Bowls Australia wins Australian Sports Commission media award
Bowls Australia (BA) has saluted at the 2023 Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Media Awards this evening by claiming the accolade for best coverage of sport for people with disability.
Among a strong field including the Seven Network’s Matthew Carmichael, The Guardian’s Kieran Pender and the ABC’s Pacific Sports Show, the sport of bowls was recognised as this year’s industry leader.
BA has dedicated itself to promoting diversity and inclusion, with para bowls being a major focal point of the organisation’s media landscape.
Most notably, the increased hours of live streaming across both national and international tournaments including every para final from the 2023 World Bowls Championships on the Gold Coast in 2023 contributed to bowls’ widespread coverage.
Viewers could witness history as the Right at Home Jackaroos dominated the para component of the event, winning two gold medals and a bronze in three disciplines.
In addition, the organisation’s official podcast ‘The Right Line’ brings in depth interviews with bowlers with a disability from across the nation.
Furthermore, programs such as The Bowls Show and Without Bias continue to provide mainstream media platforms for BA to promote para bowls, while its website articles and social media channels strive to bring it the coverage that it deserves.
BA’s General Manager – Promotion and Partnerships Aidan Davis said the organisation was incredibly proud to be named the Best Coverage of Sport with a Disability recipient at the Australian Sports Commission’s Media Awards.
“It’s unquestionably a tremendous honour for both the organisation and the staff involved to be nominated, let alone awarded, the Best Coverage of Sport with a Disability at a function that recognises the best in Australian sports media,” Davis said.
“Being recognised by the Australian Sports Commission for this prestigious award is testament to the thousands of incredible people who live with a disability within the sport of bowls across the breadth of the country, who have deeply rich stories and lived-experiences that are crying out to be told to help inspire the next generation of Australians, with and without a disability, to pick up a bowl, jack and mat and fall in-love with a game that is intrinsically and iconically Australian.
“Being selected, particularly among such esteemed company of influential journalists and media outlets, highlights the incredibly inclusive nature of bowls, as a sport that can be enjoyed equally by those with and without a disability, regardless of gender or age, and showcases the tireless work being done to tell those important stories by immensely passionate and professional individuals, in Val Febbo and Lachlan Williams, and will no doubt help Bowls Australia continue to shine a light on the inspirational people with a disability that enjoy the sport of bowls.”
It is the third successive year that BA has been finalist at the sports industry’s sole Media Awards function, with previous recognition for best depiction of an inclusive sport in 2021 and best coverage of sport by a club or organisation in 2022.
