On a cold September evening, in a quiet corner of Abertillery Park under the shadow of the Arael mountain, an event was taking place that encapsulated the theory that bowls really is a game for everyone.

Children, parents, grandparents and Welsh Internationals past and present gathered to enjoy an evening of bowls and celebrate the end of another successful season for the club.

Organised in conjunction with Abertillery Bowls Club, BowlsWales and Team Wales, the evening was a chance to see how the sport is attracting youngsters to ensure the future of the game in Wales.

The bowls played on the night was not strictly to rule. Indeed, the games played were aimed at developing skill and understanding by having fun; this was achieved ten-fold, as laughter and enjoyment was clearly apparent from everyone involved. Current World Champions Jess Sims and Laura Daniels were amongst the Internationals in hot competition with the huge number of children in attendance.

Jamie Brown, Coach at Abertillery said “It’s great that the Internationals are joining in with the children, and to see everyone having loads of fun. Our young players really enjoy the opportunity to play bowls on a weekly basis at the club, and we are going from strength to strength in terms of numbers and the development of players”.

He concluded saying “An evening like this is a great end to a great season”.

Many representatives from the newly formed BowlsWales were in attendance at the event, including Nia Butler, General Manager. She explained “It is great to see so many youngsters and their families enjoying bowls and demonstrating first-hand that it is a sport for everyone. It would be great to see this replicated at clubs across Wales, so BowlsWales will look to do similar events at clubs in 2018, particularly given it’s the year of the Commonwealth Games and an ideal time to promote the sport”.