By Mary Helen Sprecher
It took the unlikely combination of the Olympics, some Norwegian guys in crazy pants and a bunch of U.S. underdogs winning a gold medal to get America behind the winter sport of curling. Today, it’s one of the most watched sports of the Winter Olympic Games.
Now, the Fort Wayne Curling Club is hoping to make a little history of its own by bringing the sport of lawn bowls (which is a little like bocce but not exactly the same) to northeastern Indiana.
So, what’s the connection? Well, the easiest way to illustrate that is to describe the precision sport of lawn bowls (and yes, it’s lawn bowls, not bowling).
Players have to roll a weighted ball (also known as a biased ball) along the grass toward a target ball, known as a jack. The biased balls, called “bowls,” follow a curved path when rolled, similar to way a curling stone moves.
It’s a great way to use some of those ice skills in the offseason – and to get the community involved as well.
The newly established Fort Wayne Lawn Bowls Club will operate as a division of the Fort Wayne Curling Club, offering lawn bowls from April through September each year, while curling will continue from September through April.
The club is looking at lawn bowls as another revenue stream, contributing to overall economic impact. Ultimately, once its new venue is in place, it will be used as a tool to attract other lawn bowls events. Fort Wayne Curling Club already has extensive experience hosting bonspiels and other curling events, and expects to use this knowledge to help its lawn bowls events run smoothly.
“The addition of lawn bowls will provide the Fort Wayne community with an excellent spring and summer activity for families and people of all ages and abilities,” said Craig Fischer, president and co-founder of the Fort Wayne Curling Club. “We are committed to making lawn bowls accessible to everyone, just as we have done with curling, and we are excited to extend our adaptive programs year-round. We also anticipate strong engagement with families and individuals of all ages. While it is sometimes viewed as a retirement sport, it is also quite popular among younger people. We aim to create a cool, relaxing environment where people can enjoy a summer evening in Fort Wayne with the refreshment of their choice.”
Lawn bowls, often shortened to simply bowls, is popular in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and other Commonwealth nations. The history of the sport dates back to at least the 13th century in England and has roots in games played in ancient Greece and Egypt. It is contested either in teams or one on one.
Unlike bocce, which can be played on a variety of surfaces, lawn bowls is played only on grass, and specifically on a facility known as a bowling green. That green is being built on the grounds of the Fort Wayne Curling Club, directly across from the Parkview SportOne Ice House.
A bowling green is a roughly 120’ x 120’, extremely flat grass area with short bentgrass. Because the grass is kept very short (cut to just 3/16”), it has been compared to the surface of a golf green or a grass tennis court.
According to Fischer, the curling club long had an unused grassy area behind its facility, and was surprised to find it offered enough space for lawn bowls.
Building a bowling green, however, is not as easy as just using any grass area. Strict tolerances regarding slope have to be taken into consideration.
Additionally, the green needs to be built to drain quickly and to be playable soon after a rain event. This means any area to be used must first be excavated and rebuilt with a stone layer to facilitate drainage and a sand cap to generate strong root growth.
Once the green is completed, the Fort Wayne Lawn Bowls Club will offer weekly leagues, “Try Bowls” sessions for community members, corporate and private events, as well as programs for individuals with disabilities and senior citizens. The green will also accommodate croquet.
Fundraising efforts are underway to cover the construction costs.
More information is available at Fort Wayne Lawn Bowls.
Mary Helen Sprecher wrote this article on behalf of Sports Destination Management
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