As Sellindge & District Bowls Club mark their 50th anniversary, it’s hoped younger people will be attracted to give the sport a go this summer.

Both lawn bowls and Para lawn bowls will be played at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, held from July 28 until August 8.

The Games will take place amid the 2022 celebrations at Sellindge Bowls Club, based on Swan Lane near Ashford, with the club having been founded a half-century ago.

Chairman Trevor Oliver-Jones has noted how participation in curling has increased following recent Team GB success and, while bowls is televised at the World Indoor Bowls Championships, he wants to see more youngsters give it a go amid the hype around the Games.

He explained: “One of the sports which is similar to ours and which is having a wonderful time at the moment is curling.

“I’d never really heard of curling until two or three years ago!

"That’s going on in leaps and bounds, not particularly in Ashford, but certainly in other areas of the country and attracting all sorts of younger people.

“We are looking to follow them to help people come into something that is hopefully very friendly, entertaining but a little bit competitive, like any sport is.”

The idea for a sports club in Sellindge was conceived in 1967 and, five years later, The Sports and Social Club was opened by boxer Henry Cooper.

Oliver-Jones said: “It started in 1972 but it [the anniversary] comes round quickly, doesn’t it? The fact that it’s still going is good.

“We have got some celebratory events planned, we have already had a dinner [at Ashford Golf Club] this year to celebrate.”

In 2015, Sellindge was one of 91 projects to be given a slice of a £6,039,499 National Lottery funding boost to fund green and ditch refurbishment.

Oliver-Jones, who says he has played bowls at the club for around four years, says the club have a healthy number of female players, with the club competing across several leagues.

“It’s virtually 50-50,” he said.

“We are looking, at the moment, to do something with our clubhouse because we think we need a new [one]. That’s been there for an awful lot of years, it needs updating and probably replacing.

“So, at the moment, we are looking at how to finance that the best way possible because, like so many other clubs, it’s an expensive operation.

"We certainly don’t have the reserves for that at the moment so we are going to have a look at who we think can sponsor that.

“There is quite a lot of activity going on at the club, part of it in the evening and part of it during the day. We are very aware, of course, that people have to work.

“It’s the older folk like me that can get involved during the day and the young’uns who can get involved in the evenings and the weekends.”

Oliver-Jones also believes bowls is a sport which different generations from the same family can play together.

He stated: “The good thing about it is it’s not all down to strength. It’s a sport that both young and old can play - and can play together.

“The under-18s don’t have to play [on their own] and over-80s don’t have to play against one another. It’s very much a sport that so many people can be involved with their families.

“It’s just a question of getting the young’uns involved and taking it from there.”

For more about Sellindge Bowls Club, search for Sellindge & District Bowls Club on Facebook or visit www.sellindgebowls.uk.