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Penyrheol Ladies’ Bowls Club is proving the game is more than just ‘old man’s marbles’ – and is looking for the next generation of female bowlers.

Club members want to dispel stereotypes about the sport “being for old men,” highlighting how the sport can offer a sense of community and improve mental and physical health.

Diane Gunderson has been a member of the club for more 50 years, having joined in 1973.

Diane grew up in a bowling household, with her mother founding what was then the Abertridwr Ladies’ Bowls Club in 1980.

“My mother and two sisters started me off,” she said. “At the time I was a single mum and once my youngest son started school, they said ‘come on, come and have a bowl.’ I only went down on the bowling green twice and I got hooked. 

“Back then there was no league, it was just friendly games, and we all got on so well. I loved it.”

In the years since, the club has been part of both local and south Wales-wide leagues, but the friendly atmosphere has remained unchanged.

“Nobody can do enough for you, really. Anybody that needs anything, somebody’s there to give a hand,” Diane told Caerphilly Observer. “Once you’re on that green, you forget everything else, you concentrate, and we can have a laugh while we do it.”

Aside from bowls, the club also arranges events, meals, and an annual trip to Porthcawl to end the season – a highlight of the year for many of its members.

“I think it brings some structure into your life,” team captain Liz Tobin said.

“I know most of us are retired, and I think sometimes when you’ve finished work you need some kind of structure.”

“We all met doing bowls, and we’ve become friends for life.”

But being such a small club has proved challenging. Since the closure of the club’s original grounds in Abertridwr in 2014, the possibility of the club disappearing has been a constant worry for club members. 

A 2023 review of bowls in Wales found that the sport was in decline across the country, with declining club membership, less public interest, and a perception that the sport is ‘for old people’.

The club has previously tried to recruit new members to solve this issue but has found it difficult to attract and keep younger players.

“We have tried to get some new members, some fresh blood so to speak, but younger people tend to lose interest in the sport,” club member Angela Cassells said.

“The men’s club did try to go into schools to promote the sport, and we got a few young people coming over after school,” she continued. “But when they get to 12 or 13, they lose interest. My great-grandson tried it, and he was really good at it. But now he’s 12 and he’s got football and rugby, and girls of course.”

They call it Old Man’s Marbles,” Diane said. “But if you watch the television these days, it’s in the Commonwealth Games and all sorts, and you see a lot of younger people getting into it going really far.

“So I’m hoping they’ll see that, and it’ll boost the sport a bit.”

Diane says she would “love to see more young people getting involved” and says that bowls can offer an opportunity to reach the top in a competitive sport, all while making life-long friendships.”

Highlighting the youngsters who are representing Wales on the international stage, she continued: “You’ve got lots of opportunities, and if new people who come in want to go that far, they can.”

One youngster involved in the club is six-year-old Aurora, who has been attending the bowls club during school holidays, and much like Diane, comes from a family of bowlers.

Aurora’s mum, Kerry Giesel, joined the club after moving to south Wales from Zimbabwe, where bowls is extremely popular.

“It’s always been a family event for us,” Kerry said. “Because her father did bowls back home, and his father did it and so on.”

“She’s so well behaved, but whenever she’s out on the green, she really takes it seriously. There’s no mucking about,” Liz said.

In the future, the club plans to do more fundraising and recruitment events, including open days – which have been successful in the past – and working more with schools.

“It’s all to keep the club alive,” said Liz. 

The club urges anyone, of any age, to come and give the game a try. The club meets on the green at Penyrheol Park every day from 2pm to 4pm.