LIAM DURKIN
LAWN BOWLS
By LIAM DURKIN
TRAFALGAR Bowls Club members and guests are set to benefit from year-round play, thanks to the installation of a synthetic green.
Not only will the new addition allow bowls to be played during winter, but players will be able to enjoy consistent speeds and conditions regardless of heavy rain.
Additionally, the synthetic green is set to lower maintenance costs and volunteer hours associated with maintaining a traditional grass green.
Trafalgar Bowls Club has kept one grass green to compliment the synthetic.
The synthetic was formally opened recently, with club chairman Ian Miles, bowls section president Helen Brodie and Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Danielle Green cutting the ribbon.
Amazingly, the Trafalgar Bowls Club raised more than $60,000 for the project, in what was a
tremendous act of defiance after events in the last few years saw the club, through no fault of its own, run into severe financial trouble.
Miles was beaming when he took to the podium to speak at the unveiling.
“It is with great pride that I stand here today, with and on behalf of the Trafalgar Bowls Club membership for the opening of our new state-of-the-art synthetic bowling green,” he said.
“As our members know in the last four years our club struggled through the worst financial times in the club’s 107-year history – our members and our entire Trafalgar community know how close we came to closing the doors.
“But we survived due to a lot of hard work and fundraisers, led by former chairman Ian Riley and his committees, and because our members love lawn bowls, we love the club, we love
being part of this community and we enjoy the challenges and friendships formed on and off the greens.”
Sensing the need to have bowling available 12 months of the year, the Trafalgar Bowls Club applied for a local sport infrastructure grant to the state government through Baw Baw Shire.
The application was successful, and the state government kicked-in $134,000.
“We could only dream of what it would be like to have a new synthetic playing surface, none of us could have imagined what a positive effect it would have on our club and the community,” Miles said.
“When it was announced that the grant application had been successful, an enormous mood-change swept through the club and members.
“With renewed enthusiasm we held many working bees, where we improved and upgraded other parts of the club. What we witnessed was a sense of pride and empowerment that the Trafalgar Bowls Club was about to flourish again.”
Trafalgar now has a Berrys Bowling System Ultra-Cool synthetic model – the first of its kind to be installed in West Gippsland.
Miles said the benefits had been far-reaching.
“Since we commenced playing on our synthetic green I can confirm that it has reinvigorated our players and it has attracted new members,” he said.
Trafalgar Bowls Club now has close to 150 members and has added extra teams to Saturday and midweek Pennant competition within the Strzelecki Bowls North Region
