Northcliff’s new bowling chairperson dreams big
NORTHCLIFF – Fanus Viviers plans the development of the bowls section at Northcliff Country Club.
Fanus Viviers has taken over as chairperson of bowls at the Northcliff Country Club, and has grand plans to improve the club.
Viviers is an accomplished bowler himself achieving a top 16 place in the Warwick Bowls SA Men’s National Championship this year. “I’ve been there, done that,” Viviers admitted modestly. After a long break from the game he stated, “[Northcliff Country Club bowls] is why I started playing again.”
Viviers believes that the club has great potential. For the first time in 10 years, the club has been able to post a women’s side in the the Johannesburg Bowls Association (JBA) league as well as a second men’s side. The club currently has 12 active women bowlers.
Of 41 members, 36 play regularly on Sundays. According to Viviers, this percentage is exceptionally positive as larger lawn bowls clubs have members in excess of 100 but boast less active players than the Northcliff Country Club.
“It was positive when I got here,” said Viviers. “The goal is to grow [Northcliff Country Club bowls] into a bowls club, not just a social club. The women showed it [is possible] this year.”
In addition to these goals, Viviers wants to inject a family atmosphere into the club. Northcliff Country Club hosts the Jozi Real Food Market every Sunday morning. There are also plans to institute night bowling events in December as well as braai days. “We’d like to get more people coming through, male and female.”
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