A BATTLE under lights would definitely have raised a few eyebrows when Learmonth Bowling Club first officially sent a bowl down the greens 150 years ago. This is how Learmonth plans to mark its anniversary in a division one showdown tonight against Ballarat, the club whose members first introduced a few from Learmonth to the sport in a friendly all those years ago.
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There is so much modern sporting clubs can learn from a sport that not too long ago kept men's and ladies' administration split, pennant was strictly white uniforms and women playing in pants - instead of the mandated skirt with hemlines below the knees - was deemed demotion-worthy.
There is a reason lawn bowls is out in force in a modern sporting landscape that has clubs and codes clambouring for players' dedication and attention: innovation.
In bowls parlance, a lot has to do with reading the head. The Courier wrote this in describing City Oval earlier this season when the club celebrated its 100 years.
Reading the head is about predicting what you might face next and tactically trying to change this to one's favour.
Other sports in Australia are catching on to this - just look to the rise of women's games in traditionally male playing fields such as football or cricket. Cricket alone has undergone such dramatic transformations in format with Twenty20 still often causing despair among the game's purists.
Bowls bring in new audiences
At its most elite levels, lawn bowls is typically more a younger players' game - that was what City Oval bowlers told The Courier earlier this season when semi-retired Commonwealth Games triples and fours gold medallist Carla Krizanic was their anniversary guest speaker.
Krizanic was 32 years old.
Even so, the theory could be applied at the grassroots. This is why City Oval made the move about three years ago to recruit a band of retiring club soccer players to have a roll, encouraging them to stay on and climb the pennant ranks as a way to help rejuvenate the club.
Pennant players bucking the stereotypical retiree mode on the greens is not new, but encouraging whole bands of younger players has proved a bold move to bring new generations to the game and keep clubs strong.
If you looked about plenty of Ballarat bowling greens late last year, there were swarms of barefoot bowls matches underway for end-of-year parties. Places were bustling.
This is a sport that can equally be highly competitive and incredibly tactical for those who choose while at the same time, very social and flexible.
Learmonth showcases sports club goals
For its anniversary, Learmonth is set to showcase its new synthetic green, new shade sails and a general club refresh in a town that is growing.
Learmonth Bowling Club president Craig Findlay told The Courier if the club's founding members were here, he was hopeful they would be proud of what the club had become today.
The club joins the ranks of Ballarat and Buninyong as bowls clubs to reach 150 years in strong fashion - and that is something all sports should aspire to achieve.
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