Clubs worth saving at any cost

Update started March 2026

No matter how many members  a club has or how few volunteers, The sport of Lawn Bowls and  the club's facilities are the work of many members.  Over the years, before WE ( You , the reader and I) became a club member, someone did their share to build and keep the club alive.

  No one person can take total credit if a Lawn Bowls club being successful. However, everyone who is a member today, (every year during those last few year of a club closure), can be blamed if the club is failing in membership and services. A club does not  fail in one year but over several years.   The Sport of Lawn Bowls is today doing well in some countries because of a lot of great people with a vision of their sport over the years in their countries. The photo of flags (left)  are countries registered with World Bowls. (Update March 2026) in 2016. Today World Bowls lists 61 countries as member countries, up from the 24 flags (photo left) and on their webpage you can find the top 5000 2025 World Bowls athletic bowlers for these countries. (end)

   "Get involved, Save your Club"  was the intended pitch of this blog.  But as I type this,  I  realize that I am proud of what we did as I look back at our nearly lost club as I do this " Before and After" (Update) When last I spoke to fellow club members I was told the club had closed. Before moving back to Montreal in 2019 there was talk that the Hockey clubs could be using the Arena across the street from the club, and they had been suggested to the municipal executives that the club land could be a second Arena to allow more Public Skating and Hockey. (end) 

 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 and I was now ready to retire.  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 of their club and the sport's National structure when they introduce new members to the sport; with hopes they appreciate the years that the sport has survived. History of our sport is important and   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 across the river from Moncton, New Brunswick is a small club, but I would like to think our efforts as long time members and our  Club President Mr. Tripp has saved the greens and facilities by the  hard work of creating a new clubhouse and extra activities.

A few years ago, in the neighbouring town of Shediac, the club there, 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 their club's 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. (Update) Not like today where membership can be between $200 to $1000 (end)  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, Men's  Hockey and then  the PanAm Games were coming to Canada.  Bowls is such a small sport next to Hockey or similar well developed sports.

We began by working on the club as volunteers, cutting the expense and maintenance costand the need for Municipal workers.  We lobbied for the municipality to give us the old Tourist Bureau trailor which was abandon and unused.  It was a 60 ft trailer with no kitchen facilities but intended for visitors with 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 continual work the few dedicated  members they would never had accepted the extension of the club's life. This would mean a lot of work for members and Club Executives,  the municipality would not have agreed to such an expense. For the past two years, we all were busy with continual work indoors and out to rebuild  the Lawn Bowls Club and promote it as a recognized and respected sport.

New Clubhouse 2015

 

Just last month, the neighbouring municipality had a " Dieppe 55Plus Sport and Recreational Week" and we saw Lawn Bowls introduced into the Senior Sport section of their activities.  So we introduced How to Play Courses in preparation for the final week and had  24 participants who learned and tried for the first time, Lawn Bowls.  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 who cross the river to the club in Moncton)

Activities were organized to promote the sport and build membership for 2013 and 2014é Last weekend a large food store was having a gathering and the management accepted an introduction to Bowls as their summer picnic activity for members.  This brought out some people who would never have tried Bowls bowls without the promotion. Last year we also saw a similar employee (membership) Saturday gathering as 40 locals tried the sport. These sort of spring promotion is important when citizens are deciding what sport they will participate or learn as Spring arrives.  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.  *** (update to continue)

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

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 ?

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.