Merry Christmas everyone from all at the Lancashire County Crown Green Bowling Association.

The Lancashire County Crown Green Bowling Association is currently seeking a new Development Officer following the resignation of the present postholder, who will finish on the date of the AGM on Saturday 24th January (2pm) (to be held at Leigh Bowling Club, Pownell Street, Leigh WN7 2JD).

If you are interested in the Development Officer role please get in touch with Keith Andrews, the Lancashire Secretary, or for an informal chat about what the role entails contact Ian Gill, the current Development Officer (07500 918 081).

The Lancashire CCGBA AGM will take place on Saturday, January 24th starting at 2pm and will take place at Leigh Bowling Club, Pownell Street, LEIGH, WN7 2JD.

The County have received the following message from the BCGBA National Development Officer, Jayne McKay, in relation to Coaching Courses…..

I’m working closely with Coach Bowls to plan upcoming Crown Green Bowling Level 1 and Level 2 courses, but I really need your help to spread the word to clubs.

From our current tracking, we have the following numbers of interested bowlers, with 8 already enrolled on the Blackpool Level 1 course:

• NL&F: 7
• Cheshire: 7
• Lancashire: 8
• Merseyside: 9
• Yorkshire: 1

For Level 2,  we have:

          *  Lancashire : 2

          *  Merseyside: 1

          *  Cheshire : 1

         *   NL&F:  1

If your County is aiming to increase the number of qualified coaches next season, please encourage bowlers to complete the Coach Bowls interest survey. This allows us to carry out a postcode search, identify local coaching clusters, and work with Counties to select the most suitable venues.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XDFDFMW

Once venues are confirmed, Adam, Coach bowls can then arrange tutors and course details.

Details of the coaching courses and appropriate links can be found on our Coaching page.

If your club is located in the Southport, Birkdale or Ainsdale areas please complete the survey below (if you haven’t already done so) by the end of Sunday (tomorrow). This is really important to inform the sports facility survey and it will give the Council information to help protect bowling greens. Info and link below.

Further to our previous communications regarding the above,  the bowls club survey is now on-line at https://yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk/planning/05a867ae/ and via the QR code.

I should be grateful if you could pass on this information to the bowls county representatives, and ask them to request all their bowls clubs to fill it in.  The closing date is the end of Sunday 12^th October 2025.

The Bowls Development Alliance’s ‘Week of Learning’ programme next takes place from 13^th – 17^thOctober. For those who are unaware, it offers ‘Free’ Webinars to members of any Club Affiliated to British Crown Green Bowling Association, Bowls England, the English Indoor Bowling Association or English Short Mat Bowling Association.

You can read what each session will cover and register your free space by clicking on the Blue Box below each session – Week of Learning Programme

Registration for each session will be open up until the morning of the session. Once registered, you will receive an email with the session link and further information. Please feel free to promote ‘Week of Learning’ to Club, Members, Committee etc.

If you encounter any problems, please Email – clubdevelopment@bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com

The following message has been received from Paul Bryson, the Bowls Development Alliance’s North West Development Officer. It would be well worth ensuring your details are up to date on the Play Bowls website as detailed below.

Dear Lancashire Bowls Clubs,

We hope this message finds you well. As part of our continued support for BCGBA Affiliated Clubs, we at the Bowls Development Alliance are encouraging all clubs across Lancashire to log in to their profiles on the Play Bowls website and make sure their information is current.

Every club already has a profile on the site – and by keeping yours updated, you can significantly boost your visibility to both current and potential new members.

Why it matters:

The newly improved Club Finder on Play Bowls is becoming a one-stop shop for people looking to find and join a bowls club. Whether your club has its own website or not, your Play Bowls profile offers a vital online presence that enhances your reach.

What you can do:

Once logged in, your club admin can:

• Update opening times, contact details and key club information
• Add photos to showcase your club
• Assign roles such as Secretary, Greenkeeper, Coach, Chair, etc., with each role having access to update club details
• Choose to receive role-specific newsletters and updates

Please note: There is no longer a need to log in to bowlsengland.com – all club information is now hosted exclusively on the Play Bowls platform.

Set up ‘Pay and Play’ to boost income and visibility

Clubs now also have the option to offer Pay and Play sessions directly through the platform – a fantastic way to:

• Attract non-members to try bowls
• Increase club revenue
• Make your club stand out with a more prominent, image-led profile

The setup is simple and free. Just log in, follow the step-by-step guide to connect a Stripe account, and start scheduling sessions that suit your club.

Get Started

The main club contact will receive an email with login details. Once logged in, you’ll find it quick and easy to edit and enhance your club’s page. If you have not received details to log in, then please contact Jas at Bowls England here – jasbir.batt@bowlsengland.com

For full guidance visit https://www.bowlsengland.com/playbowls/ and to log in, visit: https://play-bowls.com/

Let’s work together to grow the game across Lancashire one updated profile at a time.

This year’s Lancashire Team trophy has been won by Garswood Hall BC. Congratulations to the team on their achievement.

The winner of the Lancashire Merit 2025 is Alan Manuel of Warrington, for the second time in a row! He will represent Lancashire at the BCGBA Champion of Champions at Owley Wood.

Message from the BCGBA set out below in relation to coaching courses. Note the link to register your interest.

We are inviting you and your members to register interest in the following Coach Bowls courses in partnership with BCGBA.

• Level 1 Coach Bowls Course – 2 × 3-hour Zoom sessions, a learning portfolio, practical day, practice sessions at your club, and assessment day. Cost: £150 (50% bursary available on completion from BCGBA).

• Level 2 Coach Bowls Course – 3 × 3-hour Zoom sessions, a learning portfolio, two practical days, linked practice sessions with experienced bowlers, and assessment day. Cost: £235 (50% bursary available on completion from BCGBA).

Both courses include Coaching insurance cover. Please note from 1st August 2025:

• All new coaches are required to have a valid DBS check (preferably registered on the Update Service) and have attended a safeguarding course before starting a coaching course. The DBS is free for individuals, however safeguarding course costs are not included in the above cost.
• We are committed to being a Safer Recruiter and ensuring every coach entering training meets safeguarding standards from the outset.
• Any coaches qualifying in 2025 will be contacted to supply DBS and safeguarding certificates.
• Coaches who have qualified previously through Coach Bowls will be contacted at a later date.

Once we have 12 names within your County/Country, we will contact Coach Bowls and agree times and dates based on the availability of Coach Bowls coaches. Information will be shared with Coach Bowls in accordance with GDPR requirements and a formal Data Sharing Agreement.

From 1st August 2025, please can we request that BCGBA Countries and Counties book via our BCGBA survey form and NOT via the Coach Bowls website so we can ensure safer recruitment.

Click here to complete the Coaching interest form

Thank you for supporting the development and maintenance of high-quality coaching standards across BCGBA and please thank your prospective coaches on behalf of BCGBA.