Benalla Bowls Club has a new identity.
Drawing on inspiration from their own backyard, the club has taken Lake Benalla and emblazoned it across their new playing shirts.
It's also inspired their newest nickname, the "Lakers", as the club looks to usher its teams into a new era.
For more than 20 years the club's white playing shirts have been a staple on the greens.
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But in a year of such change, it seems now is the perfect time for both a reset and makeover, with the club unveiling its new playing shirts last week.
With the project spearheaded by Benalla Bowls Club's sporting director David Lindsay, president Ian Hobson said the idea for the rebrand came about when brainstorming how to improve things around the club.
“I was speaking to a chap from Melbourne, and he said what's your identity? And I said we didn't have one. So we had to find one and that's what we did,” Hobson said.
“We decided to upgrade our look so we've designed the shirts,” Lindsay added.
“It's about improving our image and continuing to be positive and move the club forward.”
Lindsay said the response to the new shirts from their members had been fantastic.
“The old-timers like the old white shirts and didn't want to change until they got them,” he said.
“Once they got them, they said ‘this is great’ and jumped on board.”
And making this all possible is an advantageous partnership with new sponsors Estia Health.
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“We were looking to sponsor a club and Dianne Brooker our admin officer mentioned the bowling club was looking for a new sponsor. So Lindy De Page our client relations manager made contact and here we are today,” Estia Health Executive Director Faye Audino said.
Hobson said the club was "especially appreciate" of Estia Health's support as the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a trying time for all sporting clubs.
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With the bowls club beginning its pennant season on the weekend, Audino said she was excited to see bowlers back out on the greens this summer.
“It's nice to see the community get back to some form of normalcy, and the bowling club will be the first of many to come back,” she said.
Recent additional projects around the club also include Tim Bowtell's new mural, as well as a new undercover area nestled between the greens.
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