The club

Our members

Bowls at Pirrie Park is about people. Meet a few of the members who make the club what it is.

Paul

Member

One July Friday night in 2024, I was having a pint with a friend who asked if I would be interested in accompanying him when he went to a local club to see if he could play lawn bowls. His wife is a keen tennis player and he was searching for a new summer sport he could take up while she was playing. We turned up at Pirrie Park the following Wednesday and asked if we could have a roll-up and within a few weeks I had joined as a full member. The support and training I initially received meant that within a few weeks I was regularly participating in roll-ups with other club members. After the end of the summer season, I played short-mat bowls indoors in the club's pairs and triples leagues as well as entering the cup competitions. At the start of the 2025 outdoor season, I have represented the club in the Southampton and District Combination Triples League and with further support and coaching my game is continuing to improve. The encouragement and support I have received from everyone, the fact that I was made to feel welcome from the moment I turned up and the community spirit that is core to the club's values mean that Pirrie Park is far more than just a sports club. Turning up to support my friend try bowls was definitely one of the best decisions I have made.

Karen

Safeguarding Officer

I started playing bowls at the beginning of the 2011 summer season mainly to stop my Auntie from pestering me to try it out. She was a member of the club and has since moved away, but I have remained and play outdoors as well as short-mat bowls over the winter. A keen bowler, I enjoy the friendly matches we play with other clubs, as well as our internal competitions and have won the club championship. During the outdoor season, I play for the club in the Southampton and District mixed triples league and in county competitions have made it as far as the quarterfinals of the singles, earning my county badge. I also like to volunteer and help within the club; I am a creative person and enjoy crafting and baking. I make cakes for the match teas and decorate the club for Christmas and other occasions. I am the club's Safeguarding Officer, a role that is a statutory requirement for clubs affiliated to Bowls England. We have a very strong sense of community and are supportive of each other, but it is also important that standards of behaviour are maintained on and off the green by visiting teams and ourselves. It's not just about the bowls; our sense of community, the friendly banter and the fact that I have always felt safe and comfortable at the club are all very important to me.

Charlie

Member

Profile to be completed.

Mo

Member

Profile to be completed.