It’s a busy life for Moama Bowling Club’s Stuart Whyte
Moama Bowling Club’s Stuart Whyte is a busy man at the best of times, but for the past few weeks he has upped the ante.
Having just got back from working at the World Championships in Queensland, he headed straight into hosting Moama’s Ladies Premier Pairs and Mixed Pairs.
Add coaching Pennant teams in readiness for the new season and the Under 18’s at the Doug Kneebone tournament in Sunbury today, and Stuart certainly has a packed calendar.
Mind you, the affable Scotsman wouldn’t have it any other way, plus he has a great team around him at Moama.
So, how does a young lad who grew up in a small town called Lossiemouth in the north east of Scotland find his way to the home of lawn bowls, Moama Bowling Club in Australia?
We caught up with Stuart during the Australian Indoors at Moama to find out.
A bottle of Glenfiddich it is
It turns out Stuart began playing bowls around 12 years of age when his best friend at the time (who lived across the road) used to go to the local bowling club every weekend.
He started tagging along to the greens and gradually got into the game and started playing.
“My first ever event win was a Triples event sponsored by a distillery,” Stuart said.
“The prize – a cheque and a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 year old whisky.”
“I still can’t believe they gave it to me.”
“I played at club and regional level as well as playing some national events at junior level.”
From Lossiemouth to Moama
At 20 years old, Stuart headed to university in Aberdeen resulting in a bowling hiatus before starting work and travelling around a bit.
He didn’t take up the sport again until moving to Australia for work in 2013.
“My belongings were sent out when I realised I would be staying here and I found my old bowls,” Stuart said.
“I joined Robertson Bowling Club, a small village club in the Southern Highlands of NSW.”
“I rediscovered my passion for bowls and got involved both from a playing perspective and an administrative side becoming Club Secretary for three years.”
A career in bowls administration beckoned for Stuart.
“In 2019 I volunteered at the inaugural UBC event at Moama Bowling Club.”
“It was here I realised that the sport was so big in Australia and there was a possibility of making a living out of the sport – never as a player for me, but as an administrator.”
“I made it a goal to find the ideal job and be employed in the sport and was fortunate in 2021 to see a role advertised at Moama BC and was more fortunate to be successful.”
“I joined Kevin Anderson in the Bowls Administration team.”
A day in the life
Stuart’s day-to-day role is mostly managing the weekly bowls calendar.
This involves social bowls, corporate functions, along with pennant and club championships during the season, and looking after the members and everything that comes along with that.
Throughout the year the club hosts a number of events from local level to Regional Finals, State events and National events such as Bowls Premier League (BPL) and Ultimate Bowls Championship (UBC).
The club, along with Club Sunbury, hosted the inaugrual Diamond Jack Singles event for juniors in August which was a great success.
“These events take a level of organisation and communication with internal and external stakeholders to ensure they run smoothly and reflect the game of bowls, Moama BC and organisations such as Bowls Victoria and Bowls Australia in the most positive light,” Stuart said.
“We are fortunate at Moama to have a number of representative bowlers.”
“We assist them with their development and support them in the various events they are required to play in to ensure they are working through their pathway to achieve as much as they want to in the game.”
“There are other facets to the roles such as uniform, marketing and promotion, sponsorship, managing the website and media, coaching and playing when I get the opportunity.”
“There is also a hospitality component that runs alongside the bowls to maintain a commercial balance to the club.”
The junior pathway
Stuart is also involved in the junior’s program for the region along with Colin Hayes (Rich River) and Ian Page (Echuca).
They do a fantastic job with the Campaspe Cannons junior squad.
“The Campaspe Cannons is the local U18 Development Squad for our playing area,” Stuart said.
“I am joined by two other coaches, Col Hayes (Rich River) and Ian Page (Echuca), as well as incredible support from the parents of all of our Cannons who take an active role in the squad.”
“We meet every Monday evening and have about 12 regular juniors who turn up week in, week out and a few others who jump in and out when they feel like it.”
“The youngest is aged 6 and the oldest is just about to turn 15 years old and there is a good balance between the boys and girls.”
“We run the program along the school term times.”
“This is due to Bowls Victoria hosting a Junior event during most school holidays; Doug Kneebone in September, Daylesford in January, State Championships in April.”
“This gives the squad a focus for each term and gives direction to the type of training we do.”
“We generally focus on skill development for about 5 weeks utilising drills, which are determined by areas of the game we feel need attention for the group.”
“We may split the group based on positions or ability but mainly keep the squad together and vary the drills accordingly.”
“The weeks leading into an event will focus more on game play where we focus on shot selection, communication, etiquette and aspects of the game such as measuring.”
Fun is the name of the game
Young folks are ensured of a safe and fun, friendly environment in the U18 squad.
“Ultimately, we want to produce a place where young people feel safe, have fun and develop a passion for the game of lawn bowls.”
“For me, it is about getting young people involved in the sport and engaged in a way that will stay with them as they grow older.”
“I do want every one of the juniors to improve their skills and abilities and get better as players.”
“It would be great to see the squad achieve success as a group, but also to see individuals develop along a pathway that sees them gain representative honours.”
“As long as this happens while they are having fun and learning to play that game with a smile on their faces.”
A bowling drill for the masses
So, it would be remiss not to ask Stuart for a drill he uses for the juniors that may assist a few older bowlers looking to improve their game.
“There is one exercise I use with the juniors to try and give them a better sense of weight control,” Stuart said.
“Weight control is notoriously difficult to teach as it is about ‘touch’ and ‘feel’.”
“Weight also changes almost every time you step onto a different green due to the surface, environmental conditions, temperature, etc.”
The Weight Control Drill
– In pairs have two bowlers stand about 2 metres apart facing each other.
– Each pair has a tennis ball to toss back and forth using an underarm motion.
– They will naturally toss the ball with enough force to reach their partner.
While doing the drill, focus on the following:
- Backswing: How long is it?
- Rhythm: Rhythm the same on back swing and follow through. Maintain a smooth action.
- Release point: Where are they letting the ball go?
- Follow through: Where does the arm stop? Generally, out in front of them about shoulder height. Where is the hand facing? Palm up. This shouldn’t vary much, even when the gap increases.
Gradually increase the gap between the two. The main changes that are observed is the back swing gets a little longer and the tempo of the swing gets a little faster.
The release point stays the same and the position of the hand is quite consistent as well.
Arm follows direction the ball is thrown (line).
You may also notice that the participants start to step into the toss, the larger the gap.
This is a positive step as it reinforces momentum and demonstrates the forward motion we like to see after your release a bowl in your delivery.
“I then attempt to translate this into a bowls delivery,” Stuart said.
What happens when they add weight?
“Increased back swing and increased rhythm; action should remain smooth.”
“Release point and finish position of the hand and the arm remain fairly consistent.”
“The only time you will see an exaggerated follow through is when delivering a full drive.”
“We use this as a warm-up before training and at competitions.”
The home of lawn bowls
Due to the quality of the facilities at Moama Bowling Club including the greens, the clubhouse and the club itself, they are rightly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, bowls club in Australia.
“This is a huge honour, but also brings pressure as these standards need to be maintained and improved upon,” Stuart said.
“This results in investment which means our members are playing daily at a club that strives to have the highest standards.”
“The hosting of internationally televised events such as BPL and UBC increase the visibility of Moama Bowling Club and make it a venue that bowlers nationally and internationally want to visit.”
“We need to ensure the Club presents itself to a high standard at all times from the quality of the greens, to the staff, to the general facilities.”
“It does bring a lot of pride to our members.”
“The biggest drawback for Moama BC is that it is located in the middle of nowhere.”
“It is difficult to get to, yet, this doesn’t stop bowlers from club level to elite level making their way here to play on the greens.”
“Kevin (Anderson) and I have come into Moama and tried to develop a culture that keeps its values as that of a bowling club.”
“It is important for our members that we are a bowling club and not a ‘venue’.”
Ruler for a day
Going from club bowls to the overall game in general, we asked Stuart if he was running bowls in Australia, what’s one thing he would do to improve the game across the board.
“I would create an initiative that rewards clubs for increasing the amount of underrepresented groups in their playing membership,” Stuart said.
“For example, females, juniors, people with disabilities, people from different races and cultural backgrounds.”
“Our game is one that can be played by anyone, and is open to everyone, yet it is played by old, white blokes for the large majority.”
“There are programs out there to change this demographic and we do see a lot more women and younger people (under 40) playing.”
“If you ask school children what they think of bowls they will tell you it is for ‘old blokes’, and this has to change.”
And there you have it
And just like that, Stuart got busy again and our time came to end.
From Lossiemouth to Moama, it’s become a busy, busy life for Stuart Whyte, but as busy as he often is, he always has time for people and the game.
We thank Stuart for taking the time to share his story.
If you’re ever lucky enough to be up Echuca/Moama way, take the time to drop into ‘The Greens’ at the Moama Bowling Club and catch up with Stuart and Kevin and their friendly team of staff.
Check out Moama Bowling Club socials below.
– Moama Bowling Club Website
– The Greens at Moama Facebook
– Campaspe Cannons Facebook
Featured photo: Moama Bowling Club’s Stuart Whyte (left) pictured with Rochester Bowls Club president Graham Willis (right) at the fund raising tournament hosted by Moama for the Rochester club.