Annual Report 2016 “Scotland’s local sport of choice; successful, modern and accessible to all.” 1 Chairman’s Report Our Strategy is built on a vision of making bowls Scotland’s local sport of choice: one that is successful, modern and accessible to all. This will be my fourth and final report as Bowls Scotland Chairman. After four enjoyable years as Chair, I now feel it is time for someone else to drive the organisation forward towards our vision. With an ambitious strategy in place, Bowls Scotland has experienced many changes and improvements as we recognised the need to become a modern, successful and well- managed sporting organisation. We will continue to adapt to the changing sporting environment, ensuring that we not only meet the needs of our current membership but develop our sport to welcome new members. We have seen a smaller decline in our membership this year than in recent years and with the many changes and improvements we have even been praised by external reviews for our work in this area. Our strategy which we outlined a year ago is working and we are delivering against the four cornerstones of our mission statement: 1. To enable clubs to develop, strengthen and grow: Our Development team have had significant success over the past year in supporting our clubs in becoming sustainable for the future. The Try Bowls campaign continues to be a huge success since its launch in 2014 with over a quarter of our clubs now participating and actively running recruitment events. Clubs have also received support through our Coach and Volunteer Education system with 561 individuals having completed the Introduction to Bowls Coaching Award (IBCA) and many volunteers attended another successful Greens Maintenance Seminar Series. 2. To ensure that good governance is implemented at all levels of Bowls Scotland in order to deliver and support our strategy: Your Board remains focused on improving the governance of the organisation and we are confident in our achievements this year, with greatly increased financial support from sportscotland and a commitment to our strategy reflecting this. 3. To deliver an accessible player pathway that identifies and develops talent in a High Performance environment: Our High Performance Squad have had another successful year, both as individual players and as part of the Squad. With many performances both at home and abroad under their belt, the focus is now on the forthcoming World Championships as a crucial event in qualifying in all disciplines for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 2 4. To promote a more positive and modern image of our sport: The need to change the perceived image of our sport is crucial in ensuring the sustainability of it. We have identified possible barriers to the creation of a positive image of our sport and the content being communicated from the organisation this year has strived to change this. By establishing better communications with our clubs and members we will be able to further influence the perceived image of bowls and become more attractive to new members and partners alike. An exciting project is now underway with the development of a new Bowls Scotland website which we aim to have in place for next year. Thanks A big thank you must be given to my fellow Directors and District Secretaries, who volunteered their time to Bowls Scotland. We are also very well supported by our capable staff, led by our CEO Alan McMillan. The job of running Bowls Scotland is now very complex and we could not achieve the success we enjoy without the professional staff. Outlook It is with sadness, I note that a group of members have devised plans to change the Governance and Finance of Lawn Bowls, using incorrect information to promote their case. The plans set in place by this group will not only destroy the fantastic work that has been achieved by our loyal staff, District Secretaries and clubs since our creation in 2010 but ignores the needs of our members in sustaining the sport for the future. However, I have every faith that if our current Board, staff and volunteers continue with the strategy set in place, Bowls Scotland is well placed to navigate this difficult climate and succeed in becoming the local sport of choice in Scotland. 3 Introduction Many other sports in Scotland are facing a future where increasing members of clubs and achieving on a world stage is the main focus of their delivery. Bowls Scotland are no different and as we strive to achieve this we simultaneously must work on modernising the sport and making it more appealing to those who don’t play it yet as well as those already playing the game. Governance Strategy With nearly two years of the strategy already implemented, Bowls Scotland are still on track with its delivery of the main aims of 2015 to 2019. Directors The Board had begun succession planning discussions just after the last AGM in 2015. This took into consideration both the board’s commitment to the equality in sport standard that was achieved in 2015 as well as the need to maintain relevant skill sets for Directors and a move towards strategic input rather than in some cases a largely operational role. One of the outcomes of this was the co-option of Andrew Upton and David Scouller. Andrew currently works as a lawyer in a large legal firm and David has vast experience as a Director of many companies as well as assisting businesses with governance and development. Both Andrew and David come from a bowls background. Duncan McLaren, Director of Governance, who had already served on the Board previously, resigned from his position in August 2016. Both Anna Marshall and Bob Christie have completed their first 4 years on the board and are both wishing re-election to complete the current strategy. After serving four years on the Board Bill Knox will be stepping down as Chair at the 2016 AGM. The Board would like to acknowledge Bill’s contribution to his role and service in supporting the Board and the company. Following on from this announcement the board fully endorse Director Sue Beatt who is standing for the position of Chair to replace Bill. The minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the web-site shortly after each Board meeting. Staffing There have been changes in the staff compliment since the last report. The Operations Support Manager resigned in December 2015. Part of the work of this position was taken up by the Senior Administrator, John Grant. It was therefore deeply saddening that John Grant passed away in early July of this year. John was a well-respected colleague and friend and will be sorely missed by all. The Board decided to commit funds in January 2016 to a full time Marketing and Communications Officer position. Cheryl Barr started as Bowls Scotland’s first full time Officer in February and has progressed many areas of our marketing plan with specific reference to the improvement in our social media representation. Val Wright, Coach and Volunteer Education Officer moved to another post in September after two and a half years with Bowls Scotland and will be replaced by Duncan Caithness in the middle of November. 4 John Price the High performance Coach resigned from his position in June. After negotiations, the Board were delighted to welcome back David Gourlay, who joins us as the HP Coach on a consultancy basis. Gemma Smith successfully completed her apprenticeship as an Administration Assistant and we are pleased that Gemma will be staying with us for a further year. New Staff for 2015/16 High Performance Coach- David Gourlay Coach and Volunteer Education Officer- Duncan Caithness Marketing and Communications Officer- Cheryl Barr We are hopeful that by the time of the AGM we will have appointed a new Office Manager who will be looking after the productivity of the office and the ever increasing workload. Finance These notes should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements prepared by BDO, Accountants to Bowls Scotland and show an underspend of £4,972. Income As per with other years income, capitation was down slightly due to the reduced number of member clubs and declared playing members of clubs. However, due to the hard work of a large number of clubs and the development team, there has been a decrease in the expected fall in membership and therefore income. Income from membership and registration fees fell by £968, with income from entries to national championships increasing by £2,142. This increase is due in part to the increase in fees for the Andrew Hamilton Trophy and a slight increase in entries for the Super Series. Marketing and branding, in relation to income from partnerships increased by £31,555. Sportscotland investment has increased for the year by £227,130, with the amounts shown in the accounts adjusted to reflect the different financial years of the two organisations and associated accruals and deferral of income. Ticket sales for 2016 National Championships remained almost the same as last year as was income from other areas. The Board continue to work against a climate of limited opportunities for sponsorship, falling active members of bowling clubs and increasing costs. Whilst there are many risks associated with future income in the medium to longer term, including sustained Sportscotland investment, general increased costs in BIBC/BIWBC, and increased costs of running our well established competitions, the level of income generated from traditional sources will continue to be subject to close scrutiny in the short term. The Board surveyed a number of other World Bowls nations during the summer and found that, at present, Scotland’s capitation fees remain one of the lowest in the World.