A Sport for All

Grown Green Bowls on the Isle of Man has seen resurgence as of late with a lot of development work taking place at all levels of the game. Neil Withers is working tirelessly to make the sport truly accessible from the grass roots up with the new ‘Bowls for All’ project.

The work he has started could see him meet, and potentially exceed, his aspirations of making the game more accessible by providing more coaches, more equipment and providing more sessions where newcomers to sport can try for free in the very near future.

Neil is looking to achieve his aims by sourcing funding to purchase necessary equipment and coaching aids, and subject to meeting the criteria requested this project will be a massive step forward for the sport.

He is also keen that clubs wanting to benefit from the scheme put something back and really open themselves up to people wanting to try the game. To achieve this he has tied it in with existing work in the bowls development plan to launch a charter standard.

Development officer Mark Kneen has adjusted the charter to encompass all the aspirations of the ‘Bowls for All’ scheme and a draft of the proposed three tiered charter will be circulated around clubs soon.

It is envisaged that clubs achieving level 1 Charter Club status will reap the rewards by receiving equipment and support to continually develop their club as a breeding ground for new players. Neil should be commended by his vision, foresight and tireless effort to achieve his goal which will definitely seal a victory for bowls on the Isle of Man.