BOWLS may not be the sport that comes to mind when you think of a game for young people, but at Southampton-based Atherley Bowls and Social Club they are trying to grab the attention of the younger crowd.
The club, which is based off of Hill Lane, has been running since 1906 and is now set to expand their building and install a coffee shop, offering low priced drinks to try and get the younger crowd in.
Pat Lawson, Events Manager at Atherley Bowls Club spoke about the deals on offer: “Here you can get a cup of coffee for less than £2, and a pint for less than £4.50. There is nowhere else in Southampton that you can get that type of deal.”
But it’s not just the refreshments that the team at Atherley think they can provide for young people, with snooker and pool tables as well as discounted memberships available for students.
Lawson believes that getting involved with schools to organise sports trips and get students through the doors to play bowls would provide great exercise, but also opportunities for those perhaps not football mad.
He said: “We are talking to schools because there are loads of kids who don’t want to go out and play the mainstream sports in winter, but actually they could get quite good at bowls and if they pick it up quickly then they will stay engaged.”
The sport has been dubbed as one that it is easy to learn and for young people who may have better fitness and eyesight than older players, they are likely to get good at the sport very quickly.
World Men’s Singles champion, Jack McShane from Australia, is just 19 and took the Men’s Singles Title in 2025, so could the next top bowler come from Southampton, Atherley Bowls sure hope so.
