Bowling News
Interesting article I uncovered in the archives that Peter Muff passed on to me a few years ago about the minimum and maximum size that a bowling green is allowed to be. This article is dated July 2002 from the BCGBA National Development Co-ordinator but there is no record of the source of the article which doesn't detract from the interest that it creates.
The article explains that there is only one size stipulation and that is that 'a minimum length of 19 metres can be attained from the centre of any one side and one metre in from the edge.' There is no maximum size limit apparently or there wasn't in 2002. Not sure if all that still applies, maybe one of our YCCGBA Referees can enlighten us further on that.
Being a Kirkheaton Con bowler with a home green that is the smallest in Yorkshire makes the answer to this headline query of particular interest. I'm very sure that our green's dimensions comply with the requirements stated above although in a dry spell it may not feel like that.
The article also includes a graph showing the number of clubs and leagues affiliated to the BCGBA year-by-year from 1987-2002 with hardly any deviation over the last 10 years of that period. It would be interesting to see an update to that graph for the last 10 years but that would inevitably result in a negative record which the BCGBA would be unlikely to want to publish.
Added on behalf of Bill Blackburn Hi Jeff
This week you mentioned the size of bowling greens.
The green at West Park in Macclesfield is 90 metres long and the greens at Whitehall Park in Darwen in Lancashire are circular whilst the green at Bishops Castle in Shropshire is octagonal, the smallest in Britain is the Bird in Hand green in Stourport.
Bill.