Lawn bowlers from Sporties Dubbo are being forced to look for another home green after the closure of their club.
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Creditors voted to put the Erskine Street venue into liquidation on Wednesday, days after it ceased trading.
It was the end of lawn bowls at Sporties Dubbo, which was established as the Dubbo Railway Bowling Club in 1954.
The state association for the sport has stepped in to help bowling members left in the lurch.
“We have been engaging with the club on a regular basis since learning of the financial difficulties, assisting the bowling members with alternate arrangements to play out of the Macquarie Dubbo Club,” Bowls NSW chief executive officer Greg Helm said.
He noted the financial challenges of Sporties Dubbo had been the result of “contractual arrangements of the licensed club board”, not the bowling activities of the club, which he reported had “remained strong both in numbers and competitive standing”.
“This closure is extremely unfortunate for the members of the bowling club which was nominated for regional club of the year in 2014 and has a strong bowling contingent,” Mr Helm said.
The Bowls NSW chief previously reported about 40 bowling clubs in Sydney had closed or amalgamated in the past decade because of declining membership and directors who lacked the skills to reinvent the business.
Despite the trend, this week he was optimistic for the sport at Dubbo.
The city remained a strong regional area for the bowls community with Dubbo City, Macquarie and West Dubbo Bowling Club being competitive within the sport, Mr Helm said.
“Dubbo is renowned for having one of the strongest junior bowling academies in NSW, and West Dubbo is the host of the annual seven-a-side Junior State Series bringing representative sides from all across the state,” he said.
Mr Helm also highlighted the state association’s support for regional areas and drought relief, with the Country Women’s Association being its Charity of the Year.
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