Club calls for community bowlers

MEMBERS of the Inverleigh Bowls Club are holding regular come and try sessions alongside their pennant training throughout September in order to gain new members.

With the first event held last weekend, two more sessions are set to take place on Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 September.

Treasurer, Michele Shields said their aim is to introduce new players to both the club and sport.

“We’ll have some little games and drills with people to learn how to bowl. There’ll be lots of coaches to talk them through and lots of friendly banter from the members,” she said.

“We want to introduce people to bowling, and hopefully find some new players in town. We’re a small-town club in a small-town community. We need to find new members to keep the club viable.

“You’ll find most small country towns are having issues with recruitment just because of the demographic. If we had a retirement village here like in Geelong, we’d have a bit more of a market.”

With 30 playing members, the group’s age demographic ranges from between 13 to 89 years old, though Ms Shields said the majority of their players are aged around 70 and older.

Having joined the club about five years ago, Ms Shields said the issue of recruiting younger players has been a persistent one.

“It’s difficult in this community because while we’ve got growth, it’s the younger demographic that aren’t committing to sport on a Sunday,” she said.

“This is a problem that’s been around for some time. We just want people to see the game, hear about the game, and become part of it.”

The club’s competitive season with the Geelong Bowls Region begins in late October.

All are welcome to attend the come and try sessions which start at 10am at 20 Railway Street, Inverleigh, with no reservations required.