Rolling with Dave at the Umhlali Bowling Club
Chairperson Dave Riley describes bowling as a very social game and encourages young people to give it a try.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the game of lawn bowls dates back to 5000BC and that Roman legions called the game “bocce” when Caesars ruled the Roman Empire.
It was so popular in the middle ages in Europe that English and French kings outlawed it for commoners as archery, essential to the national defence, was being neglected.
A veteran of the sport, Umhlali Bowling Club chairperson Dave Riley, describes bowling as a very social game and encourages young people to give it a try.
“It is easy to play, with low entry costs if compared to other sports. The game consists of rolling bowls across the green to see who can get closest to the white ball. You score once all bowls have been played and the closest gets a point.”
He said the game was played in singles, pairs, trips and fours formats all the way from club to district and national levels. People from as young as eight can learn and there are opportunities to grow through the ranks and compete at an international level.
“We at the Umhlali Country Club are passionate about introducing the game to new players and offer eight free training sessions for those who want to come try it out. We also have coaching sessions during the week,” said Riley.
No stranger to competing at the highest levels of the sport, Riley, who has been playing since 1976, has won gold against Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Zimbabwe. He also holds a number of singles, pairs and fours titles at all levels in South Africa.
“One of my highlights was playing in the Zimbabwe international singles competition where I won 15 out of 16 games.”
He also won the national singles title three years ago in Pietermaritzburg.
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