The Iroquois Lawn Bowling Club enjoys a very long history and to keep that history going, the members are hoping to increase their numbers for the 2013 season.
With just 15 full-time members and a handful of casual players, the club is struggling to stay alive in what they claim is a game that people of all ages can enjoy.
“The problem is to get some younger people interested,” says club president Terry Triskle. “They think it is a game for old fogies.”
Fact is, it is a great game that can be played by all ages at various levels of skill. It requires no equipment, unless one wishes to own his/her own bowls. It is played outdoors and can be played anytime during the day and in the evening under lights.
There is all sorts of strategy and skill is developed in the throwing of the bowls.
The Iroquois Club gets together three nights per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) but if there were enough members who wanted to set up other times on other days that is certainly a possibility.
Currently, teams are put together the night of play, but with more numbers there could actually be league play.
Triskle points out that the membership fee has been set at $150 for the 2013 season which will stretch from early May and run well into October, weather permitting.
In the past, the lawn bowling turf was cared for by the greens staff of the Iroquois golf course.
That ended two years ago when the golf club went under private contract and so the members are now caring for the turf. The grass is kept shorter than golf course greens but is maintained in exactly the same way…fertilizing, mowing, aerating etc.
“Actually we are more particular about our green. In golf, you want undulations, but we want our green completely flat. The grass is kept shorter, and we want the surface to be hard. An ideal green is brown in the summer.”
The club purchased some mowing equipment last year and it has several sets of bowls that, over the years, have been donated by retiring members.
The main yearly expenses are for fertilizer and work on the greens and maintenance on the equipment.
Thursday night (September 13), the club was host to eight visiting Prescott lawn bowlers. They enjoyed, not just the wonderfully warm evening and great conditions at Iroquois, but a wonderful view of the St. Lawrence.
“Basically, what we need is members,” says Triskle. “We have good members who are very active. They help out and they play, but we just don’t have enough.”
Be the first to comment