Bowling
- London Civil Service Bowling Club
 Forthcoming events:
Results:
Fixture list
About the London Civil Service Bowling Club
The following information is also available for downloading and
printing: fact
sheet (
[PDF]10 KB).
For further information please call Colin Kiddy on 020 8668 0153 email: cokiddy@btopenworld.com
History
The Club is descended from the London Civil Service Bowling Association
which was founded in 1925 - when the Chiswick green was laid - as the
governing body for about 8 London Departmental Clubs. These clubs played
bowls (level green) at various venues at the time. By 1929 the number
of departmental clubs affiliated to the Association had increased to18,
which competed against one another in Leagues consisting of 2 Divisions.
However from this ‘high’ the support for bowls at Chiswick
declined in the 1960s and the 1970s as staff numbers reduced as a result
of office dispersals out of London and technical efficiencies in the
PO Telegraphy Services. Only the HQs Club remained by the early 1980s
and this became known as the London Civil Service Bowling Club as we
know it today - currently composed of just over 50 CSSC members from
both retired and current staff of a number of Departments.
Current Aims
of the Club
We are interested in satisfying the needs of both the competitively
minded male and female bowler living in the London area as well as those
recreationally minded. We aim to maintain bowls as an extremely social
and informal sport for all who join us.
Playing facilities
The Civil Service/CSSC bowling green is situated on the CSSC Chiswick
Sports Ground, Dukes Meadow, Riverside Drive, Chiswick, London W4 2SH
and can be reached by train to Barnes Bridge Station and via a 10 min.
walk over Barnes bridge, or by car via Chertsey Road /Alexandra Avenue.
The
facilities for playing bowls at Chiswick are as good, if not better
than at most clubs in London. The green is well maintained by our green-keeper
who can call on help from other groundsmen, and the best equipment,
on
the sports complex when needed. Our pavilion, adjacent the green, was
replaced only 5 years ago with a permanent brick-built structure containing
male and female changing rooms, tea-making and toilet facilities. The
bar and restaurant in the main Club-house, which has recently been
refurbished, provide excellent facilities for after-match refreshment.
Competitions
We organise the London CSSC Bowling Championships in the singles, pairs,
triples, and fours events for men only at present. - These Championships
are a qualifying event for the English Civil Service Bowling Association
National Championships at which our Champions participate usually at
Leamington Spa during August Bank Holiday week each year. The English
Champions proceed to compete in the International (UK) Championships
in various locations in the UK the following year. The Club is pleased
to be associated with the organisation of the Women’s Regional
Singles Championships inaugurated by the CSSC at Chiswick in 2001, and
as interest increases we hope to organise both women’s pairs and
mixed pairs competitions.
‘Friendly’ matches
For the recreationally minded bowler we organise about 20 friendly matches – some
are mixed and some are for men only. Half the matches are played on the
Chiswick green and the others are played ‘away’ against various
clubs mostly in south London. Also, half the matches are played on Sunday
afternoons and the remainder during the week. We prefer to play matches
against departmental teams and bowling associations. Most of our members
belong to other bowling clubs closer to their homes so we do not expect
our members to support our matches other than on a casual basis. About
half of the matches are composed of mixed rinks for both men and women.
Subscriptions
Our annual subscription of £5 is set at a comparatively low rate
to cater for the policy of casual play, and payment of our club expenses
largely depends on receiving income from charging a minimal player’s
match fee, and raffles held during the after-match meal.
All members should
also, of course, be current or past employees in Government Departments
and agencies, the Post Office, BT., the Prison Service and
many other public bodies and companies carrying out ex-Civil Service
work, and, be members of ‘CSSC Sports and Leisure’ costing
just over £2 per month. Members of their families are encouraged
to join as Associates. Membership of the club enables men bowlers to
make themselves available to play in about 20 other representative matches
for the English Civil Service Bowling Association (ECSBA) and Civil Service
Bowling Association (CSBA) to which the Club is affiliated.
What do you have to do to join in?
We always welcome newcomers, whether they are expert bowlers or complete
beginners. You do not need to be particularly athletic. Our mixed membership
has a wide range of ages, abilities and interests- All you need to do
is to contact the Secretary of the Club - Colin Kiddy – on the
telephone: 020 8668 0153 - preferably in the mornings, or, better still
on his Email address: cokiddy@btopenworld.com - He will send you more
information and arrange coaching if you have not played the sport before.
The only things newcomers need to provide are personal clothing and bowls.
It is usually possible to loan new bowlers a set of bowls during the
coaching stage. After 2-3 hours coaching and some practice with other
bowlers you should be able to fully participate in the sport. It is customary
to wear grey trousers/skirts and white shirts/blouses and flat- soled
shoes on the green. In matches we wear white trousers/skirts.
Colin Kiddy
is also a contact for the London CSSC Indoor 4s Bowling Championships,
and the London Civil Service Indoor Bowling Club, which has about 40
fixtures with Indoor Clubs in the South-east of England from October
to April.
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