Erdington Court BC (Warwickshire) are a prime example of how helping people in their community has had continued positive effects, both on their local area but also at the club itself.
Post-COVID, the club made a concerted effort to open its doors to a number of a different groups and become a truly inclusive hub.
Ray Woods from the club explains, “After the pandemic we took a long hard look at the club. We were coming up on our 100 year anniversary, but we were traditional, a bit stereotypical and not doing a great deal with our local community, even though we have a fantastic indoor arena.
“We wanted to grow the club and have a bigger impact locally. We are located in what is classified officially as a deprived area. So we met with Alan Lane from Bowls England and also David Bolt who is both a top player and works for the Bowls Development Alliance. They were full of useful advice.
“If you’re going to become a more inclusive club, of course it requires funds to do so. However as Alan and David said to us from the start, when you go to your local council or giving groups, it makes a huge difference to be asking as an inclusive organisation, not just a bowls club. The Witton Lodge Community Association is an important funding body near us and we started engaging with them straight away. They were incredibly supportive.
“One of the programmes we first started was Bowl For Health, and at the same time we managed to get four of us to become qualified Coach Bowls Level One coaches so that we could offer official supervision. The key thing with these sessions is that people don’t need to book beforehand, and we absolutely didn’t try to get them to become members – even though some have joined. We knew if we made it a recruiting station it would put people off, it was just about getting newcomers through the door and bowling. We advertised it quite widely, and ironically we didn’t have enough bowls when we got large numbers in! We went out and bought ten sets of Taylor junior woods using grant aid. They are perfect if clients have issues with their hands or balance and play exactly the same as full size woods. They also mean that we save time, by not matching people to full size bowls in the traditional way.
“We had some tremendous feedback from those sessions, and on top of that we were the first organisation in Birmingham to apply to become a Warm Welcome Space, which was an initiative set up as a reaction to the cost of energy crisis.
“What we found is that the people who came through the door all had something in common, which was loneliness and isolation. There is no limit to the number of people in that situation, for example we come into contact with people who are full time carers, and they themselves have become isolated because the person they care for can’t get out of the house. Some members also used the sessions to recover from COVID, the advantage being that the sessions were shorter than a full game, which was just too long for them to manage. So we were catering for their needs as well as the public.
“We spoke to people who come along about what they’d be comfortable paying, and as a result we now charge £2.90 for the hour which includes biscuits. Our sophisticated vending machine offers a range of hot drinks, not just serve tea, and it avoids washing up! Perhaps most importantly we also offer a place for people to stay and chat after they play.
“Now we have a number of different groups who use the club including a Parkinson’s Support Group – as well as former members. One of the guys said to me he never thought he’d be able to play bowls again. Another group is from a charity called Headway – the Brain Injury Charity, together with clients from private care organisations and also Solihull Social Services. One of our very kind sponsors, local company Star Taxis, offers free taxis to bring individuals with disabilities here regularly, and that type of good deed is just one example of the stuff that’s been happening at the club.
“So with all of this in place I think now up to 30 – 40% of the people who come to the club each week are not members, which is a boost for the club and its finances. Now that we’ve invested in the right mobility equipment the revenue can go back into the club in other ways.” The feedback we get from clients is often very moving and our own volunteers really feel engaged with the community.
With great success under their belts, Ray is very happy to share his top tips with other clubs looking to expand their reach. “Sometimes other clubs have asked us for advice and of course we’ve had a lot of help along the way. One thing we always say is – try to get the local movers and shakers down to your club; whether it’s the Mayor, local celebrities, your MP or local council members.
“We’ve had a lot of help from local organisations including Birmingham Council, Witton Lodge, and Birmingham Airport. It becomes a virtuous circle; the more activity you do, the more grants you’re able to access and then the more people you can help. In the last few years we’ve invested something like £150,000 in the club – much of which has come from local grants.
“Our next venture will be into the youth aspect of the club because that is very important to our growth. We can run a session for probably under £3 per child – and with the indoor arena we have the perfect spot.
Our Chairman Rob Robinson has always been an inspirational guy and I think we’ve just been trying to follow his lead. I say to him that he sucked me into his vortex and we will keep doing everything we can to make to continue to make this club a vital asset to the local community and to our members.”
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