Short Lawn Bowls: A new sport for Arnold u3a

Arnold u3a Chair Hazel talks about how she was inspired to create a variation of a sport she loved after realising mobility was making it difficult to play in its traditional form.

We’ve invented a new sport!

I started playing bowls about ten years ago and loved it –- I still do. When I joined Arnold u3a, I wanted to share this passion with my new friends but discovered there might be a problem. Bowling every bowl is becoming a huge effort for me and I wondered how many of our u3a members would manage to propel a bowl from one side of the bowling green to the other.

Arnold u3a has a thriving group who play indoor Short Mat Bowls, which is certainly less of an effort than Lawn Green Bowls. The lure of the the open air, in the summer months, made me work at finding a way to form an outdoor group for our u3a. I couldn’t have succeeded without the support of friends at Daybrook Bowls Club, who helped me to get the playing formula right for our new sport at their ground. The secret is that we play only half the length of the green! It’s so much easier to bowl but still has the skill needed to make a great competitive game and that certainly suits our members. One of our stars each week is Muriel. She regularly wins her matches and she’s over 90 years young.

The Short Lawn Bowls group started last year and has offered many happy hours of playing in the sunshine –- some of the time -- to both our u3a members and to some Daybrook Bowls Club players. Another benefit is that we’ve been able to invite players from Mapperley u3a to join our sessions. We’re nearing the end of the bowls season now but next year, when the season starts in April, I’d love to spread the word wider and find new members from other local u3as.

To our great excitement, we are in the process of getting our new sport, together with the newly conceived rules of SLB, accepted by the Bowls Federation. I look forward to the time when many u3as will be able to form their own SLB groups -– using our model -– and help will be given to those who ask for it.

Short Lawn Bowls is helping to keep many of our members fit. This month gave us another first as a new face came to learn with us. Michael Payne, our MP, was keen to try and he played well after getting some tips from me, our group leader and Chair.