Introducing NTS Evolution

Tenpin Bowling Australia (TBA) is excited to announce a raft of new changes to its high-performance program from 2022 onwards.

Given many other countries have well-developed high-performance programs in tenpin bowling, being able to maintain a progressive and evolving National Training Squad (NTS) is imperative for Australia to have world-class athletes and TBA achieving its goal of being ranked in the top 10 countries in the world.

With a vision to provide opportunities for elite bowlers to excel and support them to optimise their talent, the NTS program will see greater attention to investing in a high-performance pathway that provides support and optimal opportunities to develop athletes to a world standard.

TBA Education & High-Performance Manager Mike Griffith says the NTS Evolution changes will maximise the opportunity for them to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

“Tenpin bowling is a sport that continues to evolve and we as a sport need to keep up with the trends in the world,” he said.

“In order to do that we need to continue to evolve by providing the athletes the maximum opportunities to reach the pinnacle of the sport in each of their disciplines,” Griffith added.

NTS Inclusion Squad, which was announced last week, is not the only new squad with TBA broadening their senior focus to include a new NTS 65 classification from next year. The squad will compromise athletes over the age of 65 and align with the new IBF World Championships, which will feature events for athletes aged over 65.

The NTS 65 squad will continue to train with NTS 50 as one senior unit with a single head coach, supported by assistant coaches and managers.

Furthermore, there will be a move away from using terms such as junior, youth, adult, senior and grand senior, instead, the squad names will be altered to reflect the new IBF classifications by using 18, 21, Open, 50 and 65.

One of the most exciting changes in NTS Evolution is the addition of High-Performance support for athletes which will see initiatives including athlete development plans, athlete management systems, access to the latest technology and the adoption of sports science sports medicine teams.

Griffith explains that the changes came after discussions and workshops with a variety of stakeholders including athletes, coaches and TBA staff.

“Some of the key changes include the program being inclusive of able-bodied athletes and athletes with a disability and the introduction of sports science and medicine services,” he said.

After a nearly two year disruption to international events, competitions abroad are on the cards for NTS teams in 2022 with an array of chances such as 21st Asian Junior (Schools) Tenpin Bowling Championships, World Games 2022, IBF World Championship and IBF Para World Championship.

Currently, TBA is awaiting confirmation for the dates of the above events and will release the information in the future when it becomes available.

Following today’s announcement, TBA will be unveiling the squads for each age classification this week starting with the Open on Tuesday 7 December.