Just four days to save Portgordon Bowling Club
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A LOCAL bowling club is staring into the abyss of extinction if new committee members do not step forward.
An EGM at the clubhouse this Friday at 6.45pm will determine whether Portgordon Bowling Club – described as "vibrant" pre-pandemic by club secretary Iain Paterson – has a future or will vanish forever.
Mr Paterson said: "At our recent AGM, when the president stepped down no-one from the body of the meeting of around 15 people was willing to step forward and fill positions on the committee.
"The EGM this Friday is the last chance we have to organise a committee or we'll have no other choice but to wind down the club and it will cease to exist.
"The sad thing is that we're not short of money, that's not a problem, it's finding people willing to serve on the committee.
"We found ourselves in a similar predicament at the start of 2020 when we had to hold an EGM or face winding the club up and we got new committee members. However, Covid came and that meant we couldn't bowl and couldn't hold tournaments or even committee meetings, which would normally be held monthly.
"That also meant we had no money coming in but we're fortunate to have funds in the bank.
"Three years ago we had around 50 members, the club was buzzing and vibrant. We'd won the Banffshire Coastal League again and had the best green in the area – folk wanted to come and play at Portgordon.
"We had a good junior section at the club, too.
"I think because of the pandemic, which has gone on for a long time, many people have simply lost interest. Usually at bowling clubs it's the senior members who keep things going but we don't actually have many senior members. Many of the members we have joined because their children were involved with the juniors.
"It would be so sad to see the club fold – once it's gone, it's gone forever."
Current members are invited to attend the EGM while new ones will be made most welcome.
Prior to the pandemic, the hard-working committee and membership brought about many improvements to the facilities at the club over the years, including winning grant funding to renovate the kitchen and decorate internally, as well as purchasing a second hand portable cabin which was revamped and transformed into a changing area for bowlers, complete with lockers.
