THE forthcoming closure of the Club Catalina Sports and Leisure Club has devastated the social lives of many older members, Men’s Bowling Club spokesman Brian Wheeler said on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was last week confirmed that the Club Catalina Sports and Leisure Club, formerly the Batemans Bay Bowling Club, would shut down on March 28 due to a significant decline in trading.
The announcement has left bowlers all over the shire bitterly disappointed, some outraged.
“Some of the older (Bowling Club) members, who have moved here and bought into the town because of bowls, have decided enough is enough,” Wheeler told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner.
“They can’t travel too far and so they’ve decided that they’re going to give (the sport) away. A number will retire from bowls completely.
“Some of them even live in the IRT (Illawarra Retirement Trust) building and that was the idea of it,” he said.
“They saw the bowling greens there, they bought into the IRT building and they bowl whenever they can. So, they’re finished.
“Their total social lives are gone because they can’t even go to bingo now, either.”
Max Picker, 86, has been a Batemans Bay Bowling Club member since 1983, and said: “We’re all really sorry because we might not even be able to meet up with each other in the future. We might see each other at the shopping centre, but apart from that we’ll be sitting at home lonely.”
However, what was devastating news for Batemans Bay bowlers has turned into good news, of sorts, for the shire’s other bowling clubs.
“We’re splitting up. Some will go to Tomakin, Malua Bay and Moruya (bowling clubs) and those three clubs will be the benefactors,” Wheeler said.
“It’s just sad that it happens this way. If there was any sniff of a hope that we could keep that club open on a voluntary basis, we’d be into it like a shot.”
However, Wheeler hinted that Batemans Bay members could find themselves in limbo for the next three months.
If Club Catalina bowlers were to leave for other clubs immediately, they would need to get special clearance as Bowling NSW registrations don’t expire until June 30.
“We’re free agents after that and we can go anywhere we like and re-join anywhere else,” he said.
“Prior to that, we need to get clearance from the Batemans Bay club, which in 14 days’ time is not going to be there.”
The closure has come mid-season, however the Malua Bay Bowling Club held a meeting this week to determine if it could free up a green to allow Batemans Bay to complete its pennant commitments and club championships.
“We’d certainly make anybody who wanted to join our club most welcome,” chairwoman of the Malua Bay Bowling Club board, Ellie Crompton, said.
“But I’m just devastated for them. We bowl with the girls at the Bay and we’re all feeling for them.”
