People often have the impression that lawn bowls is a recreational sport for retired persons or elderlies. In fact, the sport requires participants to be highly focused and patient because each game can last up to 3 hours. In this issue, we have invited Mr Claudius Lam, VP(Technical) of The Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association to elaborate on how the Association encourages the public to participate in this sport and actively promotes and sustains the development of this sport.
The British people started introducing lawn bowls to Hong Kong in as early as 1900. Initially, it was a something that only a fraction of foreigners and upper class Chinese engaged in, but private lawn bowls were established one after another with time. By 1961, lovers of the sport proposed the establishment of the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association to regulate the club organisation and promote the sport with the government. Later, the first public bowling green venue was set up at Victoria Park. Since then, this sport became more accessible to the general public. At present, the Association has 39 clubs under it, and the number of active participants has increased to about 5000 people.
The Association is committed to nurturing young athletes. Firstly, it selects schools with a bowling green in the vicinity, then it actively contacts the school and proposes to conduct a lawn bowl demonstration in PE class. To ensure the safety of school children, a set of balls that is lighter in weight, has a soft surface and is made of soft rubber has been developed for students to try out in the school hall. In addition, it also organises inter-school competitions to provide a platform for students to compete and increase the fun of playing the sport.
In order to promote the long-term development of lawn bowls, the Association has set up a training programme for youths aged between 8 and 17 to enhance their interest in the sport and teach them competition skills and tactics through systematic training. This programme is a stepping stone for the Hong Kong team.
The Association organises more than 20 open competitions each year, including the annual Hong Kong International Bowls Classic, the Bowls Grand Prix, and weekend leagues in every season, which, in addition to providing platforms for competition, also enhances athletes’ strategic skills. Moreover, the Association also hires bowling greens of the LCSD to run parent-child classes, youth classes and adult classes; it also organises a lawn bowl fun day for the public to experience the sport. The Association hopes to attract youths to play lawn bowl and increase the number of bowling greens, coaches and participants so as to promote the development of lawn bowls.