Ladies Bowls History
Following is a history of Ladies Bowls in the Tuggeranong Valley which has been put together by Roz Waters and Lynne Signor.
Late in the year of 1994, a couple of ACT Bowls Clubs heard that the Vikings Club at the Tuggeranong Town Centre were going to install two bowling greens.
A group of ladies, (9 in total) who became the foundation members, got together to discuss forming a ladies bowling club.
| Foundation Members | ||
| Beryl McNally | Margaret Newcombe | Joan Keir |
| Avis Nadge | Elieen Trott | Sandra Warren |
| Emma Johnston | Valerie Bunn | Helen Galpin |
In August of 1994, the club was registered with the following name:
Tuggeranong Valley Women’s Lawn Bowls Club
and affiliated with ACTWBA on February 1st 1996.
The constitution was written and the Club was formed with the following 5 member committee:
| First Committee | |
| Connie Lipton (President) | Valerie Bunn (Treasurer) |
| Avis Nadge (Vice President) | Emma Johnston |
| Elieen Trott (Secretary) |
On April 1st 1995 the first games of bowls were played under lights on the two new international sized turf greens. In about late 1999 a third green was completed.
The Club commenced with a membership base of 44 and to get it up and running the ladies borrowed $5,000 from the Vikings Group and proceeded to give it to the Men’s Club. The Men’s Club purchased mats, jacks, scoreboards, seating, and other equipment. The ladies worked tirelessly over the next two years to repay the loan.
The next project was to set up a butte kitchen. This was completed with a microwave, refrigerator, and crockery and was located behind the bar area in the Athlon room. This area is now used for storage.
The red checked tablecloths, which still look like new and use today, were lovingly cross stitched by Avis Nadge.
The original clubhouse was located in the Roland Room with the office where the locker room is located today. The car park was originally located where the Kevin Hamilton currently is.
The ladies were given Tuesday (being ACT pennant day and championships), and Thursday was practice day. In the next few years, the Vikings Group instructed the ladies to move Thursday to a mixed social day.
The Men’s Club were allocated Wednesday and Friday as social days and Saturday and Sundays were only for men who worked. Over time, the men started to invite ladies who worked to join them to play Saturdays. Eventually Saturday and Sundays moved to become Mixed Socials Saturday and Breakfast On The Greens Sundays.
From here the Club progressed with more choices of games including, social, club championships, ACT Bowls championships, Bowls ACT twilight on Wednesday nights, mid-week pennants and weekend pennants. The bowling calendar was becoming extremely full.
Some members spread their wings and supported other clubs in the region and other states. By supporting these clubs in return, we are able to run invitational events, such as Vikings Major/Minor, Versatile Fours and Sports Day.
Many members of the club have gone on to compete in World Bowls, Australian Sides and ACT Representation Level. There have also been junior members who have progressed to ACT Representative level and Bowls Australia development squads.
In 2019 the ladies club voted unanimously to a proposal to amalgamate with the men’s club, but unfortunately the proposal was not accepted by the men’s club.
On May 15th 2020, the Tuggeranong Valley Women’s Bowls Club had their name changed to Vikings Bowls Club Incorporated. This change enabled the club to be more inclusive with gender diversity.
In June 2020 a new constitution was written. The process involved working with and consulting with a Barrister who at the time was on the Board of ACT Bowls. The new constitution allowed the ladies club to move with the times with a non gender focus allowing men to be members.
The Club has had accredited coaches volunteering their time giving coaching to new and established bowlers. It has also had accredited umpires who have umpired locally, ACT Representative, National, and International events.
Looking back at our Club from 1994 to now, the game of bowls has evolved and the Ladies Club has endeavoured to keep apace with those changes. Sports Australia wide is changing and is being driven by the changing focus on sports by Sports Australia. Therefore, in considering our focus on a Strategic Plan, we need to reflect on the world, and in particular Australia’s, attitudes for sports participation into the future. We also need to be mindful of Government Legislative requirements of gender inclusiveness and diversity, and cultural differences.
In 2022 at a Special General Meeting, the Men’s Club overwhelmingly accepted a new proposal from the Ladies Club for Amalgamation.