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ALLES RUND UMS RASENBOWLING |
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Lawn bowls in Löbichau began by accident in the Summer of 2005. Retired British bobby, Richard Walden was living in a village even smaller than Löbichau, some 6km to the east. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of many clubs and individuals in England, Richard was able to bring with him a lot of bowls equipment when he settled in Germany in 2003. In that August, Richard fashioned two rinks, 25m x 4m, marked out with string and wooden blocks, on the village green in Drogen. He also provided a barrel of beer, which ensured that the event was well attended. The playing surface was more like the Alps than a bowling green, but fun was had by all. |
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This event was annual until 2006, but the last one was a wash-out thanks to typical German thunderstorms. The President of SV Löbichau, Frank Seifarth, has relatives in Drogen, and his team from the local dairy farm, called the Red Cows, always took part in Drogen. In 2005, the village of Löbichau celebrated it‘s 750th anniversary. SV Löbichau had always run a football tournament for such special occasions. This time they wanted something different. Something that all ages could take part in. Frank asked Richard if a bowls tournament was possible. Frank stiil has the scars from where Richard bit his hand off. |
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In the middle of Löbichau was on old football pitch, no longer used as the club had a new facility elsewhere in the village. Richard chose the best available area and marked out 4 rinks as he had in Drogen. Fifteen two-wood triples took part in this event. Afterwards, one lady bowler remarked „This is the first sport I‘ve played where I can drink red wine at the same time. Can we play again next week?“ The first Löbichau bowls tournament was a hit, and it has just completed it‘s fifth year. After the 2006 tournament, there was sufficient interest to form a bowls section for SV Löbichau. The local authority offered one half of the football field, rent free, for the bowls section. A generous sponsor was found, and an area approximately 42m square was levelled, and sewn with a golf quality seed. From this area a section 39m sqaure was chose later and ditches were started in 2007. They were complted in 2009 providing a low bank which did not comply with World Bowls laws. In 2009 Löbichau was chosen as one of only 366 venues to host an event under the the banner “365 Ideas From Germany“, a scheme under the umbrella of the German President. The event was a bowls tournament, which attracted national newspaper covergae, a regional television report, and local radio interviews. This event as also the lever to obtain Lotto funds which went a huse way towards buying a much need bowling-green lawn mower. |
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CIM projects are sole agents in Germany for Dales Sports and |
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The local authority has been ever supportive of bowls and the sport‘s development. The old football pitch and adjacent school sports area is being re-developed into a park. The underground stream will be opened out and re-coursed to to wind it‘s way through the park. The bowling green is the central feature. Approximately one-third of the orriginal playing surface has been lost, but replaced by an equivalent piece on the opposite side of the green. Ditches and banks have been built using concrete sections, and the green is now fully compliant with World Bowls requirements. A small wooding building has been provided for use by the bowls section. There‘s no water supply but we do have power. I suspect Löbichau has the only flat-green bowls facility in Germany. For sure, it has the best. |
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Left: Wooden blocks in evidence at a Drogen tournament |
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Below: Arrival of the Ransomes-Jacobsen lawn mower in August 2008. The “illegal“ banks can be clearly seen. |
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Richard Walden Drogen September 2009 |