"Story to Tell"

This is Richard Newby's entry to Bowls England of a " story to tell" Please see article with photos in the Coaching page on the web site.

Market Bosworth Bowls Club - Story to Tell.

The ever present question of Bowls clubs of “How to increase our membership?” is always most in the minds of the members of Market Bosworth Bowls Club.

To this end, the newly appointed Level 1 coach, Richard Newby, agreed to run weekly sessions throughout the season for anyone to come along and just have a go at a new / different sport of bowls. We started with a couple of hours on Friday afternoons in May and June before changing to Saturday mornings during July and August. Signs were displayed outside the green, which is within the one-way system through the village, so everyone coming to or passing through Market Bosworth would see them.

Throughout the year we have seen a goodly number of visitors coming and trying out bowling, many for the first time. From this number we now have 9 new playing members all of which have represented the club in either friendly or league matches.

We often say you are never too old to take up a new sport, especially bowls, but how about if you are 89! Yes, one of our newest members is just that. Peter Smart turned 89 in May and has been coming to all our ‘Open green’ sessions this summer. He says that he thoroughly enjoys his new sport, and eagerly looks forward to the next session, though that may be the cup of tea or coffee and chat that we have half way through. Thanks to Chris Massie, our club secretary for organising that every week.

These ‘Open green’ sessions have certainly been a success, not just in increasing our membership but also in spreading the word that bowling is good for the soul. It can be sociable and competitive, but, above all else, enjoyable at what ever level you wish to play it at.

The club is always looking to spread the word that bowls is a sport for all and not just when you have retired. But how to do that is often an unanswered question?

This year Richard has embarked on an active policy of inviting differing organisations and groups to the Bowls club for
an evening of fun on the green followedby a bite to eat. Staff from the local secondary school and a group of WI ladies visited the green on separate Friday evenings to have a go at bowling. The sessions involved a quick introduction to how bowls travel in a curve due to their bias, followed by everyone having a go, to much laughter and friendly teasing when woods didn’t go in the intended direction. After a mid session break for suitable refreshment (the bar was open!) we all had a go at putting our new found skills into scoring points on a ‘Crazy Bowls course which involved trying to score a goal or hit the cricket wickets or getting as close as possible to the golf flag plus other fun targets. The evening was rounded of by some fish and chips, washed down by a little more refreshment. The success of these two evenings is seen in both groups rebooking for next year.

We see these evenings as an opportunity to spread the word about the fun that playing bowls can be and if we or other clubs gain new members from them, well that will be a bonus. We hope we may have just sown a seed or two for the future. But we have to remember that such events can only happen with the willing support of our club members.