Think tank aims to make a difference

HOLLINWOOD Cricket Club captain Christine Griffiths (centre) holds the Oldham Women's Bowling League’s Division Two trophy, watched by the rest of the winning team.

Club members facing £1 levy
BOWLS: GREATER Manchester Bowling Association delegates will meet next month to discuss rule-change proposals which are up for discussion at the BCGBA annual meeting.

Perhaps the most contentious is a £1 levy on bowling club members, the aim being to boost the BCGBA coffers.

Clubs would be responsible for the payment of this levy and if a bowler is a member of more than one club then he or she would make an extra contribution. For example, bowlers would be responsible to pay £2 if a member of two clubs, and so on.

The BCGBA is proposing that 15 per cent of the estimated £100,000 raised would be paid back to county associations and the BCG women’s association.

This suggestion has not received the backing of the new development group, however.

Although in favour of the levy, group members had identified a series of initiatives which the money would go to.

These included the funding of major county and national competitions, coaching in schools, the appointment and payment of a national bowls promotions officer and grants for struggling clubs.


INDOOR BOWLS UPDATE
LEADING figures in crown green bowls have come together in a bid to give the sport a much-needed shot in the arm.

With the number of bowlers falling each year, greens closing and leagues reporting reductions in the amount of teams involved, it is clear that the sport is in decline.

But now top players and well-known personalities in the sport have formed a development group with a mandate to come up with ideas for the sport’s governing body, the British Crown Green Association, to consider.

Nimble Nook and Tonge star Gary Ellis and former Oldhamer Graeme Wilson, widely recognised as the game’s leading players, have agreed to give their time and opinions free of charge.

So, too, have Waterloo Hotel bowls manager Jimmy Parker and fellow TV commentator Keith Rudman, along with representatives from the media and other bowls organisations.

Said Ellis: “About 10 or 11 people were approached to form this committee and its aims are to be an ideas-generator for the BCGBA.

“The association has come in for some criticism during the last few years in that there has been nothing done to push the game forward.

“The development group has been meeting to discuss the issues the game faces but, like anything else, it takes time.

“We have no power to vote anything through, so our ideas have to be put to the BCGBA Management Committee.

“One of the things we have spoken about is trying to attract new players to the game, but how you do that is very difficult.

“There is so much more you can do at home these days. About 15 to 20 years ago there was no Internet, no DVDs, video recorders were just coming along and there were only four television channels to watch.

“So it was a case of what to do on a Tuesday night to occupy your mind and some people chose bowls.”

Clearly, the nurturing of young bowling talent is an area for the group to focus on, but members are equally keen to target middle-aged people.

“There are ex-footballers or rugby players, guys getting to their late 30s or early 40s, that kind of a thing, but how do you attract them to the sport?” said Ellis.

“It is easy for others to sit back and criticise the BCGBA, but you quickly realise when discussing issues that it takes time to come up with ideas without any flaws.

“We have already got a couple of things through, such as the amalgamation of the Irlam Team Championship and British Championship, but other plans are much longer term.
“Basically, we are discussing anything that we feel will improve the game.

“There is no down side and we are all giving up our time to do it, but you are not going to see changes overnight.”