The Bowls Development Alliance’s latest Safeguarding Bulletin can be viewed below. For further information on safeguarding and links to the templates and previous bulletins on the BDA’s website visit the Safeguarding page on this website.

Paul Naylor, the Lead Practitioner for Inclusion and Pupil Welfare at Gaskell Community Primary School in Bolton has been in touch to let us know about the work that has been going on with schools in the local area. He writes:

We held a Year 5 festival – plenty of friendly matches and a Year 4 Competition for trophies and prizes. 

For the Y4’s this has been the end of a programme that started indoors in March and then ran weekly outdoors through the summer. Next year we can add a Y6 festival for those who bowled this year. The Y4 competition was umpired brilliantly by Y5 pupils from last years bowling programme. 

We had 2 greens going at Darbishire Park, Bolton. One was traditional wooden bowls and the other was using New Age Bowls. 

The veterans team who came down to watch and give advice were very impressed with the standard of play and the green etiquette shown by the pupils.”

Paul is doing some fantastic work with the schools in the area to promote crown green bowls to young people. Hopefully we will be looking at plans for an indoor inter-district tournament early next year given that West Lancashire and South Ribble Schools have been getting involved in bowls this year.

Are you doing any interesting work with schools that you can let us know about? Have you been successful in gaining a grant or in attracting new members? Please let us know so that we can publicise what you are doing and help other clubs. Contact us at lancsbowlsdeveloping@gmail.com.

Congratulations to Billy Speed who won the 2023 (and 2022) Lancashire Senior Merit. Also to Duncan Watkins who won the 2023 (and 2022) Lancashire Veteran’s Merit title. They are pictured below with their trophies.

Congratulations to Alfie Catterall (Up Holland BC) who won the Lancashire Junior Merit, and to the runner up Matthew Finch (Skelmersdale Park & Ormskirk BCs). Both will go forward to represent Lancashire at the Junior Merit final. This will be held at Essington BC, Staffordshire on Saturday 19th August.

The draw for the BCGBA Senior Individual Merit is set out below. The finals day will be held at Heaton Park, Manchester on 29th July. Representing Lancashire will be Billy Speed, Alan Manuel and Tim Hodge.

Attached below is the latest BCGBA Newsletter, that also contains the draw for the J&J Isherwood Competition that was held today.

The draw for the Jack & Jean Isherwood Comp. at Prees on July 5 2023 will be published shortly on this website.

Mr Duncan Watkins won the Lancashire Veterans Merit on Saturday 17th July @ Bay Horse BC, Adlington. Mr Phil Boydell was Runner Up.

The Lancashire Senior Merit will played on Sunday 25th July @ Atherton Botanical Gardens BC.

The Lancashire County Team will be playing Warwick & Worcester C.C.G.B.A @ the Buck Head BC, Abram, Wigan on Sunday July 2nd, start 2pm.

The latest BDA Newsletter is available to read on the following link:

BDA Newsletter

Please note that Sandie Whittaker will be carrying out random checks during the coming months to ensure all secretaries have got their Safeguarding Officers Name, DBS Certificate Number and the date the Certificate was issued.

A final reminder to clubs if you have not got a safeguarding officer with an up-to-date DBS in place please contact Sandie Whittaker, Lancashire Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible. This can be done via email – sandiewhitt@yahoo.co.uk

Please state the name of your club, the name of the club secretary and /or your name if you are the person wishing to take on the role of safeguarding office and a contact telephone number. Sandie will then make contact to discuss the next steps.