General Information for New Members

St Martins Lawn Bowls Coaching Team

All members will be given keys to the clubhouse, these will let you access the gate for entry and allow you access to the clubhouse and the equipment shed, you will be shown how to use the keys when you are given them.
The clubhouse, equipment shed and gate must be locked if you are leaving and there is no one else there with keys.

When you enter the clubhouse you will see a number of Notice Boards, all Friendly matches will be posted on the Notice Board to the right of the Kitchen entrance. When you are ready to sign up for a match this is where you will find the Friendly matches posted and you can put your name on the list if you are interested.

The Friendly Team Captains will select from the list of players and if you are selected you will see the Team sheet posted in the Yellow notice board by the entrance to the clubhouse.
You will find the booking diary on the desk on the right as you enter the clubhouse, this will show you the time of any arranged competitions and on which rink. If you are in a club competition you would book the match using the diary, this is not necessary for roll ups (see practise sessions).

You will be required to wear separate bowls shoes when you are on the green, some are available to borrow in the shed.
For a practise/roll up you can wear your normal clothes with bowls shoes.
When playing Friendly games you will require a club top or a white top along with grey trousers/shorts/skirt.

The equipment shed contains all match equipment as well as bowls and shoes that can be borrowed but these cannot be removed from the premises unless given permission by a committee member to play in competitions or friendlies.
The Equipment shed must be locked if you are leaving the site and no one else is there with keys.

The Green can be played on any time after 10.30 am when the Green Team have finished working,occasionally there will be additional work/maintenance required that will close one or more rinks for a period of time.

All Club members will be able to practise what they are learning and to improve their game by having a Roll Up'. Roll ups can be alone or with other players and there are some basic drills on the Club website coaching pages that you can try out.
Depending on the stage you are at would determine what type of practice (roll up) would be useful to you. Ask one of the Coaches or refer to the web pages.

All new members must complete four organised Coaching sessions (See Coaching) prior to being ready to play in Competitions.
The club plays Friendly matches versus other clubs and details can be found on the notice board in the clubhouse, new members should be able to sign up for these matches after completing the four coaching sessions.
On Fridays the club runs what is known as the Friday League, which is a friendly club league where new members will be helped along by existing members, the winner receives a trophy at the end of the league season.
There are other internal and external competitions including Club Championships, League matches and County matches against other clubs, there are also County and National Championships that experienced players compete in.
All external competitions take precedence over internal organised club competitions, and these have precedence over roll ups.

As a member of the club you will be expected to be on one of the rotas throughout the season.
Generally, the bar rota would mean manning the bar (with assistance from an experienced member) approx 4/5 times in a season.
The Tea rota would require you to work with another member to provide a buffet tea for our weekend friendly home matches a few times in a season.
The Green Team rota would require you to work with the Head Greenkeeper to help maintain the green, surrounding area and clubhouse. Through the season you would normally do either a Monday/Wednesday or a Friday for a couple of hours starting at 9am.
If you require any further information ask a committee member.