Crawford Park Lawn Bowls Club in Monkseaton, Tyneside, is building on its Bowls England Club of the Year 2025 award by expanding accessibility features and community outreach.
The club had previously installed a ramp, disabled toilets, and disabled access to the green, along with foam balls for children and those with grip difficulties. Now it has added an adaptable wheelchair for the green, funded by a fun day that raised £500, along with contributions from the Coop, Whitley Bay Coop Funeral Care, the club’s bingo fundraiser, and Gary and Linda Straughan.
Safety and Inclusivity
A defibrillator donated by SHF Gym has also been installed. Club Secretary Brian Bell said: “We want bowls to be for everybody. We are a competitive club too, we won two leagues last year and are proud of that but we offer loads of social sessions that allow people to come, have a roll and some fun.”
The club's annual fun day in June welcomed over 100 people for bowls, tennis, giant games, and entertainment including a steel pans performance. Bell noted the social benefits: “There are so many benefits, the cup of tea afterwards is just as important for your mental health as the exercise is for your body, so we encourage everyone to come along.”
Recruitment Drive
The club is one of 900 taking part in the Bowls Big Summer campaign, which aims to recruit new players ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Bell said that three years ago the average age was 80, with fewer than five women; now there are over 20 women and five regular juniors. The club was also visited by Blind Ambitions, a group of visually impaired players, demonstrating that bowls is open to everyone.
Bell added: “We are absolutely delighted with the support from everyone to help our club become more accessible. We are looking forward to welcoming and giving more people the opportunity to try out lawn bowls.”
