Lighthouse Club – Dandenong Club
Dandenong Club was heavily involved in Bowls Victoria’s annual Play Bowls Month, and was one of the clubs that had some huge success.
Speaking to Rob Sharpe from Dandenong Club, which is in Melbourne’s south-east, it’s clear their Jack Attack program has been rewarding.
“Jack Attack is a no-brainer for clubs. You get the scorecards, it’s a great format and everything thing you need to run it in a pack. Seven weeks works for us, you don’t need to get people to commit to play for a long time.
“We encourage everyone to come down to the club from 5pm, and we open the greens and the bar, then we start the games by 6.30pm and have them finished in about an hour and a quarter.
“The name of the game is to be flexible, and fix problems and provide solutions for teams as they come up, whether it’s all
owing different start times or having club members to play as fill-ins or anything else.”
The club has also encouraged local sporting clubs to enter teams, and have offered prizemoney as sponsorship. A great initiative to engage local groups and expose keen sportsmen to the sport.
Three recommendations from Dandenong Club for other clubs running similar programs:
You need the attitude that anything is OK, you can’t get too stressed.
It’s important to make sure people are entertained; make sure there is food for them, make sure they’re able to get a drink throughout the night, and make sure there’s a bit of music to make the club sound good.
Make sure the people meeting and greeting them are welcoming and making sure the people having a game are having fun.
The club is really starting to promote what they do, and they’re promoting themselves in a variety of ways. Whether it’s increasing traffic on the greens from different people within the community or creating video content that can easily be shared online.
Here are a few examples of some of the videos Dandenong Club has produced recently:
Barefoot Bowls promotion – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jb6ylgEaa0
The Changing Face of Bowls – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kx1SE8tyaE
You can find out more about Jack Attack for your club here
