I've Just Taken Up a New Sport

I've just taken up a new sport. Most people think of this sport as an old people's game, but in fact, surprisingly, it is becoming a sport for younger people, with the average age of players now in their mid-thirties. The younger you start, the faster you learn and the better you play, so people are realising that it's silly to wait till they're old and arthritic before they start to play this sport. Have you guessed which sport I'm talking about yet? Yes, it's bowls!

I was talked into joining my local bowling club by a friend who walks around the park with me in the morning before I start work. I didn't join immediately. In fact, it took my friend two years of persuasion to get me thinking seriously about it. However, I finally thought, "Why not?" I am now so glad that I was persuaded.

I started off one late afternoon, during a Twilight Bowls session, which involves a couple of hours of bowls, followed by a free club dinner. The club supplied the bowls and we were put into teams, with a mixture of total beginners and experienced bowlers in each team. My bowls mainly went into the gutter behind the jack, or crossed the line into the next team's rink, but it was all good fun and everyone was so friendly. It was great to play with a mixture of men and women, young and old, and of different standards.

Over the next six weeks, I turned up each Saturday morning for lessons, offered free to all beginners, and after that time, I was considered good enough to become a member. I was given my badges, hat band and rule book, and was ready to start proper games. For the first few games, I had beginner's luck and played really well, but over the last few weeks, I've played badly, partly, I think, because the club bowls I learnt on have disappeared, and I've been forced to play on a heavier set of bowls that doesn't suit me. Despite my bad playing, I've still enjoyed every game because it's such a fun sport.

I am now busy on Ebay, trying to buy a cheap set of secondhand bowls of the right size and weight, so that I can get used to playing with just one set of bowls. Chopping and changing from one set to another is a big no-no, and I hope that once I have my own bowls, my game will start to improve again. Not being an experienced Ebay user, I've lost the bidding on the last two sets of bowls that I've had my eye on, and hope that the third time round, I might get lucky.

One of the best things about bowling, apart from the pleasure of learning a new and very challenging skill, is the social aspect. Morning tea is served before each game, followed by a light club lunch afterwards, all in the company of some of the friendliest people I've ever met. If you've got a spare day with nothing much to do, I'd really recommend filling that empty gap with bowls, whether you are eighteen or eighty.