A new Playing for Success Study Centre based on the sport of Crown Green Bowling will open in the Autumn 2006 at Leverhulme Park.

Playing for Success Centres are more usually located at professional football, cricket and rugby clubs across the country.  But not here in Bolton!

The Department for Education and Skills is seeking to promote ‘new’ sports within the initiative and Crown Green Bowling will sit among the more ‘unusual’ sports used to motivate young people such as, horse and motor racing, ice skating and gymnastics.  The centre will focus on the same goals as the current study centre at the Reebok, literacy, numeracy and ICT, using a sporting setting to motivate and inspire young people. 

The reason behind choosing Lancashire County Crown Green Bowling Association as our new partners lies in the fact bowling is a fully inclusive, community sport.  Bowling clubs exist in every village and community, throughout the North of England and the sport actively encourages people to take part and thus keep active and live longer.  The British Crown Green Bowling Association has 232,880 registered members and contrary to popular belief, most of its top players are between 20 and 50 years of age! 

Lancashire Crown Green Bowling Association boasts some 416 clubs around the county and has a long history of engaging young people through its Junior Leagues and coaching schemes.  On Sunday 2^nd April a group of 16 children from Study@BWFC visited Breightmet Pavillion to take part in a training session for newly qualified bowling coaches.  The event was a great success, with many of the young people experiencing the game for the first time and showing promising talent. 

Sessions at the Crown Green Zone will commence during November 2006 and will include opportunities for students to play bowls and to also use the sport to improve their mathematics and literacy skills.