At the Bowls England Awards ceremony on 22nd April in Leicester, Wadebridge Bowling Club was announced as the “Club of the Year”.
Our nomination submission focussed on our values of being Welcoming, Supportive, Inclusive, and was based strongly on our 2024 President, David Atfield’s report to the club AGM last October. You can read that here, so I won’t repeat it.
In the programme booklet, Bowls England summarised it as:
“Saw major growth, especially in female participation, through a taster weekend and ‘Bowls Blitz’ events. League success, youth engagement, and a booming social hub have cemented its reputation as a welcoming and community-focussed club.”
Our Men’s B Team was shortlisted for Team of the Year, but lost out to a Gerrard’s Cross Men’s Team which won Top Club and Club Two Fours titles at Leamington, but it was a major achievement even to be shortlisted.
The sequence of awards meant that these two came right at the end, so the nine-person Wadebridge contingent had to work their way through twelve other awards, three courses, and several bottles of wine and pints of lager before we found out. To be frank, we were amazed and delighted in equal measure, and all of us marched up to the stage to receive our winners certificate and trophy (which will be displayed in the club house dreckly).
Some people stayed for the dancing and loud music afterwards, whilst others made their way to somewhere quieter.
It was a great evening, and one the club is rightly proud of. It was an achievement of every member, not just the nine who made the trip.
You can watch the immediate post-award interview at the Award Ceremony on YouTube
