difficult times by john armstrong

Am i enjoying this bowls season ? To be honest i cant make my mind up. As secretary of a bowls club you get a good idea of how things are going . We all know the game is declining and Nottinghamshire is a good example of that decline with clubs scratching for members ,councils wanting to discard their greens ,the list goes on.

At Greasley MW Bowls Club the season started with high hopes but as always the number of available players shrank for various reasons .The fact is players are getting older and with no younger players taking up the sport illnesses and decreasing energy take their towl.

For all this bowls remains for me a very enjoyable pastime .I tend to annylise the game wondering can i improve the way i deliver the wood ,shot selection .tactics etc etc . I can hear the comments now "Sad old Get should get a life " . The fact is many clubs covering a range of pastimes rely on people giving up their time, often for no financial reward , but anything is better vegitating in the armchair.

The fact remains for us and most clubs a thirty percent increase in membership would solve many problems . How you make a game popular in todays IT world is a problem . You can extol the virtues of regular excercise .Being competetive .having a challenge ,a whole list of things . Having said all that todays armchair sports enthusiasts are paying large monthly fees to watch sports channels while active sport is in decline .

Thats the end of my rant . Want to try the game then give me a call .