World Bowls is delighted to announce that Slovakia has joined World Bowls.
CEO Neil Dalrymple describes the acceptance of Slovenská asociácia Bowls as a milestone which reflects the continued growth of our sport across Europe and demonstrates the increasing appeal of bowls in emerging nations.
He said: “We commend the efforts of the Slovenská asociácia Bowls and its leadership in developing the sport and creating opportunities for participation within Slovakia. We look forward to working closely with them as they strengthen their domestic programme and become an active part of the global bowls community. Every new member enriches our international family, and Slovakia’s admission is another positive step in our vision to expand and modernise bowls around the world.”
Ozkan Akar, World Bowls regional ambassador, added: “I am very happy that we have a good connection with Slovenská asociácia Bowls. Bowls Slovakia members are very keen bocce (raffa) players already. Raffa is a similar Italian traditional sport playing like bowls. Most of the Eastern European countries play bocce. We have good relations, so I invited them to start playing bowls in Slovakia because of the similarity of raffa and bowls. It’s not difficult for me to coach them and train them from bocce to bowls. Bowls is a classy sport that attracts people wanting to try it. I will organise some other events to introduce bowls to the other countries in my region. Slovakia has been a milestone to reach to the other countries. We all want to make the Olympic dream come true, but we have limited time to promote bowls to get 2032 Olympic recognition. We must expand bowls to new countries and introduce to new people. Slovakia is a key country and will play an important role for bowls in the region.”
Preparation for the World Bowls membership application included joint meetings of representatives of the two founding clubs – Boccia Klub Lučenec which was founded in 2003 and Boccia Klub Fortino which was opened in 2005 – where the extension of sports activities to lawn bowls was adopted and the founding of the Slovak Bowls Association was approved.
Members, who range in ages from 25-70, have already participated in a training camp in North Cyprus, learning the game from Ozkan and playing in an international tournament against Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary and the host club, Olive Press Bowls Club, to gain experience.
The next development stages for the Slovenská asociácia Bowls will include a presentation of sports within Slovakia, organisation of a Slovak Championship, together with participation in international competitions and the European Championships.
For more information or if you are interested in membership of World Bowls, please contact:
Neil Dalrymple
Chief Executive Officer
World Bowls
P: +61 439350884
