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Dennis & SISIS partner with Bowls England

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Dennis & SISIS partner with Bowls England: Dennis & SISIS and Bowls England have announced a new five-year partnership which is aimed at improving playing surfaces, increasing participation and helping to safeguard the future of the sport.

Passionate about helping everyone get the most out of the sport, Bowls England recently unveiled a new strategy, ‘Fit For The Future’, which has been designed with the ultimate goal of getting more people playing and enjoying bowls.

However, to entice more people into the sport, there must be a focus on the playing conditions; and this is where Dennis and SISIS come in according to Bowls England’s Chief Executive Jon Cockcroft.

“What is absolutely critical for us is that the bowling greens up and down the country are in superb condition for people to play on,” he said. “Over recent years there has been more strain on our clubs, and the challenges of maintaining greens are becoming greater.

Consequently, this partnership with Dennis and SISIS will allow us to support our clubs, and our amazing volunteers, who work tirelessly to look after the greens.

“The partnership will add value to our members and ultimately improving the quality of the surfaces is going to make the playing experience better which will help grow our game and get more people playing bowls.”

Also committed to educating greenkeepers and raising the standards of bowling greens, Dennis and SISIS have long supported the sport of bowls. For over 20 years, they have been organising and hosting educational maintenance seminars throughout the country which are designed to ultimately help club greenkeepers and volunteers maintain their bowling greens.

The pandemic inevitably put a temporary halt to the seminars and as a result the two British manufacturers launched an innovative Virtual Bowling Green Maintenance Seminar Portal. The free online portal was an instant success bringing seminars to a much wider audience and also allowing members to benefit from a wealth of knowledge.

Roger Moore, Sales and Marketing Manager for Dennis and SISIS revealed his delight at the new partnership.

“The sport of bowls has played an important part in the history of Dennis and SISIS,” he said. “We want to be associated with Bowls England particularly at such an exciting time as they launch their five-year strategy.

“The plan is to continue next year with the live seminars and provide access to Bowls England members to the online seminar portal, which has monthly updates from experts, funding opportunities, and access to other partners. Whether you are an experienced greenkeeper or new to the industry the portal is an invaluable resource.

“The partnership will allow both parties to explore and develop other initiatives going forward and we hope we can play a part helping Bowls England’s achieve their goals It also allows us to give something back towards the future growth and sustainability of the bowls market.”

The partnership comes ahead of an exciting year for both Dennis and SISIS and Bowls England; 2022 marks the centenary year for the Dennis brand and it is also the year of the of the Commonwealth Games, in which the greens at Victoria Park in Leamington (also the home of Bowls England) will host the bowls tournament.

“There is a wonderful synergy to this partnership,” continued Jon. “Firstly – heritage; the heritage of our sport and the heritage of the Dennis and SISIS brands. Secondly, both have an appetite for quality. Thirdly, bowls as a sport and the Dennis and SISIS brands are quintessentially British; and last but certainly not least, both Bowls England and Dennis and SISIS have a desire to give back to communities. It is a perfect partnership.”

For further information please contact Dennis and SISIS on 01332 824 777

Further information about the range of maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery You can like the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK and www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery

You can also view the latest Dennis and SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers and www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

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Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season: In preparation for the new season, an overwhelming number of greenkeepers made their way to the recent Dennis and SISIS Bowling Green Maintenance Seminar, in order to gain advice and tips on best practice.

The popular seminars, which are designed to educate greenkeepers on how to maintain and look after bowling greens, have been credited for improving the greens at numerous bowls clubs throughout the country. Combining insightful seminars and practical tips, a number of industry experts take to the stage to discuss a wide range of key topics.

Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

Held at the Herts Bowling Club in Watford, this most recent seminar attracted a phenomenal 80 greenkeepers.

After an introduction from Dennis and SISIS’ Robert Jack, the seminar welcomed the extremely knowledgeable sports turf consultant Alan Lewis, who drew upon his wealth of experience to deliver a presentation entitled ‘Spring Maintenance on a Bowling Green.’

Grass seed was the next topic of the day when Luke Hunt from Barenbrug UK advised delegates on how to choose the correct seed for their greens.

A refreshment break allowed attendees to soak up and discuss the advice they had just received before John Noyce from Collier Turfcare took to the stage to offer an insightful look into ‘Chemical & Fertiliser options.’

The ever popular Turf Clinic followed and enabled all of the greenkeepers to ask their own questions to the panel of expert speakers.

After a complimentary lunch, an on-green demonstration took place in which delegates got the opportunity to see a number of turf maintenance techniques in action.

Kev Brazier, a contract greenkeeper working in partnership with Harpenden Bowls Club, felt that the seminar was a great opportunity to enhance his greenkeeping knowledge.

“It was a really informative seminar. The speakers had great knowledge and they presented it in a way in which everyone could understand. I was particularly interested in hearing that there is actually a place for Dwarf Ryes on bowling greens in certain situations.

Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

“It was brilliant for networking and there was a broad range of subjects discussed. They were all incredibly relevant and I took a lot away from the spring maintenance tips.”

John Hay, Hertfordshire bowls greens co-ordinator, worked alongside Dennis & SISIS in arranging the seminar and felt that the day was a huge success.

“The seminar had a fantastic response and it was very timely because it has helped greenkeepers prepare for the season ahead. It was invaluable to all of the clubs that attended; the speakers were amazing, there were a few myths put to bed about what should and shouldn’t be done and there was a nice turf clinic which gave the greenkeepers the chance to speak their minds.

“Most of the people who attend these seminars are people who work voluntarily to support their clubs and therefore seminars like this can really make a big difference.”

Forthcoming seminars can be found below:

Tuesday 9 April – Hykeham Bowls Club, North Hykeham, Lincolnshire.

Wednesday 10 April – Ashbourne Bowls Club, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Thursday 11 April – Hewell Bowls Club, Redditch, Worcestershire.

To register for the FREE and highly informative seminars, please contact Roger Moore on 01332 824777 or email roger.moore@dennisuk.com.

Further information about the range of bowls maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery. You can like the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK and www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers and www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Vandal-Hit Bowls Club Set To Fold

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Vandal-Hit Bowls Club Set To Fold: Middleport Park Bowling club is to fold – ending its 108 years of existence.

The club, traditionally one of most successful in North Staffordshire, will play for the last time this year after members called time because of vandalism and also council costs.

Vandal-Hit Bowls Club Set To Fold

Middleport had been asked to pay around £2,500 to Stoke-on-Trent City Council to maintain the green.

An alternative was a self-management deal in which members would take on the responsibility for looking after the green themselves.

But they have reluctantly rejected that idea because of vandalism, including people playing football and golf on the green and riding bikes over it.

The club, founded in 1910, will play for this season at Clough Hall then cease to exist.

Chairman and treasurer Keith Williamson, aged 65, has been connected with the club since he was 13.

He said it was a difficult decision to call time on a club which was one of the best in the area in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s when they were regular winners of the Sentinel Cup.

However, he said the fee of around £2,500 was too much.

 He said: “That was the ballpark figure but they had said it would rise over time. We were offered self-management but there were the vandalism issues.

“But the problems started when the council first made the cuts and they got rid of the park rangers around 10 or 12 years ago.

“The main thing is football on the green but also people riding bikes on it. We have even been down there and people have been practicing golf shots on it.

“It is a problem that lots of parks are having now. There might be a gassy bank on the other side, but they prefer to play on the bowling green because it is flatter.”

Williamson said the council had offered the club a free mower and made them aware of grants they could apply for, but after careful consideration they decided it wasn’t feasible to carry on.

Now he and other members have cleared the pavilion as they reluctantly decided the club must fold.

He has thanked Clough Hall for making the team welcome for this year. Middleport have a strong connection with Clough Hall because their former captain Mick Harvey played there before joining Park in 1980 and skippering the club to major success. Mick died in 2014.

Williamson added: “It is a sad day, we are one of the best known and have been one of the most successful clubs in the area”

Middleport is one of several clubs potentially affected by council cutbacks.

The Sentinel reported in October that the council had also begun consulting with clubs at Anchor Road, Meir Hay; Beauford Street, Longton; Bucknall Park; Campbell Road, Stoke; Tunstall Park; Northwood Park; Smithpool Park, in Fenton; Burslem Park and Watson Road, in Trent Vale.

Councillor Anthony Munday, cabinet member for greener city, development and leisure, said: “We have met with all the bowling clubs in the city and offered them options and support to keep running.

“This has included a 50 per cent reduction in what they would pay to maintain the green for the first 12 months; advice on how to set up committees and access funding for example through the council’s Community Investment Fund, as well as the offer of free lawn mowers and training in how to use them. It’s disappointing that none of the options offered were acceptable to the club at Middleport Park and that they have taken the decision to wind-up.

“Bowling green maintenance is costly. It is labour intensive and requires a lot of specialised equipment and other materials. We understand the value of bowling in terms of social contact and health. However, the simple truth is that the number of people using some greens is falling far short of being able to justify the expense in the light of other more popular demands.

“We will continue to work with other groups who have expressed a desire to keep their club running and we hope to reach positive outcomes with as many as we can.”

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