A Conwy Crown Green Bowling Club is hoping local youngsters will be persuaded to swap their games consoles for bowls in a bid to attract youngsters to the sport.

Vardre Bowling Club has secured National Lottery funding from the Sports Council for Wales to put towards coaching qualifications and new equipment. The Crown Green Bowls club hope to use the £880 Community Chest grant to train two members to become British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA) rules qualified coaches to coach children and seniors who are newly playing the game.

The club recently won an intergenerational bowling tournament, organised by North Wales Police Community Support Officers in Deganwy and Glan Conwy, which significantly boosted their efforts to attract younger members to the sport. The competition prompted a good response from local youngsters wanting to learn more, some of whom had never rolled a bowl in their lives before.

Jennie Danher, Vardre Bowling Club Treasurer said, "We got the grant because we wanted to get youngsters on board. You’ve got to give youngsters a chance. There aren’t many coaches who are BCGBA qualified in this area so we are trying to look forward."

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling, said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Conwy. The increase in funding and the greater scope of the scheme will increase its effectiveness.

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people in Conwy more active, more often."

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales is raising the level of grant. Organisations keen to develop sport and physical activity in Wales can now receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

The scope of the scheme has also been widened. Grants have traditionally been awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies. Now most organisations seeking to develop physical activity and sporting projects will be eligible for an award.

The Community Chest has recently been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might get the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group will encourage more adults to get active.