Ponteland Bowling Club secretary Don Burbeck believes the sport must break its stigma to thrive.

Having taken the Northumberland club from the brink of closing, Burbeck has been pragmatic to keep it open after seeing members dwindle to 75 people following the global pandemic.

Introducing short-form versions of the sport to appeal to a younger demographic and less able people, Ponteland's innovative attitude has seen memberships double.

Despite having seen such positive growth as secretary, the former school teacher believes there is still work to be done.

"The stigma is one of the biggest battles that I have faced over the past two or three years," said Burbeck, speaking ahead of Bowls’ Big Weekend 2024.  

"You have got to try and offer different people different things. There are members that have been here a long time and didn’t want change. 

"They wanted to wear whites and do this that and the other, but I felt that it put people off. 

"We are a club that cater to people’s needs. If you want to be a serious bowler in national competitions and county competitions, we can do that. 

"If you want to play in the leagues, we can do that. If you want to play in social games and friendly games, we can do that. 

"If you want to just play with your mates a couple of days a week we can do that. We are open for whatever people want."

Bowls’ Big Weekend, partnered with Aviva, is back for its fourth year and bigger and better than ever, with clubs across the country holding open days to encourage new players to give the sport a go.

With over three million people watching Bowls’ Big Weekend on national television last year, and over 560 clubs on board, bowls will be taking over England from 24th – 27th May for the 2024 event.

The weekend, which Ponteland are a key part of, will be the culmination of a string of open sessions the club are putting on to entice more local people to become members.

"We put on a series of taster sessions and Bowls’ Big Weekend is the final taster session that we do," Burbeck said. 

"We have an introductory session, teach them how to bowl, take them through the techniques and get them to play a game amongst themselves. 

"If they then come back to another taster session, instead of going right back to the start, we do a quick recap and then get them playing a game again. 

"This process takes about two months of the year, and if they finally do decide to join, they pay a reduced membership because they have missed the first two months, but they have had opportunities to bowl in those two months."

To find your nearest participating club and sign up for a free session go to bowlsbigweekend.com