NOTL Lawn Bowling Club getting ready for the great outdoors

There was a sense of cautious excitement inside the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre as the carpets were being rolled up at the end of Thursday’s short-mat bowling session.

Twenty of the NOTL Lawn Bowling Club’s short-mat participants had just finished their final indoor gathering of the year. That meant the time had come to begin looking forward to the summer outdoor season. The first step toward that is this Saturday’s registration event from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Club past president Paul McHoull says about 51 men and women have been playing the indoor short-mat version of the game since October. It’s played each winter inside the community centre on mats that are 45 feet long. In comparison, the outdoor surface is 120 feet long.

Club members such as Doug Williams and Cathy MacCon enjoy the challenges of the shorter game, as well as the ability to keep up their skills and continue to socialize with other members during the winter season. 

But for most, it’s the outdoor season that is the highlight. The oldest lawn bowling club in Canada usually attracts between 70 and 80 members who play in NOTL on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer. The Monday and Wednesday sessions are in the afternoon until July when the more intense summer afternoon heat forces a move to evenings. There are also Interclub Men’s and Women’s Leagues played against other lawn bowlers in the region. 

Typically, registration day includes a chance for the members to take out their bowls and play a few rounds while also having an afternoon tea. That’s where the cautious part of the equation comes in. 

“With all this rain,” said McHoull of the typical April weather of the past week, “it’s not looking good for us to get outside to play this weekend. And the mould problem on our green hasn’t been taken care of yet, either. This rain isn’t good for that.”

For several years club members have been dealing with growing large brown spots on the synthetic surface. Those spots tend to get slimy and slippery, especially following a rainstorm. 

The town has contracted a commercial firm to clean and disinfect the outdoor carpet. It won’t be a permanent solution, but will alleviate the mould problem for one to two years, said McHoull. Complicating matters is that to powerwash it correctly, a dry spell of about four to five days in a row is needed. 

When the club moved from a natural grass surface on Regent Street to the rear of the Community Centre, it became one of only a handful of clubs in Ontario to be outfitted with an artificial surface. Some members at the time decided to switch to other nearby clubs who were still playing on grass. 

The carpet was laid in the fall of 2010, with bowlers playing on it for the first time in spring 2011. Carpets have an expected lifetime of about 12 years. But an Australian lawn bowling expert who visited the site last year told McHoull that the mould is likely rooted in the base, which is made of crushed stone and should have had some powered cement added to it when it was installed.

McHoull says one of their members lost her footing on a section of the carpet and injured her knee. He is worried that until the mould problem can be solved, even temporarily, others could also be hurt. 

“The mould doesn’t affect the play,” explained McHoull. “But it’s the question of a firm purchase for your foot. We know it happened once. We don’t want it to happen again.”

McHoull is hoping that the situation can be taken care of before Saturday, May 11, when the ceremonial official opening of the green is scheduled. 

As for the cost of the replacement carpet, McHoull knows the club will have to cover some portion. The club is trying to access funds through various levels of government, but he says because they are not incorporated, the town would have to be the applicant for any grants. 

In October, The Local contacted the town’s parks and recreation director Kevin Turcotte to request an interview. A response came from spokesperson Marah Minor, who said “Replacement of the lawn bowling carpet is in the capital budget tentatively forecast in 2026. Staff have investigated the asset condition and are exploring options.”

For the club, until the mould problem is solved they may need to choose some options of their own. That could include completely avoiding playing on the most affected areas, which would limit the number of bowlers per session. 

Some members are also hoping there might be a chance for them to play some regular short-mat games inside the Community Centre this summer in an effort to avoid the summer heat. Other than the picnic area to the side of the green, there is no shelter for the lawn bowlers from the sun.

Despite the issues and whether or not they can get on the green on Saturday, the first Monday and Wednesday afternoon sessions are scheduled for this coming week from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Club members are excited to get back in action. 

And McHoull is hoping to see some new members come out Saturday, especially some younger ones.

“We had some Tuesday 4-3-2-1 sessions with the NOTL Youth Collective,” McHoull told The Local. “They really enjoyed it. People tend to think lawn bowling is an old person’s game, but the best players in the world are actually in their 20s."

Memberships in the NOTL Lawn Bowling Club costs $140 for NOTL residents, $155 for those from other municipalities. Registration runs inside the Community Centre from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday. 

With files from Penny Coles