Former national indoor bowls coach Craig Whiteside is on a mission to change perceptions about the game and inspire the next generation of potential champions.
The Tauranga-based New Zealand Indoor Bowls national development officer has embarked on a nationwide tour, visiting schools in an attempt to sell the game to the younger set.
Whiteside arrived in Wanganui on Sunday and yesterday visited Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Tupoho, a Castlecliff school that caters for pre-schoolers through to Year 13 students.
He introduced his latest tool to help coax younger players into the game. Drawing on his 52 years of experience in the game, Whiteside has developed Quickdraw, a shortened version of indoor bowls which mirrors a concept that has worked wonders for cricket since the Twenty20 format was introduced.
He may well have been preaching to the choir at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Tupoho, however. For the past three years, the school is the only Wanganui-based education unit to send a team to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Indoor Bowls Championships.