The main goal of the Central Saanich Lawn Bowling Club is for members to have a great time.
“People want to come here and enjoy themselves,” club president and coach David Taylor said. “Our emphasis is on being social.”
Members can participate in events throughout the week, including drop-in bowling scheduled every day except Tuesdays and Saturdays. Ladder bowling and whist take place on Tuesdays.
Taylor usually spends his Saturdays coaching at the club.
“We teach the newer bowlers and help fine tune some of the more experienced bowlers.”
Anyone interested can come and try the sport at the club up to three times before becoming a member.
“One of those times has to be a coaching session,” Taylor said. “They can get as much coaching as they want once they’ve joined.
Taylor said he has a lot of help to make events run smoothly.
“We have a good committee and a good executive. They all do their jobs very well. It makes my job a lot easier. We’ve done quite well this year.”
The club saw eight new members join after hosting an open house for two days this past April and now has around 70 bowling members and 12 social members.
“Social members aren’t allowed to bowl on the green,” Taylor said. “They can do everything indoors.”
The club is focusing on fundraising in 2023. The main fundraisers are the garage sale on June 17 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and a craft and bake sale at the end of the year. Approximately $4,000 has been raised at each of these events in recent years.
“We get good money from them,” Taylor added. “Every penny we make helps pay for running the club. The craft side of it is all homemade. It’s purely club tables. All the members get together. We’ve also had people walk out with their Christmas baking for the year.”
Water is the biggest expense for the club.
“The cost of the green is about $16,000 a year,” Taylor said. “We have to water it at least three times a week. Central Saanich council covers us for water usage. This is their property. They do a lot of the maintenance. They are very good to us.”
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