Spotlight on Sport: Chawton Park Indoor Bowls Club
BOWLS 4 FREE!!
Over 60 people arrived at Chawton Park Indoor Bowls Club on Wednesday 28th November to
take part in the Bowls4Free “Jamboree”! Organised by the coaching team at Chawton Park, the event
was the culmination of several activities funded by the Bowls Development Alliance and supported by
Sport Hampshire & Isle of Wight and EHDC.
Over the past six weeks, coaches have presented an Open Day, a Taster Session and four
weekly sessions of Bowls4Free to members of the public who want to learn the sport of bowls. It offered
them the opportunity not only to learn the game but also to socialise, meet and mix with new people, get
out and about, make new friends, be active and competitive and enjoy some mild, but healthy exercise.
All events were well supported and Tuesday evening sessions were organised for those unable to come
during the day.
Armed with raffle prizes and food for a free buffet, regular members joined with the novice
bowlers to play together. Wednesday’s activities saw everyone being organised into teams of mixed
ability to play a “proper” game. After the game on the bowling green, the teams enjoyed their free buffet,
organised by Doreen Atkins and Rose Lee, and swapped questions and answers with other members of
their team.
A stream of members also supported the travelling Road Show provided by Game Set and Match
of Chichester. All were able to purchase bowls gear and to identify Christmas gifts they could
recommend to family to equip them for their new sport!
Already 36 new members have joined the club as a result of the initiatives and a new league has
been formed that will take place from 12 noon to 2.00pm on Wednesdays. Other new members have
joined the league and to date there are six new teams.
“What an event!”, Coaching Development Officer for
Sport Hampshire & Isle of Wight Greig Stewart,
commented. “It was wonderful to see so many
people, particularly new members, getting active at
Chawton Park Indoor Bowls Club. With such a
warm and welcoming environment CPIBC never
fails to exceed our expectations and we’re delighted
that we are able to work in partnership with them to
deliver our aim of getting more people, more active,
more often!”
Coaching Co-ordinator Don Goodwin said that he
was, once again delighted with the efforts of the
coaching team and particularly thanked Sheila and Brian Crow for their huge contribution to the
organisation throughout.
For anyone wanting further information on Indoor Bowls in Alton or on bowls coaching, visit the
www.cpibc.net website or call the club on 01420 541546.