add the following sub-article
20.6A (1) Where a candidate nominates for 2 or more offices Member National Authorities shall vote for the election of a person to such offices on a preferential basis.
(2) Preferences shall be expressed on the ballot paper numerically with the Number 1 being the highest preference.
(3) In the case of a candidate's candidature being disregarded by the operation of Article 20.6 the votes for such other offices for which the candidate has nominated shall be recounted by the Returning Officer and each Member National Authority shall be deemed to have cast a vote for the person who is next highest preference if any.

The resolution was approved by Bowls Australia and seconded by Bowls South Africa and with no country against the motion, it was consequently passed.

Resolution 2

Article 21. Terms of Office

Article 21.1 -amend to read as follows -

The President and Deputy President shall be elected for a period of 4 years, but shall be entitled to stand for re-election.
Bowls South Africa moved the resolution, seconded by The Netherlands.

The Scottish Bowling Association (SBA) had submitted an amendment to the resolution which read "The President and Deputy President shall be elected for a period of 4 years but the Deputy President shall be entitled to stand as President after his/her term has expired".
The amendment was moved by the SBA, seconded by Bowls Portugal.
The SBA spoke in favour of the amendment on the basis that they felt that after 4 years as President, a very important role, the position should be relinquished to allow another person the opportunity of becoming President but that the Deputy President, after 4 years, could serve a further 4 year term as President.
The proposed SBA amendment was then put to the meeting and accepted unanimously. The amended motion was then placed before the meeting and carried unanimously and would be incorporated into the Articles of Association.

The President then declared the Special General meeting closed.

Open forum
Presentation relating to 2012 World Championships President Betty Collins introduced Neil Dalrymple to the meeting advising that he had recently been appointed as Chief Executive of Bowls Australia. The purpose of his attendance was to give a presentation to the members present of the proposed format of play for the 2012 World Championships, which were to be held in Australia, the only National Authority who had offered to host the 2012 Championships. Neil then proceeded to give a detailed PowerPoint presentation as to why the traditional format of play did not lend itself to television coverage, from which flowed opportunities for sponsorship and other associated commercial opportunities. Income generation from these particular avenues and others could lead to a cost neutral event with possibilities of an enhanced financial position allowing World Bowls to invest funds into the development of the sport in developing bowls nations. With the approval of World Bowls, a World Bowls Championships Discussion Paper was issued to all attendees detailing the format for play and the reasons for the proposed changes. It was also to be issued to all other countries in due course by Bowls Australia.
The SBA were of the view that if the World Championships in Australia were not a success then no other country would be willing to come forward to host the games in the future.
Portugal congratulated Bowls Australia on their presentation and confirmed that in their view the only way to run bowls in the future was to regard bowls as a business. President Betty Collins then concluded by reminding the delegates that both the Bowls Australia Chief Executive and the President would be available for a few more days and would be pleased to answer any further questions on the proposals.

The President then introduced the Directors and the Chief Executive to the members and each in turn provided a brief resume of their duties and roles within World Bowls.

The SBA asked about the availability of tickets for the 2008 World Championships and were advised that tickets had now gone on sale to the public and that further information was now contained in the Bowls New Zealand and Events New Zealand websites.

Roger Black
12th July 2007

WADA RELATED MATTERS

World Bowls has now developed a page solely for WADA related issues and this can be accessed by clicking on the left hand navigation bar "TUE Applications" on the opening page.

Application forms for TUE's can be downloaded and the World Bowls Anti Doping Regulations are displayed for information.

3rd June 2007

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on 22/23 February 2007 at the Holiday Inn, Edinburgh, Scotland

In attendance:
Betty Collins OAM (President & Chairman), John McArdle (Deputy President), Eleanor Allan, Margaret Fettes, Ivan Kantor, Kerry Clark OBE (Directors) Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary) and Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

The President welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Register of Interests:-
Betty Collins OAM-Vice President/Council Member-C.M.S.B.
John McArdle - None
Eleanor Allan-Immediate Past President European Bowls Union & Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes-Chief Umpire Bowls Canada
Ivan Kantor-None Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes:-
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Edinburgh on 26th/27th September 2006 were accepted unanimously as a true record of proceedings.

Matters Arising:-
There were no matters arising from the minutes that would not be covered by specific agenda items.

President's Report:-
President Betty Collins OAM wished to record the Board's appreciation to Kim Littlejohn, Australia, and Ashley Light from New Zealand offering to assist in providing coaching services throughout the Pacific area. The report covered the visit the President had made to Fendalton Bowling Club, Christchurch, New Zealand in November 2006 for the Champion of Champions, which had been a great success, and the CMSB AGM. It was reported that the delegation were pleased to support the nomination of S. Romolo Rizzoli from Italy for President of CMSB as this was an enormous boost to the CMSB as the General Assembly of Italian Bowls Clubs had granted finance of €300,000 to support his nomination.
The President had also attended the Asia Pacific Championships held in Christchurch in January 2007 and reported on a successful event which had been an ideal pre-cursor to the World Championships in 2008.
An invitation had been extended to the President to attend the Lion City Cup Youth International Lawn Bowls Championships in Singapore but as the President was unable to attend, the Deputy President would deputise.
A detailed report had also been furnished on a visit that had been made to the Netherlands in December 2006 to the Almere North Club which was a four rink indoor venue but play was restricted to two nights weekly and a Saturday. A visit was also made to the Boots club at Apeldorn where an indoor basketball centre was used but play was very much restricted at this venue and to another club, BCO in Utrecht where again play took place on carpets located in a basketball court. They were trying to advance the sport in very difficult conditions and would appreciate assistance in coaching and raising the standard of umpires within the association. There was little doubt as to the enthusiasm and keenness of all the participants.

Chief Executive's Report:-
With regard to the 2007 affiliation numbers and fees, an update was provided to the Board and it was encouraging to record that, the budgeted figure for registered members of 600,000 had been exceeded and that the final figures were expected to be a little over 600,000, a small decrease on the 2005 figures. All outstanding fees were being followed up with the problems faced by some National Authorities being well known and recorded. The Solomon Islands had not paid for 3 years and had known problems with playing facilities, Korea, Brunei and Cook Islands had paid their fees but their membership returns were awaited, Indonesia and Niue returns were awaited. Problems regarding payments by Zimbabwe were noted. England (men) payments were based on an estimated number (95,000) and then adjusted at a later date and it was hoped that the final figure would not be below the 95,000 quoted.

Applications for Membership:-
Tokelau
Tokelau were still to provide photographs of their facilities despite being reminded to do so, although their funds had been received. It was known that they intended to play in the South Pacific Games and it was agreed that a list of affiliated members should be sent to the SPG organisation. Macao The application by Macao was formally approved. A visit had confirmed the greens were satisfactory following on photographic evidence being submitted.

Affiliation Issues/Disputes:-
Solomon Islands:-
The problems with their playing facility were well documented and it was agreed to let the matter run on in the meantime with the occasional reminder being sent by the CE for an update on the position of the greens.

Niue
Niue continue to present problems regarding playing facilities and photographs were awaited on the current stage of the preparation of their greens. The photographs furnished to date indicated that there was a long way to go before proper greens were established and the latest position was they were about to plant grass. There were difficulties in that there was only a population of 1700 people and the country had been hit by a cyclone.

Portugal
With regard to the situation in Portugal there had been a great deal of correspondence from all involved parties, all of which had been copied to the Board for information. It was felt that there was a genuine effort to progress a resolution of all the difficulties within the Portuguese organisation and Ivan Kantor would be meeting with representatives from the parties from Bowls Portugal when attending the European Team Championships in Cyprus. The ongoing matters were internal disputes and could only be resolved from within. The process by which Bowls Portugal became a Federation was carried out legally and correctly according to Portuguese law. Bowls Portugal was registered with World Bowls and are paid up members and if there are internal problems they should approach their own Sports organisations. In the meantime the CE would accept no correspondence other than that from the recognised National Authority.

Malta
All Directors had been furnished with the correspondence from Malta LBA regarding the eligibility criteria for international events. The Board were awaiting on a further communication from World Bowl's solicitors on the change of the Regulations relating to eligibility.

Denmark
The CE had been invited to attend, along with others representing various bowling interests, a new indoor facility and would report back in due course. It was encouraging to be involved at the beginning of a new bowling venture.

Italy
The CE reported that he had visited Rome, Italy to meet with M Rizzoli, President of the Italian Bocce Federation and the new President of CMSB. The main purpose of the visit was to visit a newly constructed major complex in which it was hoped to incorporate all CMSB sports including bowls. There was also an indication that M Rizzoli's Presidency would attract from the Italian Bocce Federation, funding of €300,000. It was suggested that an invitation should be extended to CMSB to attend the latter stages of the Atlantic Championships and this would be an opportunity to see bowls being played. The Development was an exciting prospect in yet another Mediterranean country.

Manufacturers and Testers:-
All licence invoices had been issued with two companies already having paid their dues. It was decided that the CE should prepare a paper covering the stamping of bowls. Input about what was happening in other parts of the world should be filtered in by the Directors.
Ron Barron attended the meeting to update the Board on matters on which he was working. The first project was the design and cost of two different kinds of Chute for bowls testing. He produced drawings of the proposals and explained the issues involved.
The annual exchange of WRB's had been carried out in Australia and New Zealand .

Artificial Surfaces:-
The two accredited Laboratories had a few minor points they wished to agree on with regard to the revised performance standards and this would be resolved in time for the next Board meeting.

WADA Regulations:-
The appointment of Dr Colin Reid as the World Bowls Medical Practitioner was formally agreed by the Board. The Board were advised that alcohol as an additional banned substance, was also presenting a problem to S. Rizzoli and that the latter wished to call a meeting of all the CMSB medical practitioners in Rome to discuss the matter. The Directors were also advised that there was an ongoing review of the WADA code and that on completion, revised template Regulations would be issued to all International Federations. WADA will in future decide the additional substances for a particular sport with the removal of the reference relating to "upon recommendation of the International Federation". It was also stated that it made no sense to have Bowls (or Boules) listed in the additional list for an alcohol restriction. Through CMSB, the signatory to the WADA code, pressure had to be put on S. Rizzoli to push through for the removal of alcohol from the banned list. It was agreed the CE would write urgently to S. Rizzoli to resolve the problem as soon as possible especially in the light of International events that were imminent (Atlantic Championships in July 2007 and World Championships in 2008).

CSMB:-
The minutes of the CMSB meeting held in Monaco had been circulated to all Directors and outlined the changes in the presidency of CMSB and it was to be hoped that S. Rizzoli's outstanding credentials and contact and the financial contribution that accompanied his candidature would contribute to a positive turning point for CMSB and World Bowls' membership of CMSB.

Finance Report:-
The accounts for 2006 and all related documents were presently with the accountant/auditors and with some minor adjustments the overall year profit was in the region of £5,000. A draft budget for 2007 was produced indicating that the projected capitation fees, based on a membership of 600,000 had already been achieved. Income from testers/manufacturers licence fees should be slightly increased as the income was originally based on a 3% RPI increase. The RPI increase was now 4.4%. All other projections were based on current figures.

Laws and Constitution Committee Report:-
Laws of the Sport of Bowls - Crystal Mark Edition
150,000 Laws of the Sport Crystal Mark Edition had been produced worldwide in one format or another. The SBA had their own books printed with their domestic regulations included whereas the SWBA were using the "clean" version. Bowls Australia had 70,000 printed, Bowls England 50,000 and the SBA 7,500 and South Africa 8,000.

Constitutional Amendments:-
There were a number of issues raised at the November 2006 Board meeting relating to voting; additional Board appointees; Board nominations and gender of Directors. Bowls Australia provided a recommendation addressing the voting issue and this had been copied to all Directors.. The proposals referred specifically to rule 20.5 and 20.6 and allows World Bowls to take into account Member National Authority's requirement to be able to record a vote in respect of all candidates available for a particular position after more senior positions had been filled. The Bowls Australia proposals were supported by the Board. It was thought that the Board should have the capability to co-opt up to two persons who were identified as having specific skills that would be of value to the Board and that this should be incorporated into the Constitution.
Included in the submission should be that nominations should come from the Board and the matter raised at the next Biennial meeting in January 2008. Once the solicitor's views were known they could be discussed at the July 2007 meeting. It was agreed to delete the first sentence of 21.5 and although it was thought to be too early in the history of World Bowls to change item 19.1.3 concerning gender equity, the general consensus was that this would be put to the National Authorities as it would be 2010 at the earliest before any change could be implemented.
The President produced a paper relating to the terms of office (21.1) of the President and Vice President and suggested that consideration should be given to extending the current period of two years to a period of four years to bring it into line with Directors, also confirming that she would not be standing for re-election at the next round of elections. This would also be put to member Countries at the July 2007 meeting.
It was agreed after discussion that the proposed changes be put to the members at a Special Council Meeting to be held in Ayr on 12th July 2007.

Umpires Accreditation:-
It was reported that excellent progress was being made on the umpire's project of establishing uniformity on umpire accreditation and the material for the training of umpires. The stage had already been reached on the examination process that had now been finalised and agreed. Later in the year it was hoped that the process required to become an umpire would be standard throughout the world. The Board was very confident that those working on the project were the best available and that they were producing good quality papers. The Board had already been furnished with the various papers that had been prepared by his sub committee. It was hoped the project would be finalised by the end of 2007.

Regulations:-
It was recorded in the minutes that the changes to the regulations agreed on 14th November 2006 be formally approved.
The Board were aware of the issues appertaining to the regulations and in particular to the eligibility of players representing Malta. The matter was currently in the hand of the World Bowl's solicitors and their advice and instructions were awaited.

Law Changes:-
It was the opinion of the Board that they had the authority to allow experimentation in the Laws. In the light of recommendations to the Commonwealth Games following on the Melbourne games, the Board had agreed that the number of shots scored in tie break ends should be counted as opposed to one shot only to the winner of the end. The Laws when drafted did not allow for the counting of all shots over the 2/3 ends and it was felt that the Board should now permit all National Authorities at a domestic level to experiment with the tie breaker ends if they wished to do so and to report back accordingly.

Development Committee:-
Report A detailed written report on development matters was issued to the Board covering a wide range of on-going matters. Included was reference to personnel changes in the Development Committee - John Hook in Australia had replaced David Parker - and the concerns of the Development Committee over a wide range of different problems that were well recorded and known and causing concern to the Board. The merger between the EBA and the EWBA was a positive step forward. Countries such as Italy, Denmark, France, Turkey and the UAE had all, in some way or another, made contact with World Bowls about bowling related matters. It was agreed that to try to re-establish contact with UAE to ascertain the up to date position regarding the construction of playing facilities in UAE and the prospects of establishing a properly formed association.
There was a general discussion on the viability of visits by the President to the UK National Authorities and others but the arrangements, timing of visits etc were not without difficulties. The Netherlands visit, for example, was seen as a great boost and advert for Bowling in that country. The visits helped to identify what they needed to do by way of coaching etc to move forward but there did not seem to be any follow up action in place. Another example was the President's visit to Brunei where, after establishing contacts, introductions to Bowls Australia were made and resulted in Bowls Australia establishing a training base in Brunei which was now investigating the potential for funding from the Government for the construction of grass bowling greens. There was a perceived problem, however, about visits to established bowling countries. There was also a desire to commit funding, resources for coaching and the provision of umpiring equipment and if possible money for the support of events that countries were involved in organising etc.
Japan, China and some Asia Countries would benefit from coaching assistance and it was known that both Australia and New Zealand had offered coaching personnel. Umpires kits could also be provided to all the "smaller" Countries known to be without proper equipment. In conclusion, a lot of help could be given for little cost and the benefits to World Bowls would be immeasurable. It was also known that suitably qualified coaches were available in other countries that would be more than willing to assist in the general development of bowling. It was agreed that the procedure to be followed would be that applications for coaching or assistance should in the first instance be made to offices of World Bowls.

Top Team:-
There had been correspondence with several countries about visits from team World Bowls and Guernsey had indicated that they were very keen to be visited. Tentative arrangements had been made to visit Guernsey over a weekend in June 2007. accordingly.

Website - Development Pages:-
There was a need to have some sort of newsletter with simple news headlines that would be of interest to the other countries but the problem was obtaining the information in the first place. World Bowls would have to initially instigate interest by creating news items and seeking similar responses. The CE reminded the Board that the contents of the site had almost doubled over the previous six months with general information and there was an ongoing need to assess what was relevant and working and what was not.

Events & Competitions Committee Report:-
A comprehensive report on all the events scheduled for the future was made available to the Board.

Commonwealth Games 2010 India - update:-
There was very little to report on the 2010 Commonwealth Games other than there was regular contact with Raj Bengani and that synthetic surfaces were being installed in two States at present. A further eight synthetic greens were being considered in the short term but the Commonwealth Games greens would be natural grass.

World Bowls Championships 2008:-
It was reported to the Board that planning work was well under way and that regular communications with all Countries would commence in March 2007 by way of monthly bulletins.
One area that was already starting to raise its head was that of accreditation. Bowls NZ would accredit the five players, two officials and a coach. Wider accreditation would include entry to opening and closing ceremonies, functions, entry into venues and transport from venue to venue. Each Secretary/Chief Executive and any Country President would be accredited as well as officials from Bowls New Zealand, sponsors and World Bowls. Only teams would be covered for meals.
The overall timetable had been completed and at present every final was scheduled for cover by television. It might be necessary to schedule three sessions on one day to allow for the live coverage of all finals. As both men and women were playing at the same time, singles, pairs, triples and fours would be played every day eg in the first week men could be playing pairs and triples with the women playing singles and fours. The position would be reversed in the second week. This format was played during the Asia Pacific and worked well with no complaints. If players wished to continue to practice when finals were being played they could do so at other greens.
The Board were pleased to note the progress being made.
After the 2008 Championships, it was thought it would be a good idea to ask the Countries who failed to automatically qualify for the 2012 World Championships when they would like to play their qualifying games.

Champion of Champions 2006:-
The recent Champion of Champions held at Fendalton Bowling Club had been well organised and had again been well received by all competitors. The finals were televised.

Champion of Champions 2007:-
Enquiries were continuing with Bowls Australia to finalise the venue for the 2007 Champion of Champions following on from their agreement to host the event. This was necessitated due to the military coup in Fiji.

Champion of Champions Scotland 2008 and 2009:-
No further information was available from Scotland on the arrangements for these events although it was known the SBA would be having meetings later in the year. Leading on from this, the issue of eligibility to play in this event was discussed as there were instances where foreign players were winning another Country's Championship and therefore becoming eligible to play in the Champion of Champions. There was a general discussion on the anomalies of the criteria for playing in the Champion of Champions but it was felt that at this moment in time, there was very little World Bowls could do to alter the eligibility conditions It was the current champion of the Country that was eligible to play. The Regulations conflicted with this edict.

World Cup 2008:-
The World Cup would again take place in Warilla Bowling Club in 2008 as part of the current agreement with the Club Their continued sponsorship is highly appreciated.

World Junior Cup 2007:-
The number of entries for the women's junior cup were disappointing - only seven had been received - and the playing options opened for the event were discussed. Cancellation was not really an option as it was too late to do so and it was known many players had already made travel arrangements. It was agreed to organise the event to have the players playing each other twice.
It was thought by the CE that it would be beneficial to bring the tournament to the UK and it was decided to make enquiries of Bainfield Bowling Club in Edinburgh for April/May 2008.

World Team Cup 2007:-
The World Team Cup was sanctioned by World Bowls but is being organised and run solely by Bowls Australia. The title is causing confusion to some, and it was scheduled to be held annually from 2007 to 2009 with coverage by television.

Atlantic Championships 2007:-
Namibia were only sending a team to participate in the men's championships. The conditions of play would mirror the conditions played in the World Championships and there was a potential problem with the time limits that were imposed in the World Championships ie 3.5 hours. It was agreed in view of the schedule of play - only two games per day - and the likely speed of the greens, that a four-hour time limit would apply to all games. It was accepted that the imposition of time limits could create a situation that could lead to unsporting behaviour and it was confirmed that there would be restrictions on visiting the head, a rule that was found to be generally adhered to. Meetings with Managers before the games would highlight the conditions of play and umpires would be asked to enforce the rules. Once the eligibility questions were resolved, the Board would be issued with the conditions of play for approval. It was confirmed that the Championships was a team event and therefore each team had to comprise five players.

African States Tournament 2007:-
The African States tournament to be held in Namibia and the dates are now confirmed as 22nd September - 30th September. The Deputy President will attend representing World Bowls.

2012 World Championships - formats:-
The proposed format for the 2012 World Championships was contained in a paper that Bowls Australia had submitted to World Bowls for consideration and which had already, with agreement from World Bowls, presented to the meeting of Asia Pacific Countries held in January 2007.! It was agreed to invite Bowls Australia to attend the meeting to be held during the Atlantic Championships and that they be afforded the opportunity to make the same presentation on the revised format. There was also a question on the formats that should be used in the qualifying events for the World Championships and it was agreed that the same formats should be utilised as those used in the Championships.

Marketing, Media & Sponsorship:-
The Board received a comprehensive report detailing the up to date position regarding sponsorship, marketing and media.. With regard to involvement by Events Scotland, should they come aboard, their contribution could well cover the TV costs associated with the Atlantic Championships. It was hoped that Events Scotland would also be interested in contributing to the two Champion of Champions events in 2008 and 2009 to be held in Scotland.

Ranking List:-
It was thought by players in some countries that the ranking list was too narrow and selective and that the events such as the Atlantic Championships, Asia Pacific, and African States should be covered. It was suggested that a formula could be used to identify specific events that should be included for ranking list purposes but it was recognised there were many permutations that could be utilised.

International Bowls for the Disabled (IBD):-
IBD had not responded to the letter sent by the CE on 2nd February 2007 asking for an update on the progress for the proper establishment of IBD. There was a very full open discussion on the way forward in what was felt a delicate situation as the Board's policy was to recognise only one body for the disabled. To wait for this to happen would be unrealistic, as there were known to be 8/9 organisations currently active. It was agreed the CE would write to the International Blind Bowls Association (IBBA) indicating that World Bowls wished to see only one organisation.

Strategic Plan 2007 - 2010:-
The Strategic Plan had now been updated, checked, proof read and was now on the web site.

WORLD BOWLS MEMBERSHIP

World Bowls is delighted to announce that Macao has had their application for full membership of World Bowls approved.

2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Information on the draws for the 2008 World Championships to be held in New Zealand in 2008 can now be found on the "International" page of the World Bowls web site which can be found by clicking on "international" on the opening page.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of World Bowls held on
28/29 September 2006 at Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland

In attendance:
Betty Collins OAM (President & Chairman), John McArdle (Deputy President), Eleanor Allan, Margaret Fettes, Ivan Kantor, Kerry Clark OBE (Directors) Gary Smith (Chief Executive/Company Secretary) and Roger Black (Minute Secretary)

Register of Interests
Betty Collins OAM-Vice President/Council Member-C.M.S.B.
John McArdle - None
Eleanor Allan-Immediate Past President European Bowls Union & Council Member C.M.S.B.
Margaret Fettes-Chief Umpire Bowls Canada
Ivan Kantor-None
Kerry Clark OBE- Chief Executive Bowls NZ, Chairman Bowls NZ Events Ltd, Chairman NZ Sports Turf Institute
Gary Smith-Council Member C.M.S.B.
Roger Black - None.

Previous Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting held in Melbourne on 26th/27th March 2006 and the minute of the biennial meeting were accepted unanimously as a true record of proceedings.

Matters Arising
The issue of those Countries where men's and women's associations still remain as separate bodies was raised. The Board continued to emphasise the gender equalities objectives that are contained in the World Bowls Memorandum and Articles of Association. When Constitutions were examined, this issue was always an important factor to consider. It was suggested the stage should soon be reached when World Bowls would only recognise one National Association and that they should vote as one body with only one vote. Countries with two Associations should be encouraged to work further towards unification. There is an anomaly that one National Authority can nominate someone for the Board and the other National Authority in the same Country can vote for the opposition. Disputes had arisen in the past regarding voting resulting in split votes being received. The Constitution would be examined with a view to formulating a change to the Constitution and the voting procedures. It was also thought appropriate to examine the structure of the Board at present which was one relating solely to election and not appointment and that many organisations were a mixture of both. In the future there should be a facility to appoint Board members as well as those appointed by election to ensure that the best persons were elected to the Board.
It was confirmed that the World Masters games due to be held in Sydney, Australia in 2009 would include lawn bowls as one of the sports and Bowls Australia were asked to make additional enquiries.

President's Report
Asian Lawn Bowls Championship Report
A paper on the 5th Asia Lawn Bowls Federation Championships and 3rd under 25 ALBF Championships was also copied to the Board and contained a full and comprehensive report covering all aspects of these championships. Included in the visit to Brunei was an opportunity to meet the Board of Governors of the Asian LBF at which a number of topical matters were discussed.
Following on the visit, it was recommended that an addition should be considered to the World Bowls Regulations Clause 9 that the conditions of play should accompany applications for a licence or permission to hold an international event and that the Board should establish a system through which National Authorities can seek assistance for approved coaches to conduct clinics in developing countries. Furthermore, it should be incumbent on World Bowls to establish a programme for personnel nominated by National Authorities to be trained as technical officials who in turn would be able to train others.
Overall the visit was seen as worthwhile and productive and assisted in building good relationships with officials and players from other countries

CMSB/WADA
A report was given on a meeting held in Glasgow Airport on 25th September 2006 attended by Eleanor Allan and Gary Smith with CMSB President M. Lagier Bruno. The meeting was arranged as a result of an exchange of correspondence between CMSB and World Bowls in which it was suggested that World Bowls was not compliant with CMSB/WADA regulations.
As background information, when World Bowls formulated its anti doping policies in 2004, in consultation with its solicitors and WADA, the finalised do