Lawn bowling isn’t typically understood as a young, hip sport – it brings up images of grey-haired, white-clad folk moving around gracefully on a perfectly manicured lawn. However, a bunch of young people, inspired by one woman’s fight against Cystic Fibrosis, have claimed the sport as their own. At Lawn Summer Nights, teams of four compete in a lawn bowling tournament – and all proceeds from the event go towards Cystic Fibrosis Canada. We chatted with the organizers of the Ottawa Lawn Summer Nights series, the last of which happens tonight down at the Elmdale Lawn Bowling Club.
Apartment613: Firstly, can you give us the basics of lawn bowling? I live across the street from a lawn bowling facility and I honestly know nothing about it. What’s fun about it? Is it easy to pick up?
Lawn Summer Nights: To be honest, I think only one of our Lawn Summer Nights participants had lawn bowled prior to joining the event. It’s easy to pick up the basics and fun to try something new, and that’s what our event is about – having fun with old friends and meeting some new ones. Our expert lawn bowlers, however – the older members of Elmdale Lawn Bowling Club – will tell you that it takes some skill to master the nuances of the game!
The game is less like bowling and more like curling, I’ve been told. There are two teams to each lane and one throws out a small white ball called a jack. The name of the game is to roll your team’s bowls as close as you can to the jack, and points are awarded accordingly. Participants of our event have really taken to it because of the ease to pick up the basics (and the ability to get a little competitive!), but also because it’s a social sport, giving a lot of time to chat with your team mates and opponents.
What is the connection between Lawn Summer Nights and Cystic Fibrosis? How did this idea come about?
Lawn Summer Nights was the brain child of a group of friends in Vancouver who had visited Australia in 2008 and discovered that Australian youth had reclaimed the sport, dubbing it “Barefoot Bowls.” One of the friends, Philip, had brought to Australia a rough cut of a documentary he was working on at the time, entitled 65_RedRoses. The powerful film tells the story of Eva Markvoort, a young Vancouver girl living with Cystic Fibrosis who undergoes a double lung transplant. The idea to create a lawn bowling Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser was hatched on the spot.
What have you been able to achieve at this year’s event in Ottawa?
We are absolutely blown away with the support we’ve had in our inaugural year here in Ottawa. Right from the get-go we’ve had amazing support from the National Sponsor KPMG, and we were extremely lucky to have TELUS support us as our Ottawa City Sponsor. With their help, our Spotlight Sponsors RBC, Environics Communications and Spirits Canada, and our Media Sponsor The Hill Times, we were able to raise an estimated $25,000 this year in Ottawa. We’ve also been lucky to have such a great group of participants who have shown up to the event rain or shine ready to participate, purchase raffle tickets and have a great time.
Costumes! How have people been approaching the period theme and style?
The theme of the event is Great Gatsby-esque but participants can either stick to that theme or run with one of their own. We’ve had a mix of both at our event this year, from dapper ladies and gents in bows, bow ties and suspenders to construction workers and policemen!
What’s next? Are you planning an event for next year?
We are absolutely planning an event in Ottawa again next year and we hope to grow the number of teams to a total of 40. We encourage all Ottawa young professionals to check out our Facebook page, our website and our twitter account for photos from this year and details on next year. We’ll be hosting the event again at Elmdale Lawn Bowling Club over Wednesdays in July so start thinking about your teams of 4! As well, if anyone would like to be put on our mailing list, they can email us at ott@lawnsummernights.com.
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