As bowling administrations begin to lay foundations for the forthcoming season, I have heard on good authority that a few more teams have been forced to drop out of local leagues due to player shortages. This got me thinking about the bigger picture and the future of the game as a whole.
Crown green was never going to expand beyond it's very particular geographical zones of Northern and Central England. But it was a popular game during the 20th century, with strong ties to industrial workplaces, pubs, social clubs and was a game naturally passed down to the next generation.
Crown green was never going to expand beyond it's very particular geographical zones of Northern and Central England. But it was a popular game during the 20th century, with strong ties to industrial workplaces, pubs, social clubs and was a game naturally passed down to the next generation.
Now the workplace environment is completely different, traditional pubs and social clubs continue to close down and far fewer sons and daughters are following their parents or grandparents on to the bowling green.
It's a minority sport in a 21st century competing against hundreds of other accessible activities.
The game still thrives in pockets of Yorkshire and the Midlands, certain clubs are thriving too - for now at least - but the overall picture is one of fewer teams, fewer clubs and fewer crown green playing surfaces as every year goes by.
Whilst growth of the game may not be a conceivable goal just now, some sort of broad and bold attempt to stop the rot and attract new players is required.
It might need somebody or a group of bowling enthusiasts with a passion, a strategy, a bit of money or some big sponsors behind them and a plan to promote the game for modern times, from grass roots right through to Champion of Champions.
It would be great to see top players getting some much deserved notoriety outside the crown green domain, which would influence more young ones to come through the ranks and generally lift the whole profile of the game. It would appear that the British Crown Green Bowling Association have finally got a few people on board who have a refreshing approach and are trying their very best. But understandably, they simply don't have a big enough wallet to chuck around.
I think long standing stigmas attached to crown green bowls are a significant barrier to simply persuading people to give the game a try. Image sadly seems to override substance in today's society and so the image of crown green needs uplifting significantly. Whenever I mention crown green, "Old man's game" is so often the perception. I mean, yes, men and women of significant seniority play the game and plenty of them, but some of them have been playing for decades. They were young, or at least middle-aged players too at one time!
It's incredible how difficult it is to encourage someone to try the game, even close friends I've known for years. I keep persevering, dropping the crown green seed wherever I can, but I've yet to crack a nut in that department and I think it's down to how the game is perceived and perhaps a fear of not being very good at it, which is probable at the first attempt. There may not be instant gratification or an addictive thrill that other sports and games may offer. It's tough. It's a craft. But it can be fiercely competitive if you want it to be, or simply good fun and a friendly social network if not.
The stark reality is that not enough new players are coming in to the game. Whilst generally - and despite an ongoing decline - the game is probably safe for another ten or twenty years, it's difficult to foresee it's future beyond then unless crown green is grabbed by the balls and shaken upside down from top to bottom.
As I have once mentioned before though, I can't be doing with dismissive terms from crown green participants such as, "the game is on it's arse", "the game is dying" or even "the game is dead". I've heard these comments in the flesh and seen them on social media discussions. This belittles the efforts of individuals trying hard to promote the game and what sort of character has time to play the game, yet sit back and moan about it rather than getting off their backside to do summat pro-active for it?
Bowlers need to be doing their bit, however small, and writing off the game's future is futile. An attitude of surrender is far easier than fighting for something.
One part of the game that I personally feel could do with reviewing is the time consumption of league matches. Purely from my own ideological perspective, granted, but two nights a week in the Spring and Summer is more than enough for me when matches can stretch out to the three hour mark. Leagues with smaller teams for shorter matches may attract me to play an extra night. I love the game but don't live and breath it*. Like other folk, I've other fish to fry and time is of the essence. I doubt this would be a popular motion across the board, but it's possible other players like me feel the squeeze of time and struggle to commit to current formats.
But then what do I know? I don't have the answers. Maybe the game will just run it's course and that will be the end of it. I've only been playing for five years but would like the thought of still getting my woods out thirty years from now, provided I'm still kicking around and moreover, provided there is still a game out there to be played.
It's a minority sport in a 21st century competing against hundreds of other accessible activities.
The game still thrives in pockets of Yorkshire and the Midlands, certain clubs are thriving too - for now at least - but the overall picture is one of fewer teams, fewer clubs and fewer crown green playing surfaces as every year goes by.
Whilst growth of the game may not be a conceivable goal just now, some sort of broad and bold attempt to stop the rot and attract new players is required.
It might need somebody or a group of bowling enthusiasts with a passion, a strategy, a bit of money or some big sponsors behind them and a plan to promote the game for modern times, from grass roots right through to Champion of Champions.
It would be great to see top players getting some much deserved notoriety outside the crown green domain, which would influence more young ones to come through the ranks and generally lift the whole profile of the game. It would appear that the British Crown Green Bowling Association have finally got a few people on board who have a refreshing approach and are trying their very best. But understandably, they simply don't have a big enough wallet to chuck around.
I think long standing stigmas attached to crown green bowls are a significant barrier to simply persuading people to give the game a try. Image sadly seems to override substance in today's society and so the image of crown green needs uplifting significantly. Whenever I mention crown green, "Old man's game" is so often the perception. I mean, yes, men and women of significant seniority play the game and plenty of them, but some of them have been playing for decades. They were young, or at least middle-aged players too at one time!
It's incredible how difficult it is to encourage someone to try the game, even close friends I've known for years. I keep persevering, dropping the crown green seed wherever I can, but I've yet to crack a nut in that department and I think it's down to how the game is perceived and perhaps a fear of not being very good at it, which is probable at the first attempt. There may not be instant gratification or an addictive thrill that other sports and games may offer. It's tough. It's a craft. But it can be fiercely competitive if you want it to be, or simply good fun and a friendly social network if not.
The stark reality is that not enough new players are coming in to the game. Whilst generally - and despite an ongoing decline - the game is probably safe for another ten or twenty years, it's difficult to foresee it's future beyond then unless crown green is grabbed by the balls and shaken upside down from top to bottom.
As I have once mentioned before though, I can't be doing with dismissive terms from crown green participants such as, "the game is on it's arse", "the game is dying" or even "the game is dead". I've heard these comments in the flesh and seen them on social media discussions. This belittles the efforts of individuals trying hard to promote the game and what sort of character has time to play the game, yet sit back and moan about it rather than getting off their backside to do summat pro-active for it?
Bowlers need to be doing their bit, however small, and writing off the game's future is futile. An attitude of surrender is far easier than fighting for something.
One part of the game that I personally feel could do with reviewing is the time consumption of league matches. Purely from my own ideological perspective, granted, but two nights a week in the Spring and Summer is more than enough for me when matches can stretch out to the three hour mark. Leagues with smaller teams for shorter matches may attract me to play an extra night. I love the game but don't live and breath it*. Like other folk, I've other fish to fry and time is of the essence. I doubt this would be a popular motion across the board, but it's possible other players like me feel the squeeze of time and struggle to commit to current formats.
But then what do I know? I don't have the answers. Maybe the game will just run it's course and that will be the end of it. I've only been playing for five years but would like the thought of still getting my woods out thirty years from now, provided I'm still kicking around and moreover, provided there is still a game out there to be played.
I remain positive about how crown green can find a way to the future. I would welcome radical changes for the greater good and I'm adamant that... eventually I will find the game at least one much needed new player!
* "I love the game but don't live and breath it." - This would appear to be a contradiction of my well documented competitive nature and ambition to continuously improve as a bowler. To some extent I suppose that is true, but I'd love to play four, five times a week like some guys and I expect that doing so would trigger a greater and faster progression. But it's the very time consuming nature of the game's league formats which leaves me unable to invest as much as I would like, so in terms of time available I will continue to work with what I've got this coming season and see where it gets me.