Bowls club appeals for members

WARGRAVE Bowls Club says it is struggling to find new members.

Treasurer Marion Pope, who has been a member since the Eighties, says she is becoming worried for the club’s future.

Her husband Michael has been a member even longer and his father, Frank Pope, was a founding member.

The club, which is based at the recreation ground at the top of East View Road, hopes to welcome new faces when the greens re-open.

Mrs Pope, who is also a parish councillor, said: “We are a little bit worried because we do need more members. We are all getting older and we have, sadly, lost one or two members through natural causes.

“A lot of people say they are too young to take up bowls but they’re not. Technically, the younger they take it up the more interested they will be in it.

“We have had lots of people who have gone on to play for the county — both men and women — and we belong to the Chiltern & Thames Association of Mixed Bowls.”

Mrs Pope says the club, which formed in 1926, offers equal opportunities to male and female players.

She has been treasurer since she joined and is particularly keen to see children take up bowls. It is a summer sport, traditionally played between April and September and most members play twice a week.

Fellow member David Voller added: “Wargrave Bowls Club is struggling to find new members to replace those retiring through age or ill health.

“Unless we do so, the future of the club is bleak. This appeal is to men and women of Wargrave and surrounding areas to seriously consider becoming members of our club.

“Without doubt, the game of bowls can promote health, wellbeing and social benefits.”

For more information, call 0118 940 3533.