Bowlers fear 'national' disgrace over lawns

Joe Hagelburg says the English Bowling Association (EBA) could withdraw the National Bowling Championships from Worthing if the "mecca" of bowling '“ Beach House Park '“ doesn't come up to scratch for the competition in a month.

Two weeks ago, the Herald reported on the problems which were highlighted by a concerned anonymous bowler and this week more of the town's bowlers have come forward.

Concerns include bumpy greens, moss not being treated early on and not enough sand on the greens.

Mr Hagelburg said: "I know of many county and

country bowlers who feel the same way as me.

"The deterioration is just so drastic it's incredible. This is supposed to be the mecca of all bowling.

"Top standard bowlers use the park and the EBA may take the nationals away from the town if we are not careful '“ and you do not get something like that back once it has been lost.

"Since Continental Landscapes took over looking after the park, the number of staff has been

reduced."

Mr Hagelburg had a meeting with the greenkeepers recently to see if they could make any improvements.

Chris Bradley, parks manager at Worthing Council, which employs Continental Landscapes, said: "We try to keep the greens as good as possible for the bowlers but a lot of it can come down to the weather. We are not doing anything drastically different.

"There's also the question with bowlers that it's easy to blame the green when they are having a bad game."