LAWN BOWLS CLUBS IN CRISIS!

LOCAL VENUES ARE BEING FORCED TO REINVENT THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO SURVIVE

-  Ruth McCarthy and Brigid Auchettl

The meticulously manicured greens of a lawn bowls club have long been a distinctive showpiece of Australian society, and the heart of many a community. But grim statistics show the iconic bowlo is on the decline, casting a dark shadow over its future.

A recent study by UNSW Sydney reported mass club closures in the past 40 years, with some cities having lost nearly half of their bowlos.

Waning in popularity, ageing members, financial pressures to cover pricey land taxes, and clubhouse and ground maintenance are some of the contributory factors behind the 150-year institution being forced to close some of their doors.

Once affectionately dubbed “third spaces”, bowlos have always played a key role in Australian society with the first space being home, the second work and the third where locals gather.

It begs the question that if bowlos are the glue which binds the community, then why are they barely surviving and not thriving?

“There were often many sports clubs in one suburb, including an abundance of bowling clubs,” says lead author of the UNSW study and city planning graduate Louis Heath.