Murray Bridge RSL scoring wins on multiple fronts
2020 finished on a positive note for the Murray Bridge RSL Bowling Club, with success on a number of fronts.
The club received a $30,000 grant from the Rural City of Murray Bridge council to assist with upgrading its wet area facilities and its kitchen.
They also had success with Jack Attack and Roll Back the Clock programs to round out the year.
Club president Noel Kneebone thanked the council for their support in getting the exciting kitchen project off the ground.
“The money from the Rural City of Murray Bridge council was a dollar-for-dollar 50/50 grant,” he said.
“They were very accommodating to us and we got $65,000 out of it, so we put in $32,500 with the RSL, so we worked together with them, and then the council matched that, which was fantastic.”
Noel said the grant and upgrade of the club’s facilities will be a great reward for the work put in by many people over a long period of time.
“It has been a real challenge, but we needed to get a kitchen for the bowls club and toilet facilities,” he said.
“It has been a priority of ours, but to actually be able to get it done is fantastic.
“We have some life members who are 100, 94 and 94, and they have been absolute stalwarts for our club.
“When they moved over from the original site to where we are now, they have been in limbo trying to get the bowling club side of it up and running, so we have been really keen to get this done for them and make sure we have a really wonderful set up.
“It has been 10 years since the bowling club moved from its premises that it had, to now, and to get this underway is wonderful.”
Noel was also full of praise for the Jack Attack concept after his club ran a successful program late last year.
“We ran it for four weeks and we had a really good turnout, better than we thought we would get,” he said.
“The feedback we got was that people just want to keep doing it, which is just fantastic.
“The concept itself is great because it is all over and done with in an hour and a half they are home.
“The old days of having 15 ends or even just normal Night Owls, this changes all of that.
“We got a number of people who are potential new bowlers and a number of people didn’t even know our club existed, so for them to see it and appreciate it is great.
“It has opened it up for two functions, which have been booked at our facility as well.
“People want to play bowls, so they want to have their functions there and get out on the greens as part of their party or event, which is really good because it exposes a new group of people again to the sport of bowls and our club.”
Noel said he is also a big supporter of the Roll Back the Clock program, which has also been a success at his club in recent months.
“The people that were involved in it, the clients we got from the retirement village and Murray Mallee Aged Care, all want to continue it and Bowls Australia are happy to fund it,” he said.
“One of the things that I got out of it was that its not just about bowls.
“It is about wellbeing for seniors and we are providing a service for that.
“A lot of it was social wellbeing, just getting the chance to chat to people and making new friends, they really enjoyed that side of it.
For more information about Bowls Australia’s Jack Attack program and how to run it at your own club, visit https://www.bowls.com.au/jackattack/.
For more information on what the Roll Back the Clock program, head to Roll Back The Clock – Bowls Australia.
