| Bowls Victoria | |
| Logosize: | 225px |
| Sport: | Bowls |
| Jurisdiction: | Victoria |
| Founded: | 1880 |
| Aff: | Bowls Australia |
| Location: | Camberwell, Victoria |
| President: | Pat Schram |
| Deputypresident: | Angus MacIsaac |
| Chiefexec: | Tony Sherwill |
| Director: | Liam Fleming Mark Casey Andrew Holmes Katie O'Halloran Kaz Rothwell |
| Url: | www.bowlsvic.org.au |
| Countryflag: | Australia |
Bowls Victoria, established in 1880[1] is the governing body for the sport of bowls in the State of Victoria. In addition to its specific responsibility for governing the sport and the development of the game at all levels, it also has a social objective to enhance existing bowling communities and to position bowls clubs and the sport in the wider community.[2]
Bowls Victoria has a responsibility to govern the game as directed by World Bowls and Bowls Australia, to run events at state level and also to run Pennant competition in the Metro region. We have representative teams at senior, under-25, under-18, over-60 and bowlers arm levels.They also have a responsibility to promote the sport in the community at large and in minorities. Clubs can lean on Bowls Victoria for support in a range of areas.
There are over 520 bowls clubs across Victoria, with 50,000 plus members affiliated with Bowls Victoria.
Whilst the game of bowls was well established in Victoria from the 1860s, there was no governing association for the sport until 1880. As early as July 4, 1867, the six clubs in existence at the time, including the oldest Melbourne Bowling Club, met and agreed to a set of rules for the game to be used in inter club matches.[3] Whilst the clubs had regular competition, it was not until 1880, when a Victorian side visited New South Wales, that the Victorian Bowling Association was founded on 23 July 1880.[3] The sport in Victoria continued to be governed by its own set of laws, which differed to those applied in other parts of the country, particularly New South Wales, and Western Australia. It was not until after the formation of the Australian Bowling Council on September 22, 1911, that uniform rules across the states began to be consolidated into a single set of rules.[3]
In 1947, the association was granted "Royal" status, and became known as the Royal Victorian Bowling Association (RVBA).[4]
Following the unification of the RVBA with the Victorian Ladies Bowling Association (VLBA) (see Women's bowls in Australia) in December 2009, the organisation was renamed to become Bowls Victoria.[5]
Bowls Victoria is governed by a Board of Directors, including a president, deputy president, finance director and 5 ordinary directors.
The organisation coverage across metropolitan and regional Victoria is structured on a regional and divisional basis: