On the Bowling Green with Geoff Behrent
Some background to the game of bowls in South Africa.
• Geoff Behrent writes:
And now for some background to the game of bowls in South Africa.
The first bowling green was opened in Port Elizabeth in 1882. The first Natal club was opened in Pietermaritzburg in 1902, the first in the then Transvaal in 1905, and in 1906 a club was established in East London.
South Africa’s bowls controlling body, Bowls South Africa (BSA), came into being in 1966 when the ladies association (established in 1935) merged with the male association (established in 1904). Some 30 000+ players are currently registered with BSA. Compared to Australia our membership numbers are a mere drop in the ocean; that country has 250 000 registered bowlers with an estimated half a million people (which include non-registered bowlers) playing the game! These numbers are largely attributable to the Australian government’s philosophy of encouraging and supporting all sports … so maybe our government should wake up and take note of this?
Perhaps our country’s most memorable achievement in the international bowling arena was when our men bowlers won every gold medal on offer at the World Bowls tournament in 1976 at the Zoo Lake Club in Johannesburg. This feat was totally unprecedented in a tournament of this status.
Anecdotal evidence also indicates that at that time bowls was even the most watched sport on television in South Africa, but of course we must remember that TV had only arrived in South Africa in that year! It remains a great pity that it isn’t covered to any great extent (if at all) by our television services any more.
Now, just for the fun of it, let’s take a brief look at what cynics have had to say about the game. First off: “Lawn bowls is the ideal sport. It’s basically three hours of drinking beer, occasionally interrupted by six seconds of exercise.” Oh my, how I wish that were indeed true! More accurately however: “Bowls is a mysterious and ancient game played by people old enough to know better, using balls carefully designed to go in the wrong direction.” Hah! The cynics got that one right!
If you need any further information, or should you want to start or re-start playing bowls (our greens are open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon from 13:30), please contact Randfontein Town Bowling Club’s president, Vera Pretorius on 082 779 5177 or secretary, Bobby McNeill on 082 926 4895.
The club also has a hall that can be hired at very reasonable rates; contact Vera or Bobby for details.
