No matter how many members a club has or how few volunteers, The sport and facilities are the work of many. Over the years, before WE ( You , I , the reader) came, someone did what we are doing to keep the club alive.
No one can take total credit. Everyone can be to blamed if the club closes or fails. Your Sport of Lawn Bowls is to day great because of a lot of great people over the years in many countries. flags left are countries with World Bowls
. "Get involved, Save your Club" was the intended pitch. But as I type I realize that I am proud of what we did and look back at our nearly lost club as a " Before and After" About 10 years ago I told myself that over the past 40 or so years I have build many sport clubs as an executive or volunteer. Now, retired, it was time to play the sport and relax. But when you love your sport and can't stand to watch it die; you must do what you can even if years and strength is not there.. Anyway, we did it.. Saved our Club, and you should think about your clubs future.
Coaches give a bit of history when they introduce new members to the sport so they appreciate the years that the sport has survived. the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club of Arcadia, California writes
"Sculptured vases and ancient plaques show the game being played some four thousand years ago, and archaeologists have uncovered biased stone bowls from 5,000 B.C. which indicate our ancestors enjoyed the game of bowling more than seven thousand years ago.
Our Club of Bowls (Manchester LBC) on the Pediacodic River in New Brunswick is a small club. But I would like to think our efforts as new members and those of older members and our Club President has saved the greens and facilities by their hard work and time.
A few years ago, in the neighbouring town of Shediac the club lost their greens to the municipality. When the facilities and cares of the Lawn Bowls Clubs is the total expense and responsibility of municipality's workers. a lot of decisions on the life of Lawn Bowls is made behind closed doors. No member should be so unconcerned to allow these decisions to be made without club support..
An earlier blog about the closure of several Welsh LBC clubs attempted to warn readers that the responsibility of the sport and their club belongs to them. Our membership fee is $40 Can with New members at $25. Show me a club, anywhere where you have greens and Bowls available for 5 months for so little.
When we began working to save the club and greens we discovered that the land was being wanted by Ice Sports of Hockey, Figure Skating, Broom ball, and others to build a new Arena. The selling point was the lack of participation of the public in Bowls as to the need for public skating and ice sports. Of course it didn t help with the recent international news. Canada was receiving Gold medals in Women's Hockey, Mens Hockey and then PanAm Games were coming to Canada Bowls is such a small sport next to these..
We began by working on the club as volunteers, cutting the expense and maintenance of the Municipal workers. We lobbied for the municipality togive us the old Tourist Bureau which was abandon and unused. It was a 60 ft trailer with no kitchen but visitors facilities and washrooms.
Moving the building and its new installation as our clubhouse also meant the removal of the old clubhouse. For the Recreational and Parks employees this was a big job and expense and if not for the few dedicated members and Club Executives efforts, the municipality would not have agreed to such an expense. For the past two years there has been continual work indoors and out making the Lawn Bowls Club a recognized and respected sport.
Just last month, the neighbouring municipality had a " Dieppe 55Plus Sport and Recreational Week" and we saw Lawn Bowls introduced as a Senior Sport. and we introduced How to Play Courses to prepare the 24 participants who many thought that lawn Bowls was a backyard kids game. Of these new introduced to the sports individuals the club membership almost doubled. (not hard to do when only 12 members in 2012 and remember there are always lost members every year)
last weekend a large food store was having a gathering and accepted an introduction to Bowls as their summer picnic activity for members. This bring out some people who would never have tried Bowls. Last year we also saw a similar employee (membership) Saturday gathering as 40 tried the sport. I am sure that the municipality politician who once said "Lawn Bowls..What's that?" now speak highly of the success of the Recreational Staff and Lawn Bowls members in this club.
What does this mean to you. Once the facilities go.. then so does the sport. YES, we pay our membership and so should just be allowed to Bowl but being a club member is more than just going and do the sport. Volunteer work or maintenance is for everyone and not as we often hear "that is for others." NOT so.. when the year is over yes it is nice to talk about the great competitions, but also it is great to bath in the glory of a club increased members or it near death recovery and new life and members.
Blog stats sometime can be interesting to watch...
With 92 blogs and none of them are short, I see from the chart on the left that some new bowler took the time to read all 92.. probably did a quick read or decided it was not what he wanted... but they view all 92 blogs Thank you for your interest and time.. One day I will start to make the blogs shorter.
Interesting that this reader probably came from USSR as the next day the reader map showed the volume coming from there. Do we introduce the sport to others with our blogs ?
Above I posted all the flags of Lawn Bowls Countries. I am doubtful if Russia is a member but the sport starts with a few interested players and maybe a bit of information on the net. Lawn Bowls is Bocci (a different game) to Italians and Petanque (metal Balls) to France. But the similar game in Canada is Curling which is played on Ice and the delivery of the stone is the same movement as Bowls Delivery.
. "Get involved, Save your Club" was the intended pitch. But as I type I realize that I am proud of what we did and look back at our nearly lost club as a " Before and After" About 10 years ago I told myself that over the past 40 or so years I have build many sport clubs as an executive or volunteer. Now, retired, it was time to play the sport and relax. But when you love your sport and can't stand to watch it die; you must do what you can even if years and strength is not there.. Anyway, we did it.. Saved our Club, and you should think about your clubs future.
Coaches give a bit of history when they introduce new members to the sport so they appreciate the years that the sport has survived. the Santa Anita Bowling Green Club of Arcadia, California writes
"Sculptured vases and ancient plaques show the game being played some four thousand years ago, and archaeologists have uncovered biased stone bowls from 5,000 B.C. which indicate our ancestors enjoyed the game of bowling more than seven thousand years ago.
Our Club of Bowls (Manchester LBC) on the Pediacodic River in New Brunswick is a small club. But I would like to think our efforts as new members and those of older members and our Club President has saved the greens and facilities by their hard work and time.
A few years ago, in the neighbouring town of Shediac the club lost their greens to the municipality. When the facilities and cares of the Lawn Bowls Clubs is the total expense and responsibility of municipality's workers. a lot of decisions on the life of Lawn Bowls is made behind closed doors. No member should be so unconcerned to allow these decisions to be made without club support..
An earlier blog about the closure of several Welsh LBC clubs attempted to warn readers that the responsibility of the sport and their club belongs to them. Our membership fee is $40 Can with New members at $25. Show me a club, anywhere where you have greens and Bowls available for 5 months for so little.
 |
| Old Club house 2013 |
When we began working to save the club and greens we discovered that the land was being wanted by Ice Sports of Hockey, Figure Skating, Broom ball, and others to build a new Arena. The selling point was the lack of participation of the public in Bowls as to the need for public skating and ice sports. Of course it didn t help with the recent international news. Canada was receiving Gold medals in Women's Hockey, Mens Hockey and then PanAm Games were coming to Canada Bowls is such a small sport next to these..
We began by working on the club as volunteers, cutting the expense and maintenance of the Municipal workers. We lobbied for the municipality togive us the old Tourist Bureau which was abandon and unused. It was a 60 ft trailer with no kitchen but visitors facilities and washrooms.
Moving the building and its new installation as our clubhouse also meant the removal of the old clubhouse. For the Recreational and Parks employees this was a big job and expense and if not for the few dedicated members and Club Executives efforts, the municipality would not have agreed to such an expense. For the past two years there has been continual work indoors and out making the Lawn Bowls Club a recognized and respected sport.
 |
| New Clubhouse 2015 |
last weekend a large food store was having a gathering and accepted an introduction to Bowls as their summer picnic activity for members. This bring out some people who would never have tried Bowls. Last year we also saw a similar employee (membership) Saturday gathering as 40 tried the sport. I am sure that the municipality politician who once said "Lawn Bowls..What's that?" now speak highly of the success of the Recreational Staff and Lawn Bowls members in this club.
What does this mean to you. Once the facilities go.. then so does the sport. YES, we pay our membership and so should just be allowed to Bowl but being a club member is more than just going and do the sport. Volunteer work or maintenance is for everyone and not as we often hear "that is for others." NOT so.. when the year is over yes it is nice to talk about the great competitions, but also it is great to bath in the glory of a club increased members or it near death recovery and new life and members.
Blog stats sometime can be interesting to watch...
 |
| Blog Stats July 29th |
Interesting that this reader probably came from USSR as the next day the reader map showed the volume coming from there. Do we introduce the sport to others with our blogs ?
 |
| same blog two days later |
Above I posted all the flags of Lawn Bowls Countries. I am doubtful if Russia is a member but the sport starts with a few interested players and maybe a bit of information on the net. Lawn Bowls is Bocci (a different game) to Italians and Petanque (metal Balls) to France. But the similar game in Canada is Curling which is played on Ice and the delivery of the stone is the same movement as Bowls Delivery.
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