Sandie Whitaker has now confirmed that further Safeguarding training and/or DBS verification will take place on Saturday 15th April, 10am to 1pm, at Coppull Con Club Spendmore Lane, Coppull, PR7 5DF. For the DBS please bring along your passport, driving licence, utility bill/bank statement with name and current address (dated within last 3 months), also need proof of previous address if moved house in the last 5 years, as well as proof of national insurance number. A pen and pad may be useful. The cost of the Safeguarding Training is £15. Please call Sandie on 07512 501 385 to let her know if you are attending.

The latest BDA Safeguarding Bulletin can be viewed below. These are good to download and put up in your club. Previous versions can be viewed at –https://bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com/safeguarding/resources/.

The Bowls’ Big Weekend is back for 2023 and will be held on the bank holiday weekend from Friday 26th to Monday 29th May. If your Club is thinking of taking part there will be plenty of online help and support available, as well as national publicity.

More information will be coming soon, but if it is something your Club is interested in but are not sure what it involves please get in touch with Ian Gill, the Lancashire Development Officer at lancsbowlsdevelopment@gmail.com and he will do his best to provide some advice and help you. Some further advice will also be added to this website in due course. If your club is definitely taking part please let Ian know so that we can build up a picture of what is happening in Lancashire and how successful it has been.

Please remember to let Sandie Whitaker know if you are attending the Safeguarding training/DBS checks this coming Sunday. Please note that the training will cost £15 to attend, so please bring payment with you.

There will be a ‘Club Development Presentation’ from Ian Gill, the new Lancashire Development Officer, at 7.15pm on Tuesday 14 March. The presentation will take place at Dunscar Conservative Club, Hardmans Lane, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9HJ, and will be prior to the Bolton Leagues AGM. Anyone that can make it there is welcome to attend, you do not need to be from the Bolton Leagues representatives.

The presentation will cover grant funding, and initiatives to help your club attract new members. If you are attending, and there is anything specific you would like to learn about then please contact Ian on lancsbowlsdevelopment@gmail.com prior to the event.

Hello everyone, I would like to introduce myself as the new Development Officer for the Lancashire CCGBA. For anyone that doesn’t know me my name is Ian Gill and I have been a coach for many years at Ormskirk Bowling Club (as well as previous roles as Chairman and Secretary at clubs) and have just finished the Level 2 Coach Bowls coaching qualification. I was also recently a Club and Community Development Officer with the Bowls Development Alliance before giving that up to become a partner at Bowls Buddies LLP (you will see mention of that company in the new BCGBA Handbook). I also act as the Chairman for the West Lancs & Sefton Junior Bowls Forum and have run the local Junior League (currently awaiting a fresh influx of clubs) and the Ormskirk Federation Junior and Youth Teams.

I can’t admit to knowing everything but if I can assist your club in anyway then please get in touch. I have set up a new email address for any Lancashire Bowls Development enquiries – lancsbowlsdevelopment@gmail.com so please contact me via that. I will add my contact details on to the website as well.

In terms of other things, take a look at the Club Development and Coaching pages on this website. I hope to improve these and add to them over the next few weeks. I will also be doing a ‘Club Development’ presentation prior to the Bolton Leagues AGM in March and will post more details about this shortly. I will consider the best way to do such presentations in the future and will look to do an online session at some point.

I am happy to visit your club and meet you, time permitting, if you would like some more detailed advice.

Finally bowls is NOT a dying sport – there have been thousands of new registrations recently, including many in Lancashire, and there are some very simple things you can do to attract new members and make your club thrive. It just needs a bit of thought and effort.

The Lancashire County Crown Green Bowling Association AGM will be held on Saturday 28 January at 2pm. The Chief Executive of the BCGBA (Mr Mark Bircumshaw) is due to attend to explain the details of the Rules Revision. The venue for the AGM is Leigh Welfare Miners Club, Twist Lane, LEIGH WN7 4EF.

A very Merry Christmas from the Lancashire CCGBA Committee to all of our clubs and bowlers.

The Manchester Indoor Bowls Project has huge prospects for crown and flat-green bowls in the North West.

Manchester City Council has recently agreed to undertake a professional feasibility study in early 2023 to determine demand for, and viability of, a new purpose built, international standard, indoor bowls complex in the Greater Manchester area.

There is no certainty that the project will happen, but a Facebook page (Manchester Indoor Bowls Project) has been created to enable the North West bowls community to show support for it.

If you think it is a good idea, and would be interested in joining if the facility was established, please like the Facebook page and please also take a minute to answer the short questions via the link below.

Please also help spread the word by sharing this page/survey to as many fellow bowlers (flat and crown) as possible across the North West and encourage them to complete the short survey.

Complete this short online survey – Survey – Potential new bowls facility in Manchester

Our support and input is crucial for its fruition.

A Summary Report of the latest BCGBA Management Meeting can be accessed below.

The latest BCGBA Newsletter has now been published and can be found below.