LEADERS at all level of bowls have called out ‘objectionable behaviour’ such as sexism, saying it has no place within the sport or in today’s society.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their comments were prompted by a speech by the outgoing chair of the Bendigo Bowls Division, Mike Greenwood, at a presentation night in Bendigo this week.
Mr Greenwood delivered both praise and calls for progress during his final appearance as chair.
“The sport we love is having trouble dealing with two things,” a copy of the speech, sighted by the Bendigo Advertiser stated.
“Increased complaints of objectionable behaviour, and the current #MeToo campaign against the continued mistreatment and general lack of respect towards women, which has no place in today’s society.”
His comments follow a number of incidents, including one in which a Bendigo East lawn bowler told a female volunteer from a Ballarat-based club “to get back in the f…… kitchen”.
The bowler, who made the offensive comments at the Provincial Championships on February 4, was banned from representing Bendigo for two years.
Five letters of complaint have been lodged with the Bendigo Bowls Division board about player behaviour, Mr Greenwood told the presentation night attendees.
“With regards to the treatment of women, I was stunned at a recent pennant match when I heard an utterly disgraceful and completely shameful comment that was made towards a female player during a match,” the speech detailed.
“There is no longer a place in our communities for such behaviour and certainly not within our competition.”
Mr Greenwood did not elaborate on the incident during discussions with the Bendigo Advertiser.
He said objectionable behaviour, including the mistreatment of women, had been topics at the forefront of his mind, ‘for some time’.
Asked why he believed such incidents were occurring, Mr Greenwood said it was ‘down to the tensions that arise when you’re playing sport’.
“A small number of people are behaving in a manner because they can’t deal with what is happening to them on the bowling green,” he said.
Centre for Non-Violence chief executive officer Margaret Augerinos said there was scope for further consideration of the gendered nature of some incidents, such as the one which resulted in the ban.
“The issue is the way some men choose to speak to women in whatever context,” she said.
“It’s actually not okay to speak to anyone in this way.”
Mr Greenwood was critical of the conduct of clubs in mitigating ‘objectionable behaviour’ during his speech, stating the clubs themselves were causing the problem by ‘not upholding community guidelines of respectful behaviour’.
“The clubs and you, their members, have the solution to the problem – treat such matters seriously and with respect for our sport,” he said.
“Concerningly, in my view bowls is becoming almost a blood sport with a win-at-all-costs mentality.
“Thankfully, Bowls Victoria has acted on this, with umpires being given the power to impose significant penalties with no warning for objectionable behaviour.”
He said the board’s powers in such matters were severely restricted.
“Yet problems such as these that arise can no longer be ridiculed, they can no longer be ignored and they can no longer be minimised,” his speech stated.
“As BBD members we should all be looking at how our behaviour reflects the values of a progressive and respectful community.”
‘It is, after all, a game’
Bowls Victoria chief executive Graeme Bridge has condemned the aggressive nature in which a small number of bowlers wish to conduct their sporting relationships.
While he said the vast majority of bowlers behaved in a respectful manner, he was concerned some people were bringing ‘a lot of built-up frustration and possibly anger into their sporting activities.’
”We’re a fairly passive sport and we don’t want any part of aggression,” Mr Bridge said.
He expected bowlers to be ‘humble in victory and gracious in defeat’, and ‘respectful in any way, shape or form’.
“Yes, we take our sport seriously,” Mr Bridge said.
But he said it was ‘about time everybody took a chill pill’ and put their success – or lack of – on the bowling green into perspective.
“It is, after all, a game,” Mr Bridge said.
He hadn’t been intending to speak on behavioural matters when he arrived at the BBD presentation night on Wednesday, but said he wished to expand on a number of things Mr Greenwood mentioned in his speech.
“It’s not a good look for our sport if we’re not doing the respectful thing,” Mr Bridge said.
Instances of problematic behaviour are not unique to the Bendigo Bowls Division – Mr Bridge said he referenced incidents in metropolitan Melbourne during his speech on the night.
But he said there seemed to be a higher frequency of issues in Bendigo than other comparable populations in which bowls were popular, such as Ballarat.
“It’s all about creating a good environment,” Mr Bridge said – a responsibility he said fell to individual club members, the clubs themselves and bodies such as Bowls Victoria.
‘The last thing we want is people leaving the sport’
Bowls Australia chief executive officer Neil Dalrymple said he would “100 per cent” back the view that ‘objectionable behaviour’ such as sexism had no place in today’s society or in the sport of bowls.
“You just don’t tolerate that and administrators need to act quickly accordingly so, on and off the greens, [clubs] a friendly places,” he said.
“The last thing we want is people leaving the sport for reasons to do with behaviour.”
He said the member protection policy very clearly stated that sexism was not tolerated and outlined the means to deal with such incidents if and when they occurred.
“It's about education, training, and changing the behaviour of people playing the sport. Administrators need to take the lead on that,” Mr Dalrymple said.
“It exists in a lot of sports.”
The future of bowls was the topic of a forum in Bendigo on Thursday.
Mr Dalrymple said discussions centred on subjects such as making bowls more accessible and welcoming, including running competitions and events at times that would appeal to new bowlers.
“A lot of competitions run at times when people are very busy,” he said.
(Story continues below Bowls Australia strategic plan).
Men account for about two-thirds of the bowls population in Australia.
Most players are aged over 60, though the sport is growing in its appeal to young people.
“How they get into the sport is through some form of a night pennant competition,” Mr Dalrymple said.
For that reason, Bowls Australia is aiming to better utilise nights, and to better promote such events using web-based platforms.
Mr Dalrymple said there was a ‘missed generation’ of female participants aged in their 30s – 50s.
He praised the Bowls Victoria mums and bubs program for giving young women with children opportunities to participate in bowls.
“We’ve got to listen to the people and tailor our offerings accordingly,” Mr Dalrymple said.
Progress made, but a way to go
Bendigo Bowls Division champion of champions Greg Podesta has been involved in bowls for almost 30 years.
In that time, he has seen the sport become more inclusive and progressive.
He was 11 years old when he started playing bowls – a feat that required a change in the sport’s constitution.
These days, Mr Podesta said clubs were encouraging membership from young people.
“Where we’ve come from to where we are now is just great,” he said.
The 40-year-old bowls champion plans to introduce his 11-year-old son to the sport this year.
He could remember a time when his mother, who started playing bowls in her 50s, faced barriers to playing such as a strict dress code.
“Every woman had to wear a skirt,” Mr Podesta said of that era.
Not only did they have to wear a skirt, but officials would measure the length of the women player’s skirts.
Mr Podesta said his mother was once refused the opportunity to bowl because her skirt was slightly too short.
He said women bowlers who also worked and had a family, like his mother, were frowned upon at the time.
“They opened the door for females to do what they do now,” Mr Podesta said.
However, Ms Augerinos said the sport of bowls still had a way to go in achieving gender equality.
She was eager to see barriers to women’s participation, such as gender stereotypes, replaced with policies and practices promoting inclusion and accessibility.
“I think it’s good we’re starting to hear about this,” Annie North chief executive officer Julie Oberin said.
She welcomed the discussion and efforts to prevent further behavioural issues.