After a full review of Bowls New Zealand’s Talent Development and High Performance programmes, some changes to the structure have been made – the most notable change being the introduction of a Black Jacks Development Squad of players that are seen to be the next in line for a Black Jacks call up.

Bowls NZ National coach Dave Edwards said the introduction of the Black Jacks Development Squad was the next logical step in the High Performance pathway. “We have seen some significant advances in standards since the introduction of our Regional Talent Development squads some four years ago, and what has happened now is we have a group of players who have outgrown the regional squads, and they are now seriously pushing for higher honours. We were very keen to continue the development of this group of players who are knocking on the door of the Black Jacks squad and therefore it became logical for us to introduce the Development Squad concept.”

The Black Jacks Development Squad can contain up to 12 players, however for the initial season just 7 players have been selected. These players will work under the watchful eyes of the Bowls NZ National Assistant Coaches Raelene Peters and Terry Scott and it is hoped that the squad will undertake an internal tour for a series of matches during the coming season.

The Bowls NZ Regional Talent Development Squads will be retained, however these squads will become more targeted and therefore the maximum numbers in these squads has been reduced from 20 to 12.

The review of the programme also identified the need for bowling centres to introduce Talent Development Squads at centre level. Bowls NZ, in conjunction with the Regional Service Centres, will assist centres in the setting up of these squads.

One major benefit of this new structure is that player and coach development will go hand in hand. There are clear pathways to the top of the game for both players and coaches, as per the below flow chart. It is a prerequisite that all of the Talent Development squads are coach led.

The initial Black Jacks Development Squad will consist of:

• Dale Lang – Tawa, Wellington
• Kaaren Guilford – Johnsonville, Wellington
• Serena Matthews – Elmwood, Canterbury
• Angela Boyd – Taradale, Hawkes Bay
• Blake Signal – Stokes Valley, Wellington
• Chris Le Lievre – Onehunga, Auckland
• Mark Watt – North East Valley, Dunedin

Click here to download a PDF of the High Performance Pathway.