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To Join.

Abronhill Bowling Club is always happy to accept new members.

All members, whether Senior, Lady, Gent or Student are full Members with equal Bowling and voting rights with the minimum age for full membership being 16 years of age.

Membership fees for Students are £50.00 at age 16 years grading up to the Full Membership fee of £130.00 at age 21 years.

Junior Members can join from age 8 years with a membership fee of £10.00 applicable and a full programme of coaching provided on a Monday and Friday by fully qualified SBA coaches.

To join, simply send an e-mail to the web address above and we will get back to you.

History.

Abronhill Bowling Club was founded in 1985 with an enthusiastic membership of local people who had a dream of having their own local Bowling Club, the original Directors being Ralph Deery, Ernie Steel, Jimmy McNeill and George Martin, Membership of the Kirkintilloch and District Bowling Association being sought and granted in the same year.

The original format of the Club was the standard of the time, with Gents being Full voting Members and Ladies being Associate Members, however in Nan Grant, the first ever Ladies Representative on the Committee, the Ladies always had a strong voice in the Club and played a full part in its progress.
Although the Committee and Members were new to the game of Bowls, Honours quickly followed with the first ever Ladies Champion, Helen Leamy, winning the Inter District Singles Championship in 1986. Whilst the Members improved their Bowling skills, The Committee applied itself to improving the facilities and began with building a small extension to provide the Club with a bar, a Bar licence being granted in 1987.

With the Club now moving forwards, more Honours were soon to follow with Joe Wilson winning the Inter District Singles Championship in 1987 and bringing back our first ever Scottish Bowling Association Honour in 1988 in the shape of the District Singles Championship. The Club continued to prosper through the late Eighties / early Nineties and the work put in to establishing and running a Junior Section paid off with Kristine Lusk winning the SWBA District Junior Singles in 1993.

To reflect the new found confidence in, and love for the game of Bowls, Bowling holidays were soon on the agenda and Sandra & Willie Barlow, Jimmy & Janet McNeill, Moira & Alex Rennie and Sally & John Logie were soon off to Foreign ( and warmer ) climes to represent Abronhill Bowling Club in its first ever European game against Princessa Bowls Centre in Benidorm.

By the time the Club celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 1995 with President John Scott at the helm, Abronhill Bowling Club was a well established Club having taken over the ownership and running of the Greens from the local Council in 1992 with then Club Secretary, Drew Parker, pushing through the changes required to the Lease.

The Profile of the Club was further enhanced in 1997 with Jimmy McNeill taking over the position of President of the Kirkintilloch and District Bowling Association and the Club hosting the Association Finals during his tenure 1997 - 1998. That same year saw the Club make a breakthrough in the KDBA with Jim Meechan, Ernie Steel and Jackie Rae winning the KDBA Triples Championship, our first ever KDBA Honour.

K&D President Jim McNeill congratulates Abronhill

President Charlie McCallum on a successful hosting

of the K.D.B.A. Finals - 1997.

By this time, the Committee was constantly pushing the Club forwards, adding a second extension to provide a larger Main Hall and Committee room, upgrading the Bankings to meet the latest SBA requirements, carrying out a complete renovation of the Bar and Kitchen, Landscaping of the Club surroundings and improving Disabled access to the Club.

2003 saw the first major change in the Constitution of the Club, with the Ladies being granted full membership and Sandra Pate becoming the first Lady President of a full members Lady Section.
2005 saw the Club celebrate 20 years of Bowling and a series of celebration games were held, with Presidents David Abernethy and Margaret Butler officiating and overseeing the completion of the upgrading to Artificial Bankings.

Further changes followed and the Club finally changed over to being an Equal Opportunities Club having Full Membership for all Members, with the Senior Section voting for and being granted Full Membership in 2006 and the Junior Section being granted full autonomy in 2007.
On the Bowling front, the Club had continued to enhance its reputation in the Bowling fraternity with one of the products of our Junior Section, Colin Simpson, gaining an under 25 Cap for the GBA in 1997, Full Cap in 1998 and winning the GBA under 25 Singles Championship in the same year, the Clubs first GBA Honour. And the Honours continued, with George Leamy winning a full County Cap for the GBA in 2003, and teams from Abronhill winning the Glasgow Division 4 League in 2004 and the Glasgow Centenary Cup in 2008.

Throughout its short 25 year History, the Club has honoured 4 of its Members with Honorary Life Membership, recognising not only their contribution to Abronhill Bowling Club, but also to the local Community in general: Ernie Steel, for his work over many years with the Junior Section, Jimmy McNeill for his help in raising the profile of Abronhill Bowling Club through his membership of the Kirkintilloch and District Bowling Association, Duncan White for his work with the Childrens Panel and Strathcarron Hospice and Sally Logie for her work with Audio news for the Blind. In 2009, Jimmy McNeill was further honoured with Honorary Life Membership of the Kirkintilloch and District Bowling Association, one of only 4 people to be so honoured in the Associations 100 year history.

Over the years since being founded, Abronhill Bowling Club has been fortunate to have a number of Members who have not only served the Club well but also over a prolonged period. The following are all members who have served on the Committee of Abronhill Bowling Club for at least 10 years, some considerably longer:

• Drew Parker first joined the Committee in 1986 and has served 19 years to date, as Treasurer in 1988 – 1989, President in 1991, Secretary 1993 – 1996 and Treasurer once again 2007 – 2014.
• Graeme Elliott first joined the Committee in 1992 and has served 19 years to date, as Secretary from 1997 to 1999 and again in 2004, President in 2006, Match Secretary in 2008, Secretary in 2009 - 2011 and Match Secretary from 2012.
• David Abernethy first joined the Committee in 1995 and has served 15 years to date, as Treasurer 2001 – 2003 and twice as President in 2005 and again in 2009.
• George Martin first joined the Committee in 1985 and served 12 years in total, as Treasurer from 1985 to 1987, President in 1989 and again as Treasurer from 1994 to 1997.
• Kenny Fisher first joined the Committee in 1989 and served 12 years in total, serving as Bar Convenor in 1992, President in 1994 and Match Secretary in 1998 - 1999.
• Ernie Steel first joined the Committee in 1985 and served 10 years in total, as President in 1986, Bar Convenor in 1988, Match Secretary in 1992 - 1993 and again in 2000 – 2001.
• John Ross first joined the Committee in 1986 and served 10 years in total, as President in 1990 and also acted as Immediate Past President in both 1991 and 1993.

Although a number of Members have brought Honours back to the Club over the years a few, whether by good Bowling, Luck or a bit of both have managed this feat on more than one occasion and are noted below:

Joe Wilson, Jean Ross, Pat Copeland, Nan Grant, Ernie Steel, Jim Meechan, Jackie Rae, Colin Simpson, George Leamy, Graeme Elliott, Ross Todd, David Abernethy, Raymond Smith and Robert McGhee.

Abronhill Bowling Club continues to drive forward and in its latest venture launched its own Website in 2009 with a view to keeping its Members fully updated on the preparations for and Celebration of, its 25th Anniversary which was held in 2010.

In its 25 year History so far, Abronhill Bowling Club has firmly established itself as a respected member of the Glasgow Bowling Association, Kirkintilloch and District Bowling Association, Dumbartonshire Bowling Association and Scottish Bowling Association. It has served as a focus for the Local Community, has helped establish lifetime friendships and has raised tens of thousands of pounds for Charities, notable among them Strathcarron Hospice and Rachel House. There is no way that the founding Members could have foreseen what was to come from their original idea and, as for the next 25 years, who knows where that may take us

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The writer has tried to ensure the accuracy of the above information but accepts that Club Records may not always be 100% correct or full. Please accept my apology for any omissions, mis-spellings or inaccuracies. Anyone who has any further information, clarification or indeed stories, please contact the Secretary who will be happy to modify or expand on the above.

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