The Waimea Bowling Club was established in the early 1950’s to provide a bowling club for the Westown area of New Plymouth.
“The biggest challenge that our club has is how to get more younger players playing bowls, which is a challenge for clubs everywhere. We are spending money upgrading the clubrooms and upgrading our green and making the place more pleasant to be involved with,” Peter Old, Secretary/Treasurer, said.
“The grant was used for a new greenkeeper’s shed which replaced the old shed. It was 70 years old, and really not fit for purpose, and hadn’t been for about the last 25 years.”
A grant of $25k from Toi Foundation enabled the club to rebuild the greenkeeper’s shed. “We were able to put some of our funds in to complete the lining of the inside, driveway and new equipment to meet the full cost of the completed project. We would have struggled without the grant,” Peter said.
“It’s a large, Versatile shed, that is low maintenance. It has a big garage door that we can take the equipment through. From my perspective, being involved in the running of the club, it’s a great asset.”
“The shed itself looks neat and tidy, and it sits right next to the bowling green. We have been able to outfit it inside to cater for everything that is needed.”
“Everything that makes the club what it is, is inside that shed. The green attracts people to the club, because they want to play bowls on the best surface they can. Without the equipment being stored, we wouldn’t be able to have the excellent green we’ve got,” Peter said.