Bowls Queensland (BQ) is the governing body for lawn bowls in Queensland, Australia.
BQ in its current form has only existed since 2005. Previous to that, bowls in Queensland was governed by two separate organisations, the Royal Queensland Bowls Association (RQBA), established in 1903 and the Queensland Ladies Bowls Association (QLBA).
Currently, more than 26,000 Queenslanders are members of a BQ affiliated club.
Bowls Queensland is governed by a Board of Directors, including a President, Vice President, Finance Director and 4 ordinary directors.
A number of supporting committees assist the board, currently including:
The current Bowls Queensland Strategic Plan is focused on these initiatives:
There are over 600 bowls clubs in Queensland, with more than 40,000 members all up. Each club is part of one of 20 district associations.
CLUBS: CAIRNS & Far north: Gordovale bowls club, Edmonton bowls club, West Cairns Bowls club, Stratford Bowls club, Marlin Coast bowls club, Edge Hill Bowls club, Mossman bowls club, Mareeba bowls club, Yungaburra bowls club, Weipa bowls club
Central Queensland: Charters Towers bowls club, Hughenden bowls club, Richmond bowls club, Cloncurry bowls club
Brisbane: Coorparoo bowls club, Merthyr bowls club, New Farm bowls club
GOLD Coast: Helensvale Bowls club, Musgrave hill bowls club, Southport bowls club, Burleigh heads bowls club, Broadbeach Bowls Club, Tugun bowls club
Former clubs: Masonic Bowls club (Cairns), Cairns Bowls club, Surfers Paradise bowls club, Townsville city lawn bowls club, East Brisbane bowls club, South Brisbane Bowls club, Moorooka bowls club
BQ is run by a board of directors. The board's chair, deputy chair and Director of Finance are elected annually by BQ's member districts. The four other directors are elected on a two-year rotational term, that sees two of the directors standing for election each year.
A number of committees assist the board, including:
The state Champion of Champions is an annual event run by BQ. Club champions in singles, pairs and fours compete against other champions in their district. Whoever wins the district competition, moves on to the state champion of champions. This year's champion of champions will be held at Bribie Island Bowls Club from 22 to 27 October 2011.
Previous winners include Mark Casey, Nathan Rice, Lynsey Armitage as well as a host of other Australian representatives.
Junior bowlers from across the state converge once a year for a week to compete in the Junior State Championships. The Junior State Championships divisions include U18 Boys Singles, U18 Girls Singles, Under 15 Boys Singles, Under 15 Girls Singles, Under 18 Open Pairs, Under 15 Open Pairs, Open Triples and Open Fours. The location of the competition is subject to change every year.
There are four divisions of disabled bowls in Queensland - blind, deaf, physical disabilities and intellectual disabilities. Bowls Queensland took over the organisation of the state disabled bowls championships in 2011. In this first year, BQ combined the previously separate competitions of Queensland Blind Bowlers Association, Deaf Bowlers, Lifestream (intellectual disabilities) and Sporting Wheelies (physical disabilities).
The winners of each section qualify for the disabled draw of the Australian bowls open.
The current state squads are listed below
Queensland has supplied 26 men and 23 women to the Australian team since 1950. Lynsey Armitage, a current representative, was also named the first ever Australian bowls captain.
Here is a full list of Queenslanders who have played bowls for Australia, in order of selection
The first inductees into the Australian bowls Hall of Fame were announced in 2011.Five Queenslanders were inducted on this inaugural announcement.
BQ produces Queensland Bowler, a monthly publication free of charge to all Queensland bowls clubs. This magazine is also available on their website as a readable pdf.