Sidney Lawn Bowling Club

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Welcome to the Sidney Lawn Bowling Club - striving to be the friendliest club on Vancouver Island, British Columbia!

Join Us!

We are a well-established (1998) lawn bowling club operating out of a full facility club house close to the ocean across from Tulista Park in Sidney, BC. Our membership fees are reasonable and we offer year round sport and social activities. Our club (updated Sep 2011) has 145 active bowlers, 18 social members, 2 life members and 1 honorary member. We are proud to announce that by attracting 25 new members in 2009 we won a nation-wide recruiting contest. Our membership intake in 2011 was 22 new and returning bowling members.

Check out the "Schedules" Page for our bowling schedules and the "News and Announcements" Page for upcoming events and recent past activities. Visit our Gallery to view photographs of some of our activities and click on the About Us and the Our Club pages for more information about us and the game of lawn bowling. If you are interested in joining the club, see our Contact Us information below to reach our membership coordinator.

Whether you are new to Sidney or new to lawn bowling and whatever your skill level, we welcome new members and will provide the training necessary to make you comfortable as you start a new activity.

2010 Novice Campions

THE CLUB WILL BE ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS IN 2012 AND WILL OFFER "LEARN TO BOWL" COACHING, FREE OF CHARGE WITH NO OBLIGATION, STARTING IN MID MAY. THIS OFFER INCLUDES FREE USE OF CLUB BOWLS WHICH, FOR NEW MEMBERS IS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THE FIRST YEAR OF CLUB MEMBERSHIP.

THE SPRING COACHING SCHEDULE IS POSTED ON THE "COACHES CORNER" PAGE.

CONTACT US

JUDITH KOWAL, Membership Co-Ordinator

Tel: 250-656-0209 Fax: 250-656-4181 Email: kjkowal@shaw.ca

Mailing Address: Sidney Lawn Bowling Club

PO Box 20064

Sidney BC V8L5C9

Clubhouse emergency telephone: 250 744-8719

ALTERNATE: Ron Smith Tel: 250 652-8513

WHERE ARE WE?

Our club is located at 9580 Fifth Street in Sidney, on public land, behind a fenced compound housing a municipal maintenance facility. Hardly a grand entrance but, much like an oasis, the club sits behind the compound and against the South end of Iroquois Park as a pocket of tranquillity. Travelling South, heading out of town, on Fifth Street; the gated entrance to the club is about a block past the intersection of Fifth and Ocean (soon to be a round-about). Located on the other side of Fifth Street is Tulista Park and beyond that the Sidney Seaside Walkway and the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. Now you know where we are – come in for a visit.

Bowls History

(extract from The Lawn Bowler's Handbook)

Progress of the game in England had some interesting moments in history. King Richard 111 suppressed the game by legislating a six-day stay in jail for playing bowls. He felt that the game was taking away from the practice of archery and thus affecting the supply of men to the King's Arms. Another interesting moment in the history of the game occurred when Sir Francis Drake was engaged in a game on the sward of Plymouth Hoe. It was here that word was received that the invasion of England by the Spanish Armada was imminent. Drake, however, took the time to finish his game before leading the English fleet to victory (It is rumoured that he had to wait until the tide came in to float his ships). King Henry V111 and his daughter who later became Queen Elizabeth 1, were very fond of the game and not adverse to laying a wager on the outcome of a match. King Henry passed an act forbidding any but the wealthy from playing the game, thus limiting it to the nobility. This is why the game of Lawn Bowls is often referred to as "the gentleman's game" The act was not repealed until 1845, and once it was repealed, the modern game began to flourish in Great Britain.

A code of rules was prepared in the mid-1800s under the guidance of a Glasgow solicitor. It remains almost unchanged to this day. A standard for the biased bowl was adopted in 1895.

Popularity of the game of bowls spread throughtout the colonies of the British Empire and its popularity still remains highest in the Commonwealth countries with Great Britian, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Canada being the main centres of the game today. Bowls is a recognized sport in the Commonwealth Games. Over 30 countries compete in the World Bowls Championships, which are held very four years. In Canada, bowls is played socially and competitively in clubs from coast to coast.

Edinburgh Lawn Bowling Club - 1909

(photos courtesy of Dorothy Addison, Tsawwassen Lawn Bowling Club)

What's the Best Feature of Lawn Bowling? Many of our members would reply; "it's the flexibility". How flexible is it? Well for example, the game can be played - "one on one", or with three players keeping individual scores, or it can be played as teams with two, three or four players. Also there are numerous opportunities during each week to bowl and best of all you are not always committed. Simply attend the clubhouse 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the event and enter your name in the draw. Teams are selected randomly and the game is on. If you like competition there are opportunities during the season to enter tournaments, but here you should accept the commitment to attend - your team members will be depending on you. You can be as competitive as you wish; from social bowling all the way up to the championship level. And that is what we mean by being flexible - a commitment only if you choose at a level of competion that you decide.