Bowls can be played casually for those who want a bit of fun in a relaxing environment. You’ll hear bowlers talk about ‘having a roll up’ where you’ll join up with another club member making it easy to meet new people. Equally, most clubs will run club competitions, play in local leagues and some even enter national competitions. One of the amazing things about bowls is, if you enter a national competition, you could be drawn against an England player!
Most clubs have club houses, which are a hive of activity with people having a chat over a beer or a glass of wine, or perhaps playing games including cards, pool and darts. Clubs put on plenty of social events and quiz nights are often a staple of the club social calendar.
There are well over 3500 bowls clubs across the country – some flat green, some crown green, some indoor and some outdoor – so there’ll be a club near you. Bowls England is responsible for outdoor, flat green bowls. You can see the location of our 2000+ clubs by clicking here.
When you get in touch with the club contact, they’ll arrange a time for you to go along. Most clubs run open days, put on taster sessions and social nights to enable you to try the sport for the first time and meet other people in a relaxed environment.
If you like it, you then have the opportunity to join the club and access the facilities. Club membership is very reasonably priced and clubs are increasingly developing flexible memberships to complement your work and other commitments.
A number of our affiliated clubs have also begun to use our Play Bowls website. This website enables you to book green-space online. Find out if a club near you is providing that option by visiting www.play-bowls.com.