Day of fun out on the greens

Attracting people of all ages to the sport of bowls is the aim of a Horsham City Bowling Club come-and-try day on Sunday.

Club secretary Betty Cozens said the event, from 11am, would offer a prime opportunity for people across Horsham district to learn about the sport.

“I’ve been involved in bowls for 20 years and had a tremendous amount of enjoyment from playing the game,” she said.

“It can be very competitive, and you travel around and meet different people.

“The sport has always been known as an older person’s game, but certainly it would be wonderful to have some younger ones get involved too.”

Mrs Cozens said a trend of people moving to rural and regional Victoria due to the COVID-19 pandemic represented an opportunity to attract new members.

She said bowls was a ‘fantastic’ way for newcomers to integrate into a community. “We’re all talking about people coming from the city and having a tree change, so if there are any people who fit into that category and would like to come along and meet people, bowls is a great way to get involved in the community,” she said.

Get involved

“It’s also an opportunity to be active as you get into your older years. It very important health-wise but also for intermingling with other people.”

Mrs Cozens said the event was part of the club’s plans to tackle a broader downward trend in bowls participation across the Wimmera.

“Bowls in general is not attracting new members.

“The only new members we seem to get are people who have retired and moved into Horsham,” she said.

“It’s getting harder and harder to attract new members, so it’s very important we are able to organise events like this that will attract new members.”

A barbecue, face painting for children and a jumping castle will also be part of the event.

The club plans to draw raffles throughout the day, with plenty of prizes on offer from Horsham businesses.

Entry into the event is a gold coin donation and the first 100 children to arrive will receive a ‘lucky dip’ on entry.

Adults will also receive a free raffle ticket on entry.