Southern Cross University helps prepare bowlers for Commonwealth Games

Bowls Australia has joined forces with Southern Cross University to help hone the skills of some of Australia's leading lawn bowlers as they prepare for selection for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Aaron Silk from Southern Cross University's School of Exercise Science and Sport Management is working with Bowls Australia to increase the fitness and performance of the bowlers.

Mr Silk is involved in conducting training camps at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club, which has been identified as a Bowls Australia High Performance Centre. The selected bowlers include National and Queensland representative players, as well as some Tweed Heads players.

"These are not the traditional bowlers that we think of. The average age of these high-level athletes is 30 and one of the best female up-and-coming bowlers is just 14," Mr Silk said.

"Bowls is still thought of as an old person's sport, but there are young, up-and-coming bowlers and for some of them it is a fulltime job competing."

Mr Silk said he had tailored fitness programs for the athletes, while the Bowls Australia's High Performance team focussed on the on-green skills training.

"There are 10 athletes and I'm tailoring an individual program for each of them. We are working to ensure they maintain a good level of fitness and a healthy weight range."

Bowls Australia High Performance manager Mr Kim Littlejohn said the Tweed Heads training centre was a partnership with the Tweed Heads Bowls Club and Bowls Queensland.

"We have a fully-fledged program through the Institute of Sport, but we wanted to decentralise the program and set up high performance centres around Australia," Mr Littlejohn said.

He said the location of the Tweed Heads Bowls Club next to Southern Cross University's Tweed Gold Coast campus provided a great opportunity to utilise the expertise in the School of Exercise Science and Sport Management.

"Bowls is an athletic sport and we are focussed on our preparations for the Commonwealth Games in 2006. We are aiming to win a medal in each of the six events contested, including at least three gold medals."

Mr Littlejohn said Australia had 40 per cent of the world's bowlers, but was only in the top five in the leading bowling nations.

"New Zealand is probably the leader, followed by England. We have set the goal of becoming the number one nation and this centre at Tweed Heads is an important part of the process."

Bowls Australia has 28 players in its national squad, including three reigning world champions.

The next training camp will be held at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club on July 26 and 27.