Become a disabled-friendly club
Bowling News
One potential way to increase membership of your club is to offer something that no other club in the area is offering - bowling for disabled bowlers. If you can offer a specially adapted wheelchair access to your green you may find that you attract new bowlers to your club. Disability Bowls England is an organisation that supports clubs looking to provide such services and they have their own website with lots of information about how to provide such facilities.
Bowling is one of a few sports where 3 generations of the same family with or without disabilities can play a sport together and one of the most accessible and integrated sports readily available. In recent years the game has become far more accessible for bowlers of all ages & gender with physical, sensory or learning (Intellectual) disabilities. Not all disabled bowlers need to use a wheelchair, but for those that do, there are specially designed wheelchairs for lawn and indoor bowling greens to prevent damage to the greens. Many other bowling aids have been designed and are now available enabling greater participation in the sport at all levels. Financial help is often available to clubs looking to extend their facilities to provide for disabled members.
Disability Bowls England pride itself in finding inclusive clubs for our members & first-time social players to join and enjoy the game, with disabled bowlers playing alongside and in competition with other club members with or without a disability. Friendship and support networks are formed that facilitate the improvement of an individual’s skills, their physical & mental wellbeing and confidence & self-worth, whilst providing the club a broad, diverse and inclusive membership base.
Whether you are a Club with existing disabled bowlers, an inclusive club with accessible facilities or you have been looking to develop disability bowls we would love to hear from you and have your club added to our Disability Bowls Club Finder which lists 105 clubs and aids disabled bowlers to find a club in their area.
If you would like to know more about membership or be involved in future Disability Bowls England events why not join our growing organisation, please email our Development Officer for the North of England: lee.smith@disabilitybowlsengland.org.uk
Disability Bowls England provides support for crown green and lawn bowling and they produce a regular newsletter. The April Newsletter is now available.