Dennis & SISIS and Bowls England have announced a new five-year partnership which is aimed at improving playing surfaces, increasing participation and helping to safeguard the future of the sport.
Passionate about helping everyone get the most out of the sport, Bowls England recently unveiled a new strategy, ‘Fit For The Future’, which has been designed with the ultimate goal of getting more people playing and enjoying bowls.
However, to entice more people into the sport, there must be a focus on the playing conditions; and this is where Dennis and SISIS come in according to Bowls England’s Chief Executive Jon Cockcroft.
“What is absolutely critical for us is that the bowling greens up and down the country are in superb condition for people to play on,” he said. “Over recent years there has been more strain on our clubs, and the challenges of maintaining greens are becoming greater.
Consequently, this partnership with Dennis and SISIS will allow us to support our clubs, and our amazing volunteers, who work tirelessly to look after the greens.
“The partnership will add value to our members and ultimately improving the quality of the surfaces is going to make the playing experience better which will help grow our game and get more people playing bowls.”
Also committed to educating greenkeepers and raising the standards of bowling greens, Dennis and SISIS have long supported the sport of bowls. For over 20 years, they have been organising and hosting educational maintenance seminars throughout the country which are designed to ultimately help club greenkeepers and volunteers maintain their bowling greens.
The pandemic inevitably put a temporary halt to the seminars and as a result the two British manufacturers launched an innovative Virtual Bowling Green Maintenance Seminar Portal. The free online portal was an instant success bringing seminars to a much wider audience and also allowing members to benefit from a wealth of knowledge.
Roger Moore, Sales and Marketing Manager for Dennis and SISIS revealed his delight at the new partnership.
“The sport of bowls has played an important part in the history of Dennis and SISIS,” he said. “We want to be associated with Bowls England particularly at such an exciting time as they launch their five-year strategy.
“The plan is to continue next year with the live seminars and provide access to Bowls England members to the online seminar portal, which has monthly updates from experts, funding opportunities, and access to other partners. Whether you are an experienced greenkeeper or new to the industry the portal is an invaluable resource.
“The partnership will allow both parties to explore and develop other initiatives going forward and we hope we can play a part helping Bowls England’s achieve their goals It also allows us to give something back towards the future growth and sustainability of the bowls market.”
The partnership comes ahead of an exciting year for both Dennis and SISIS and Bowls England; 2022 marks the centenary year for the Dennis brand and it is also the year of the of the Commonwealth Games, in which the greens at Victoria Park in Leamington (also the home of Bowls England) will host the bowls tournament.
“There is a wonderful synergy to this partnership,” continued Jon. “Firstly – heritage; the heritage of our sport and the heritage of the Dennis and SISIS brands. Secondly, both have an appetite for quality. Thirdly, bowls as a sport and the Dennis and SISIS brands are quintessentially British; and last but certainly not least, both Bowls England and Dennis and SISIS have a desire to give back to communities. It is a perfect partnership.”
