New Bowls Australia President and Annual Report released
Bowls Australia’s (BA) Board have appointed Iain Evans as the national governing body’s new President, following BA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and subsequent Board Meeting on Tuesday.
Evans brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served as a member of the South Australian Parliament during a 21-year tenure until 2014, including as the state’s Sports Minister and Leader of the Opposition.
A member of the Henley Bowling Club, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course, Evans has also served on state, national and international Boards for over 30 years, across sport, recreation, horticulture, seafood, health, tourism and indigenous sectors.
At the AGM, BA’s State and Territory Associations ratified the appointment by the Board of Roxy Chen and Lydia Dowse to fill casual vacancies and elected Craig Meagher to the Board.
Chen is the Corporate Finance Manager for Healthscope, a private hospital and healthcare provided and is a Fellow, Certified Practising Accountant of CPA Australia. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course and has served on BA’s Finance & Audit Committee during 2024 as an independent member prior to her appointment.
Dowse, who is the National Integrity Manager at Swimming Australia, has been a Director of Bowls Australia since 2018 in appointed roles and now fills an elected Director role through to the conclusion of the 2025 AGM.
Meagher boasts considerable experience as an executive leader and Board Director within the sports industry and more broadly, having managed sports teams and venues, and global commercial, digital and gaming operations.
Within sport, Meagher has held the roles of CEO of Sydney Kings and Bicycle NSW, General Manager of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Group Trust, Chief Commercial Officer of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, and National Marketing Manager for Australian Rugby Union.
Concluding their tenure on the Board was outgoing President Matt Burgess and Genevieve Delves, both of whom didn’t seek re-election.
Following its AGM and Board Meeting, BA today released its 2023-24 Annual Report. As well as detailing BA’s revamped Club Support Program progression, the successful delivery of an outstanding program of ever-enhancing national events, and excellent High Performance results at the World Championships 2023, the report highlights the priority focus of the 12-months concerned in achieving the required, and very significant, financial turnaround from a $1.17M deficit in FY23 to a $71K surplus in FY24.
Additional information and commentary can be found within the Annual Report, accessible here.
Bowls Australia’s Board and staff thank Burgess for his outstanding service as BA’s President for the past two years and as a Director for four years, and wish him all the best in his new career move which, due to its workload and international travel, necessitated his resignation.
BA also sincerely thanks Delves for her contribution as a Director for the past three years, and heartily welcomes Meagher to the Board.
BA’s Board of Directors as at November 26, 2024:
Iain Evans (President), Roxy Chen, Lydia Dowse, Graham Hay, Bronwyn Heys, Craig Meagher, Gerard Robinson.
