Page 31 - May 2023

Elaine Club History_Layout 1 28/04/2023 10:29 Page 1

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The Start of Our Club

by Elaine Gathercole
I came across the minutes of two commit-
tee meetings for our club from 17th January
and 24th February 1985 which I believe
represent the start of our Short Mat Bowls
Club.
It is based in the village hall in the
North Yorkshire parish of Welburn which
consists of only 260 houses. The hall can
accommodate 2 mats. I was impressed by
the sense of drive to get the club going in
such a short time and the sense of self
help. The finances are also of some inter-
est by comparison with today.
Grants were being sought from various bodies, though were likely to be slow in coming even
if successful. However, a Bingo Session in the nearby Market Town of Malton raised a total of £279.
Further funds must have been quickly generated as £495 was banked in the newly opened bank ac-
count in February. It seems that a loan had been made by the Village Hall so the club could buy
mats and £400 was already being paid back to them in February. These are huge sums considering
RPI has increased four-fold from January 1985 to today.
Fenders were made by one of the committee members. In January it was suggested that cov-
ers for mats should also be made – but by February they had bought some. Members who already
had woods were prepared to lend them to newcomers and the Lawn Bowls club in a nearby village
was also prepared to lend bowls. Insurance was being investigated but it was hoped that the club
would be covered by the Village Hall policy.
Mats were expected to arrive by 27th January when a demonstration of Short Mat Bowling
would be held. This would also provide an opportunity to enrol members. Advertisements were to be
placed locally and in the surrounding area. Several coaching sessions were to be held in the weeks
immediately following the arrival of the mats.
Rules were drawn up and initially, it was agreed that there would be three sessions a week of
1 hour each at 2.30pm and 7pm on Fridays and 2.30pm on Sundays. Members were to be surveyed
regarding their preferences and the session times reviewed at an Open Meeting in March at which
the future running of the club would also be discussed. Session times might also have to be altered
in Summer.
The initial annual fees were set at £3 for
adults and £1.50 for young people aged 11 to
16. The charge for the use of a rink was set at
50p per hour for all classes of member.
Today we have a club night for two
hours at 7pm on a Friday and play league
matches on a Tuesday which last around 90
minutes. We charge just £10 a year for annual
membership, most of which goes to the
NYSMBA, and £2 per full Friday or Tuesday
session, including away games - thus our fees
have stayed well below inflation, making Short
Mat Bowls a very inexpensive hobby com-
pared to some.
Our old Village Hall which dated from 1928 was replaced in 2007 by a brand new eco friendly
building on the same site, causing our league matches to all be played away in the 2006/7 season
- but thankfully the new hall was designed so it could still accommodate Short Mat Bowls. Long may
the club continue!