What To Expect

All members recieve a Club Programme and Information Handbook. This is your go-to guide for everything ranging from club facilities and sponsors, who's who and their contact details, basic club rules, tournaments and dates, plus a members list. 

Even being armed with the Club Handbook, when you are new to bowls, simply knowing where to start can be a little confusing and for some a little daunting.

Some of the more frequently asked questions are; 

• What can I play in?
• Who do I speak to if I want to know something?
• How does the club calendar work?
• How do I enter tournaments or social events?
• What do the various forms of the game involve?
• How do I find out about what is going on at the club?

We can help you answer these questions and any others you may have. Your first port of call is to contact one of our Club Captains.

CLUB Captains

To help you become familiar with how it all works, we have club captains that can explain what you need to know and are there to field any other questions you may have. There’s no such thing as a dumb question.

For the first few months we recommend you just focus on learning the game and having fun.  Once you join, we will team you up with a "buddy" that will help mentor you alongside the coaching team and club captains.

Do not expect that you will be "dropped in the deep end" by going straight from coaching to competitive bowls.  More than likely, your first step will be into social bowls and from this level of play you will decide whether to join the more experienced and competitive players or stay at the social level. The decision is yours, whichever you are comfortable with.

Having a go at all the different formats of the game, will help you decide which format's you prefer.

Our formal season runs from September until the end of April. Depending on when you start, we will guide you on when you should formally join the club. 

TIMING Your Membership

Once you officially join you will start your first year as a "Junior".  This is not a derogatory term; in bowls it simply means a year 1-5 player. You'll be pleased to know it has nothing to do with your age!!! It doesn't matter whether you're still at school or a retiree. When you first start playing bowls as a full-time member, you are classified as a "Junior Bowler" for your first 5 years.

It doesn't stop you from entering any event, but it does allow you to compete in specific "Junior" events, against bowlers with similar experience.

If you start midway through the season, we usually encourage people to wait until the start of the following season to officially join, that way you maximise your first year as a Junior. This may sound a bit odd, but it really is for your benefit and your club captain can advise you on your best options.

​​​​​​​Our club and region also host many Novice (Year 1-2) and Junior (Year 1-5) player events which cater for new and near new members.

We encourage our junior members to participate in club and local events for Juniors as much as possible. This helps give you experience, starts to build a comradery with other players and you get to know members at other clubs.  Likewise, there are Junior events held outside of our area that are well run and well worth entering for the same reasons.

Playing more and spending more time on the greens will help you develop your skills in the game.

CLUB Involvement

Off the green, our members are encouraged to take an active role participating in club life.

There are a variety of tasks required to keep the club and our facilities looking great and in top condition year round.

As well as general maintenance, we always need help on tournament days, assiting at fundraising social activities and corporate events (bar staff, kitchen hands, green marking and set up, manning a BBQ etc). If there's anything in particular you think you'd like to help the club with no matter how small, just let your Club Captain know.

Like any other sport, in bowls you can expect to have some good days on the green, some average days and some days you’d rather forget about. That’s all fine, and all bowlers experience those days regardless of how long they have played the game. We’re all there with you.