After a cold and windy start to the recent Ann & Helene Memorial Tournament in Kelowna, members of the Osoyoos Lawn Bowling Club put on a display of their skills by placing first in the B division. The local team ended up in seventh place. Entrants from Osoyoos were Zeke Pescada, Delores McNee, Randy Doraty, Claudia Sauder and Michael Ryan. (Contributed photo)

The future of the Osoyoos Lawn Bowling Club looks so bright, the members have to start wearing shades on the beautiful bowling green where they play their favourite sport.

Located on one of the nicest pieces of real estate in Osoyoos, the local club is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance with a sharp increase in membership after several years of struggling to remain afloat.

“Our club membership is now at 35 and growing,” said club president Delores McNee, who had never played the sport until moving to Osoyoos to retire several years ago. “That’s a 28 per cent increase over last year and we’re very happy with that.”

McNee and club secretary Eleanore Dempster were both thrilled that the Osoyoos Lawn Bowling Club recently signed a two-year extension with the Town of Osoyoos to continue operating the club out of its current location just south of the Osoyoos Seniors Centre and only metres away from Gyro Park.

“The renewed license to occupy will expire on Sept. 30, 2019 and the town will continue to charge us only $5 per year,” said Dempster with a smile.

Town leaders have always been very supportive of the lawn bowling club and its facility, said McNee.

“We’re very appreciative of the Town’s support over all these years,” she said. “They had town staff help us build our first bowling green and every council over the past 20 years have been very supportive.

“We’re thrilled to have this new two-year deal with the Town … it bodes very well for the future of the club.”

The club consists of a small clubhouse and the immaculate bowling green where members show off their lawn bowling skills.

The original lawn bowling club in Osoyoos “was located in someone’s back yard,” said McNee.

The local club was first incorporated 20 years ago in 1997 at its current home, she said.

Lawn bowling has almost traditionally appealed to an older demographic, but most of the new members who have signed up over the past year are in the age 60 range, with several younger than that, she said.

An effort to attract younger members over the past several years, including inviting students from Osoyoos Secondary School to try the sport, has reaped modest rewards, said Dempster.

Lawn bowling is actually alive and well across the Okanagan Valley with seven clubs now members of the Interior Lawn Bowling Association. There is a club in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Salmon Arm and two in Kamloops.

The Osoyoos Seniors Centre has also been a great partner as senior administration at the club has allowed the lawn bowling club to use their kitchen for tournaments and other social events over the years, said McNee.

The lawn bowling season begins in May and continues until the end of September or into early October if the weather co-operates.

“We’re always looking for new members,” said Dempster. “We just ask people to come out and try the sport. Not everyone will like it, but many will and some of them will want to join our club.”

The club continues to hold numerous fun social events over the course of the season and it’s a great way to meet new friends, said McNee.

Recently, a group of five members from the Osoyoos Lawn Bowling Club competed at the regional championships and they captured first place in the “B” draw, meaning they finished seventh out of 14 teams.

At the Ann and Helene Memorial Tournament in Kelowna, the members of the local club  were ranked 12th to start and ended up in seventh place before the finals.

Members of the Osoyoos team included McNee, Zeke Pescada, Randy Doraty, Claudia Sauder and Michael Ryan.

Sauder, McNee and Pescada competed on a team at the B.C. 55-Plus Senior Games in Vernon.

Anyone interested can visit the club or send an email to [email protected].

They can also contact McNee at 250-495-6045 or Dempster at 250-495-2092.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times