20 Years of Doncaster Indoor Bowling Club

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DONCASTER INDOOR BOWLING CLUB  - THE FIRST 20 YEARS.
On Friday 10th December, 2021 members of Doncaster Indoor Bowling Club celebrated the 20th anniversary of the club opening with a cabaret night featuring singer Steve Love. 

HOW THE CLUB CAME ABOUT In 1989 the Dome Leisure centre was formally opened by Diana Princess of Wales and part of the complex was a four rink indoor bowling green. Three rinks were allocated to the newly formed Dome Bowling Club with the other rink left free for members of the public to use, several leagues were formed and ran successfully for a number of years. Due to lack of support from the public the owners Doncaster Council decided that more revenue could be raised from the bowling area if it was altered into a Gym and Fitness complex and that was the end of Bowling at the Dome. 

THE START OF DONCASTER INDOOR BOWLING CLUB  

The bowls club committee entered into discussion with council representatives into the  feasibility of a piece of land being made available for the development of a new bowls club.   The committee held several meetings with the members at the Punch’s Hotel and the Earl  of Doncaster to discuss obtaining a lottery grant and the council’s offer of land at Hexthorpe  and the decision was taken to proceed.  

After lots of hard work and negotiations a grant was obtained from Sport England Lottery Fund of £585,562.00 also funding from various other sources including loans made by members of the club to make this possible.  (Members who loaned the club money were known as founder members and a list of their names  are on an embroidered print in the lounge).

On the 8th April 2001 the clubs first AGM took place at the Earl of Doncaster, items on the agenda included the Club's Badge, Roll of the Directors and the formation of the General Committee.  One hundred and fifty three members attended with too many apologies to mention.  The membership fee was set at £25.00 with a signing on fee of £10.00 for new members. Members were informed of the building progress and informed that visits to the site were by appointment only with the site contractor.   

The club opened at the end of June 2001 and was officially opened on the 4th September, 2001 by Rosie Winterton MP for Doncaster catering for all ranges of bowlers and providing  excellent facilities. In 2003 the club formally changed its name from The Dome Bowling Club Ltd to the Doncaster Indoor Bowling Club and was granted Charity Status in 2004 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his bid to assist sports clubs. 

The clubs income was greatly helped by the admittance of the Rotherham League teams to the club which although controversial at the time has been of great benefit to the clubs existence. Several leagues such as Doubles, Triples,  Australian pairs and the Roving Jack are available to join, it has been sad to see the demise of the open and gents fours and singles leagues.  The Shuffles on Monday, Thursday and Saturday are still popular and bring a regular income to the club. The club is represented by the Ladies and Gents in the Yorkshire Leagues and members of the club have reached the National Finals and represented Yorkshire in county games. During its 20 year existence the club has hosted County Games, the Special Olympics,   North v South Fire Service and Deaf England Bowls matches all to good reviews and long may it continue. 

Over the last few years the club has continued to thrive, and with the bank loan paid off and a good financial position we are ready for the future upgrading work ie:  new bowls carpet, heating and suspended ceiling which we are hoping to do in the future. The future of the club for members looks secure, although the fall in membership numbers is a concern.  New members will be welcomed.
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The following photos are taken from a video that was taken by the Late Jim Clark who went to Hexthorpe every few days to record  the  building progress.