News - Richmond Park Bowls Club

BY MATTHEW BISHOP

Richmond Park Bowls Club paves the way for future of bowls

Richmond Park Bowls Club, established in 1906, is challenging the stereotype that surrounds the sport, with members including a 17 and even a 14 year old.

Club member and former AFC Bournemouth player Tommy Taylor, 79, jokingly said “We’ll be lucky to hold onto him for much longer!”

Richmond Park, with its welcoming spirit and message of enjoyment, encourages more people, of all ages, to do the same.

Taylor said “The younger generation are finding out there is something else to bowling, it’s not just about some creaky people rolling a ball around”

Located in Winton Recreation Ground, the club poses as an easily accessible opportunity for residents to stay fit and healthy, with added social and competitive aspects.

The club participates in a Saturday league, with first team matches being played in the morning and afternoon, and a Tuesday league, where the atmosphere is more relaxed.

After matches, no matter the result, both teams head inside the clubhouse, where the home teams buy the away team a drink.

Ted Manzi, a player for the club, said “the social side is really important” and added “there’s some people who don’t have family nearby.”

This is why Richmond Park Bowls Club reiterates the idea that as long as you’re taking part, that’s all that matters.

Their club website contains a list of reasons why it’s beneficial to take up the sport, whether that’s taking in some necessary Vitamin D from the sun, hitting that ten thousand step goal, or simply for satisfaction.

Even if you’re worried about past injuries, Richmond Park’s relaxed approach in training allows you to play with ease.

Taylor said “after football injuries create problems for you. I’ve had both knees replaced, both hips replaced.”

With team matches ranging from 2.5 to 3 hours, the intensity might not be as high as other sports, but the competitiveness between teams is!

Taylor added how he tried squash, badminton and golf, but decided to turn his focus solely on bowls.

“It chose me. Bowls is the only one where I get satisfaction from competitive elements.”

If you fancy a game yourself, or fancy taking on your friends, the club’s pay to play scheme allows you to take hold of a lane for 1 hour for £4 per player, with more prices listed on their website.

So, next time you’re in the Winton area, be sure to keep an eye out for the Richmond Park players proudly sporting their burgundy, navy, yellow and white kit on the club green.

BY CODY KINGSWOOD

Richmond Park Bowls Club: supporting the older community in Bournemouth and looking to inspire the younger generation

A Bournemouth-based bowls club is aspiring to support the older generation and grow the sport in the local community.

Richmond Park Bowls Club is based at the heart of Winton and offers a sense of community to all members. ‘It’s not just the taking part, it’s the socialization afterwards.’

Member Tom has been going down and playing for 3 years, and credits the importance of the club and the community for his improved ‘mental state.’

‘We’re not just talking about bowling; we’re talking about what happened last week.’

The club also host regular events, in which the members and volunteers are encouraged to go out and spend time getting to know each other.

Regular attendee Bernie was also full of praise for the social events hosted by the bowls club: ‘It’s not just about the bowls, we have the quiz nights, we had the curry night… Christmas dinner coming up soon!’

In England, round 270,000 people aged 65 and above report going a week without speaking to a friend or a family member.

Regular attendee Tom praised the club for ‘improving his mental state’ and allowing him to ‘speak to people, have a bit of a drink afterwards.’

However, it is not the older generation that Richmond Park wants to involve, but they speak about ‘adding a younger fraternity’ to the sport of bowls and to their local community.

The club is made up of volunteers, and offer friendlies and a variety of other events in which people can get involved in, including quiz nights and dinners.

The bowls club hope that the easy and accessible sport, as well as hourly sessions from only £4, will appeal to local students and will inspire them to join the community.

Last year’s amalgamation with Winton Cricket Club also helped improve attendee numbers, with opportunities for people to play competitively on Saturday mornings, Saturday afternoons or even Tuesday evenings.

Richmond Park Bowls Club is enriched with 119 years of history in Bournemouth, and is looking for new members to join their community.

You can contact the bowls club via their telephone number: 07500 895496, or by the clubs Facebook: Richmond Park Bowls Club.

“More could be done” – Bowls players say sport lacks national visibility

Written by Jack Carter-Church

Despite strong grassroots participation, players say bowls remains overlooked at a national level.

Players at Richmond Park Bowls Club believe more can be done to increase visibility of the sport and also get younger generations to join in the game as well.

Speaking with player Kevin Moore, he said “At a national level, a lot more can be done to make the game more visible. Historically, its been a game that retired people have played.”

Moore believes that this stereotype of the game needs to change in order for the sport to grow and evolve for newer generations.

Moore added “Maybe if we’re going to make it more accessible to the young people, we need to do more about being available other than just matches at the weekends, in the summer in the evenings or when people finish work.”

In order for this movement to succeed, many players at the club believe that more funding is required at a national level.

Examples of recent funding nationally are during the Coronavirus pandemic, £2.4 million was put into bowls clubs in order to keep them running due to the lack of play from lockdown. Another example is as of September 2023, £367,320 was let out on loan to support bowls clubs with capital investments.

While this funding may have kept the sport alive, Moore believes it is not enough to grow the sport beyond its current audience.

Moore said, “I believe social media could be used to reach the younger generation.” A method which has been taken by many other sports to encourage younger generations to get involved.

“Support at a national level, particularly from the Bowls Association may help draw younger audiences in as well, because it’s only worth doing if you’ve got the people coming in to take part. However like most sports it is all down to money.” Moore added.

Players at Richmond Park also believe maybe some added events could be done there to make the sport look better to the younger generation.

“You could put discos on, you could rent out the building for a party, there’s a lot you could do to still bring revenue to your local bowls club, even if it is outside of the sport itself.” Fellow player Tommy added.

Ultimately, many players at Richmond Park feel that a shift of public perception and the right support could attract a wider range of players and change the stereotypes surrounding the community-based sport.