Future of iconic bachelor and spinster balls in jeopardy

Elmore BNS ball organisers were this week forced to cancel the 2023 event, leaving singles across the country heartbroken. Read why.

Elmore Summer Send Off B&S ball patrons, the ball's future is under threat due to insurance being difficult to obtain.

One of the biggest BNS dance balls on the Victorian calendar has been cancelled, in what could signal the death knell for one of Australia’s greatest rites of passage for county kids.

The Elmore Summer Send Off BNS ball usually attracts 1700 singles from around the country and raises tens of thousands of dollars for small local projects.

The Elmore Charity Ball Committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday night after failing to secure insurance for the 2023 event, which would have been held on the March long weekend.

“We have spoken to several brokers who have approached insurance underwriters for us and they have all refused,” committee secretary Hollie Hildebrandt said.

“As soon as they see BNS they don’t want to touch it.”

Elmore Summer Send Off BNS ball attendees. Picture: Supplied

The ball’s fundraising efforts in 2020 paid for a new RAV4 for the local medical clinic to transport patients to appointments locally and in Melbourne, with volunteer drivers.

In the same year the committee allocated $5 from every ticket sold to Blaze Aid to work with rural families to rebuild fences destroyed by fires. It was able to donate $10,955 from the effort.

Elmore is a 10-minute drive from flood-devastated Rochester, which is where this year’s proceeds would likely have gone.

Ms Hildebrandt said the event had a good safety record and a comprehensive risk management plan.

“We have been congratulated for dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s and told that our documentation is far better than most music festivals seeking insurance but the answer it still no,” she said.

Elmore Summer Send Off BNS ball patrons, the ball's future is under threat due to insurance being difficult to obtain. Picture: Supplied

BNS balls, once a mainstay of country life for ‘bachelors and spinsters’, were designed to help young men and women on remote properties find a spouse.

The commute back to the farm was often a long one and the balls provided camping accommodation so the lonely hearts could sleep over in swags and head back to the farm the next day.

The Elmore BNS ball, traditionally held at the Elmore Events Centre, would open its gates on a Saturday afternoon, allowing a few hours to get dressed in formal attire then attend a dinner and ball.

Attendees were breath tested on their way out the next day, and were all expected to exit around noon. The breath tests were conducted by the TAC’s Vanessa bus. BNS events have continually come under pressure due to rising costs and reluctant insurers.

Organisers of the Tussock Jumpers BNS at Harrow had to cancel their event in January.

They posted to the event’s social media page that they hoped to be back in 2024.

“After several meetings it has come apparent that we will have to cancel for 2023! Unfortunately the new permits that are required and a volatile inflated insurance market have forced our hand,” they wrote.

Elmore Summer Send Off BNS Ball participants. The ball is under threat due to a lack of willingness by insurers to underwrite the event.

The Insurance Council of Australia said the insurance market was going through a “hard part of the cycle”.

“There has been a tightening of the market for public liability insurance, which covers public and community events as well as other industries such as amusement parks and pubs,” a spokeswoman said.

“The market is generally supported by global insurance operators with extensive underwriting and experience in insuring community and public events.

“Only a small number of insurers, predominantly global, offered insurance covering this sector. The global insurance market is currently in the hard part of the cycle, when underwriting standards tighten.

“In the past three years the few insurers underwriting this sector have reassessed their involvement in these markets, globally and locally, and have either exited or significantly reduced their involvement.”

The spokeswoman said local and state governments could play a role in finding a solution.

“There is no one silver bullet to fix these issues and often solutions - where they exist - require a concerted effort between insurers, business, and government.

“Local and state government authorities also often set very high default public liability coverage requirements that may not reflect the actual potential risk of an activity or event.”