Kerry Clark Chief Executive Bowls New Zealand - Winner Leadership Excellence Award
2009 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Awards
Bowls New Zealand (Bowls NZ) is the national not-for-profit governing body for the sport of lawn bowls.
There are 650 bowls clubs nationwide with over 90,000 participants and members. Bowls as a sport is changing. It is shrugging-off the image of a sport for the elderly and increasingly attracting people of all ages, including a strong nationwide secondary schools competition. An increasing number of physically disabled people are also being drawn to the sport as a result of Bowls NZ’s adopting the "No Exceptions" philosophy.
Kerry Clark has led Bowls NZ in his role as Chief Executive since the organisation was formed in 1996 from a merger of the, until then, separate men's and women's bowls associations.
Kerry has had an outstanding career in the sport, as a player and an administrator, at both local and international level. This culminated in his award of the OBE for his services to bowls. He is currently an elected Board Member of World Bowls Limited and Chair of the World Bowls Limited’s Laws and Constitution Committee.
Kerry is a keen supporter of other sports and a member of a National Forum for Sport Chief Executives involving a number of major sports. He has been asked to assist and advise on other sports particularly in respect to the amalgamation of men and women associations. He is also Chair of the NZ Sports Turf Institute, a Trustee for the Halberg Trust, and a judge for the prestigious Halberg Trust National Sports Awards.
2008 was a year in which Kerry provided outstanding service to his sport across three key challenges: staging the 2008 World Championships; the ongoing roll-out of Mates in Bowls, and the ‘One Bowls – One Vision’ strategy.
Pictured are Bowls New Zealand chief executive Kerry Clark and marketing and communications manager Rajal Middleton. Photo by David Gall/SPARC.
When Bowls NZ were awarded the staging of the 2008 World Championships, Kerry made it his goal to ensure they would be the best World Championships ever. It was the first time the decision had been made to combine the men’s and women’s World Championships, a decision that was not without its sceptics.
A separate company was formed to run the event (as well as some other minor international events). Kerry was Chairman of this company from its inception and the key driver in ensuring a successful and profitable event was held. The event was acknowledged by World Bowls Limited as the best world championships ever and the benchmark for all future championships. As a result of this success, Bowls NZ has again won the hosting rights to the 2016 World Championships).
In the same year Kerry’s vision for Mates in Bowls (MIB) a self-funding casual bowls model for clubs came to fruition.
Kerry understood the need to challenge and adapt the traditional membership model for bowls to ensure its relevance in a rapidly changing market. He clearly identified the need to adopt a “pay for play” model in order to capitalise on the ‘casualisation’ of sport. Kerry made the strategic decision to recruit marketing expertise into the organisation to drive the MIB project. Following on from the pilot period and despite Bowls NZ’s focus on the World Championships, Kerry was able to mobilise his staff to grow MIB in the face of resistance from much of bowls traditional membership and club base. By the end of 2008, 65 MIB clubs had been recruited with more than 80 percent of the MIB players being new to the game. Resistance to Kerry’s vision is receding as clubs witness the many benefits of MIB (see Mates in Bowls case study) MIB is bringing in new players and changing the image of the sport.
A further challenge for Kerry in 2008 was "One Bowls - One Vision" - a project aimed at realising a more streamlined and sustainable sport. The vision calls for a reduction in the number of clubs and centres and for the sport to take advantage of the substantial increase in the number of casual and corporate players. Kerry has led the engagement and consultation process with clubs and centres, funders and other affected parties. At all times he has led from the front, and showed tenacity in the face of criticism and resistance from the sport’s traditional base.
2008 was a hectic and challenging year for Bowls NZ, but it was a year when Kerry’s outstanding leadership skills were clearly demonstrated.
Kerry’s achievements were possible through a combination of the following competencies and attributes:
- a passion for the sport of bowls, and an outstanding knowledge of all aspects of the game;
- knowledge-seeking for personal development and for the benefit of the sport;
- excellent financial management and fundraising ability;
- a clear understanding of operational and governance issues;
- a very good working relationship with his Board;
- ability to interact effectively with all stakeholders within, and beyond, the sport;
- a preparedness to make tough decisions;
- a resilience to the ‘knockers’ and personal attacks;
- bigger-picture vision;
- commitment to ‘walking the talk’; and,
- innovative thinking and influencing skills.
Kerry Clark is an outstanding sport administrator and a worthy recipient of the inaugural New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Award for Leadership Excellence.
www.bowlsnz.co.nz
Updated | 29 May 2009.
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