Member Administration
New Bowler Joining your Club (never been a member of a Club before)
- Ensure that they complete your Club Application Form and go through your approval process
- Complete a WP Bowls Supplementary Advice form and send to WP Bowls
- You will receive an Invoice detailing the amount due for the WP Affiliation Fee
- Upon payment, your new Member will be added to the Bowls SA Database by WP Bowls
- You will receive the Member's BSA Number from WP Bowls
Registered Bowler Joining your Club as a Full Member (has been a member of another Club previously)
- Ensure that they complete your Club Application Form and go through your approval process
- Complete a WP Bowls Supplementary Advice form and send it to WP Bowls
- WP Bowls will register the Member with your Club on the BSA Database - provided they are currently marked as In Transit
- If the Member is not marked as In Transit, their previous Club will need to send a Resignation Advice form to the WP Bowls Office
Registered Bowler Joining your Club as a Dual Member
- Ensure that they complete your Club Application Form and go through your approval process
- Ask their Main Club for a letter confirming that they are cleared to join your club as a Dual Member
- Complete a WP Bowls Supplementary Advice form and send it to WP Bowls
- WP Bowls will register the Member with your Club as a Dual Member on the BSA Database
Member Resigns from your Club
- Please ask the Member to provide their Resignation in writing.
- Complete a Resignation Advice Form and submit it to WP Bowls.
- Denise will mark the Member as In Transit on the BSA Database
Maintaining Records at your Club
Clubs should keep records of all their members. The Club Secretary will also have access to the Bowls South Africa (BSA) online membership database.
How records are kept at Club Level are obviously up to each Club. If you do not have a current system in place, you can use one of the following:
Club Member Records is an Excel spreadsheet which allows you to enter each Members details. It will also show you Member's birthday details.
Club Member Details is a Word document which allows you to enter a Member's details. This form is also available in PDF format.
Bowls SA Membership Cards
Every Bowler who is registered with WP Bowls and has paid their WP Bowls Affiliation fees will be issued with a Bowls South Africa digital membership card. This will be sent to their cellphone by BSA.
This entitles the Bowler to play in competitions at any Club which is affiliated to Bowls South Africa. Clubs must ensure that all bowlers playing on their greens are affiliated to WP Bowls.
Affiliation Fees
What are Affiliation Fees?
The affiliation fee charged to each registered bowler in the WP District helps to cover the costs for the administration of bowls.
These include the registration and tracking of members, competition management, developing and training Technical Officials and Coaches, sending teams to national and district championships, compliance with the Department of Culture, Arts and Sport & SASCOC regulations, etc.
For a bowler to be allowed to bowl at other Clubs, enter competitions, etc. in the WP Bowls district, they need to be affiliated to WP Bowls. The membership of each of WP Bowls requires the payment of an Affiliation Fee.
When is the Club charged Affiliation Fees?
In November of each year, your Club will be billed for the WP Bowls Affiliation Fees for the following year. Your Club will be billed for each Member.
This billing relies on your Club Membership list, so it is imperative that this is up to date.
The steps are as follows:
- Club secretaries and administrators ensure that their membership lists are up to date and accurate by the end of August.
- The WP Bowls office will send their totals to Clubs and you will need to confirm these with them by 20 September.
- Affiliation fees and levies are based on the Club’s declared membership as at 31 October each year. You will receive a Declaration of Membership form from WP Bowls and will need to complete it and return it to the WP Office by 5 November.
- WP Bowls will send you an Annual Return Invoice by 20 November.
- No new registrations or membership changes will then be accepted during the month of November, other than in extraordinary circumstances.
- Affiliation fees and levies must be paid to the District Office not later than 30 November each year. When making any payment, use your Club name as the reference.
What about Members who join during the Year?
New Members who join during the year are invoiced on joining for a pro-rata portion of the Affiliation Fee; i.e. from their month of joining to October.
The Club will receive an Invoice for these Fees after submitting the WP Bowls Supplementary Advice Form for the new Member.
Is anyone exempt from Affiliation Fees
Bowlers aged 90 years & older are exempt from WP affiliation fee.
Scholars are exempt from the WP affiliation fee.
It is the Club’s responsibility to notify the WP Office when a Member ceases to be a Scholar.
The Bowls SA Database
What is the Bowls SA Database?
The Bowls SA database is the official record of all Bowlers in South Africa, including Registered Bowlers, Dual Members and Business League Bowlers. The database is used to confirm that Bowlers may enter competitions as well as a number of other purposes, including obtaining government funding for Bowls.
How to Access the Bowls SA Database
To gain access to the Database and be registered as an Administrator, you are required to contact Heather Boucher.
Your Club Secretary should have access to the database.
Using the Bowls SA Database
All Club Secretaries have access to the BSA database where they can check on their Club membership and other details and make changes in terms of contact details, Identity numbers, etc.
What you must not do is Add or Delete Club Members from the Database. Adding and Deleting Club Members on the Database is only done by Denise in the WP Office.
New Club Secretaries and database administrators should update their Club details as and when they change and remove the outgoing administrators. This is important and if in doubt, you are welcome to contact Heather Boucher for assistance.
Business League Bowlers
Business League Bowlers will not be added by the WP Office.
It is the duty of the Club Secretary to capture their Business League bowlers onto the system.
If you require any assistance with this please contact Taz Bright.
What is a Novice Bowler?
A Bowler qualifies as a Novice for a period of three years after they are registered as a bowler. This registration date is shown on the database.
Communicating with WP Bowls
I am a Bowler with an issue or query for WP Bowls
Your point of contact is your Club Committee.
You should not contact WP Bowls directly.
If your Club Committee cannot resolve your issue or query then they will communicate with the WP Bowls Secretary.
Our Club Committee has an issue or query for WP Bowls
The Club Secretary should contact the WP Bowls Secretary with any correspondence from the Club.
The correspondence should have been approved and minuted by your Executive Committee.
Please note that Clubs should not contact Bowls South Africa directly. If WP Bowls feels that they cannot resolve a Club’s issue, they will contact Bowls South Africa.
Why do these Lines of Communication exist?
There are over 3000 registered bowlers in Western Province and many more around the country. To ensure that lines of communication are effective it is necessary to have controls in place.
This also helps to avoid unnecessary duplication of correspondence, streamline communication, and keep everyone's staff costs as low as possible.
Can the Lines of Communication be Summarised?
Club Member - Club Executive Committee
Club Executive Committee - WP Bowls Secretary
WP Bowls Secretary - WP Bowls Executive Committee
WP Bowls Executive Committee - Bowls South Africa
WP Bowls Circulars
Any important information from WP Bowls is sent to Clubs as a Circular. All Circulars are sequentially numbered to you can always tell if you are missing one. All Circulars should be distributed by the Club Secretary to all Club Members to ensure that everyone is kept up to date.
In the event of a circular not being received, please contact the WP Bowls office as important information may have gone astray.
Alternatively, all circulars are available on the website.
Minutes of WP Bowls Meetings
Edited copies of Minutes of Meeting of the WP Bowls Council and Executive Committee are sent to Club Secretaries.
Copies of these should be placed on the Club Notice Board so that all Members are kept aware of what is going on.