Lawn Bowls - could it be for you?

[Rubydobydo]

What’s your impression of Lawn Bowls as a sport?
My DH is Club Captain at a competitive club in central south, but they’re having increasing problems recruiting new players to the game.
We understand the social changes affecting this - younger people working further away, grandparents caught up with looking after children and so on.
It is a highly skilled game, far removed from the idea of pensioners clinking bowls together. You would need circa £500 for bowls and club uniform to start, but it’s cheap thereafter.
But would you consider playing?

We are crown green bowlers from up north. Our youngest member is 13 and the oldest is 87.
It's very competitive with a great social scene. We have friends who play both codes flat and crown. In fact one of these has emigrated to New Zealand to coach the national team.
When I first met my husband in the 1970's I thought it was an old man's game. I soon changed my mind.
Men, women and children can play against each other. This gives you the experience to improve your game.
The number of friends we have made all over the place.

I play petanque and it is much cheaper. A decent set of boules is under the £100 mark and thereafter little equipment and just a club t shirt or hoody if playing in competition. More fun and very friendly with pointing and shooting. A range of ages although mostly over 60 in our club. Men and women compete on equal terms and in mixed teams. I think bowls looks interesting but slightly like golf in that there seems to be specific uniform and more rigid rules and regs (there is in petanque but not really that many unless in competition) and that might put people off. I think regular have a go sessions and perhaps even tasters at primary school for year 6 or year 7 plus a parent may go down well.

I’m off to research our local club now!

The word "competitive" and I am out. I don't enjoy to compete and compeitive is often very time consuming.

£500 - I am out. Too much if you find out it's not what you want to go on with.

My impression is it can be very hard to join these clubs. People are very tight.

I suppose I wouldn’t try it because it seems to require the effort (time, money, organisation) of a sport but doesn’t really look like exercise. If I was going to take up a sport I would want it to be something that improves my health, I’d assume that this doesn’t really have health benefits although maybe I’m wrong! So it might help if your club advertised the health benefits expressly? If there are any?

I can’t speak for all clubs, but in my experience, not stuffy at all!

You’ll walk up and down that green around 40 times minimum during a game. You’ll crouch and stretch to deliver the bowl. It’s very much like exercise, believe me.

I feel like you have asked the question ‘would you consider lawn bowls and if now why not’ and then posters are telling you the reasons why they may not have thought about playing it but you are just saying that those reasons aren’t correct.

Really, there has been some quite useful information that you could use to possibly attract new players into your club.

I agree with @Whaaaatszuuup - the likelihood that any of us are going to join your local club because you’ve corrected our misapprehensions is tiny! But you asked what might be putting people off and we’ve told you - so your next step could be to look at how you advertise/communicate in your local area so that people know more about this activity and can decide if they want to go.

And got to be honest - walking 40 times up and down a small stretch of lawn, crouching and stretching my arm out still doesn’t sound like much exercise to me!

I think I would feel a bit weird as the average age seems to be about 80! It also looks quite intense and highly skilled tbh.

This is what lawn bowls is like in Australia, where it’s not as much associated with the older generation.

https://www.mitchambowlingclub.com.au/

If the costs put you off but you like the idea of that kind of game, consider finding a local Petangue club. Much cheaper to equip yourself as boules start from about thirty quid or less second hand and Sixtyish new. Most clubs have boules to try out with. No uniform needed either and fees dead cheap

Is this the same game you play in France with old locals smoking Galouise in shady town square? Dreamy

Indeed but I play on an inner city piste and nobody smokes Galoiuse .

I gave it a go a few years ago but pretty much all the members were in their 70’s and above snd I just didn’t have anything in common with them really, just found it a little boring. Maybe when I’m older and am not quite so active.., my husband plays a bit of indoors and that club is a hive of activity for people in the winter.

That’s not the case in my area. No uniforms needed!

I’m sorry, but hardly a small stretch of lawn!
I accept the criticism. This post never was about people joining our club. It was about raising the profile generally, as well as getting some (hopefully) honest feedback.
I’ve been absolutely honest and left no misapprehensions.

My 2pworth - It's for old people and pretty dull. Just try and get your bowl nearer to the jack than anyone else. Then try again a few times. No exercise. Takes a while. Would probably give me backache too.
I'm sure it's great for many people but I like to use my spare time in a much more active way.

Verging on being a little rude. It is a game played on a natural surface where sunlight etc vastly affect the movement of each wood down the green. Competition players invoke highly skilled play, taking out woods as need be. I’d like to see any of the naysayers deliver a biased wood down the length of the green to just kiss the jack. It ain’t easy. I’m not pressurising anyone into playing, just seeking opinion and would appreciate polite responses.

Well according to Google the lawn is 44 yards so even if you walk up and down it 40 times that’s less than 2 miles, so about 30-40 mins of walking over the game? I mean that’s better exercise than not doing anything but it still fits into “gently pottering in a garden” kind of activity rather than doing a workout/weights etc. Maybe you could advertise by stressing it being outdoors and social, it’s more along the lines of golf rather than more active sports.

But it’s called ‘the Green’. For some, this might be much needed exercise, whether disabled in any way, time-short, elderly, in fact any reason you care to mention.
If you have no interest, why find the need to belittle it?

Ok I’m not belittling your hobby, honestly I don’t care enough to bother, but your general tone on this thread has been rude and weirdly defensive. You asked for feedback on what might be putting people off, we’ve given it, and you can now do with that information as you wish.

My gran plays indoor (maybe carpet?) bowls and so did my grandad before he died, my paternal grandfather was captain (?) of the lawn bowls club, on the committee etc, but all after they retired most practices and matches seem to be during the day which doesn't work for people in full time employment. My gran now bowls for her county well into her eighties! I think it's ok for some sports to be skewed towards the older generations

Yes, this.

And honestly, the bowls club in the village I used to live in seemed to be exclusively stuffy, rigid High Tory types over sixty, who frankly never looked like they wanted new members unless they were pre-vetted as ‘Our Kind’. The green was in the grounds of the village hall, and they always looked vaguely annoyed when people were passing on their way to a class. The conversation in the pub afterwards when I overheard it was entirely pro-Brexit and arguing about committees. I genuinely think they’d have been horrified if I (foreigner, comparatively new arrival, Labour voter) showed up.

The pétanque club seemed more welcoming and various.

I gave it a try this year with U3A. I'm hopeless at sports but thought this might be ok. Nope. Lack of co-ordination between my arms and legs! My Dad was a champion bowler in Australia and greenkeeper. I didn't inherit his all round sporting abilities.

However I do like table tennis. I'm the youngest in our group I think and not good at it but I enjoy it. Also it's a nice group of about 8 and we have social get togethers too.