Please find the latest Safeguarding newsletter from the Bowls Development Alliance focusing on providing visibility of safeguarding information in our clubs

SAFEGUARDING COURSES & DBS RENEWAL 2026

• Sunday 15th February 2026, 11:00 to 2:00pm at Cavendish Park Bowling Club, Cavendish Recreation Ground, Holmfield Road, Bispham, FY2 9LF
• Sunday 15th March 2026, 11:00 to 2:00pm at Canberra Club,(off A59) Salmesbury, nr Blackburn, BB2 7LF
• Sunday 22nd March 2026, 11:00 to 2:00pm at Luneside & Rosebank Bowling Club, Fairfield Close, off Fairfield Road, Lancaster LA1 5NT

Prices:
DBS Renewal is Free
Safeguarding Course is £15 for the first person from the club and £8 for the second/extra person(s).

Please call or text Sue Sinclair on 07515 288102 or email to suesinclair1958@gmail.com to book club members onto the Safeguarding Course and for the DBS renewal.

Note: Anyone attending the course and for DBS renewal will need to bring with them a form of photo ID, Driving Licence/Passport and copy of a utility bill with home address.
DBS certificates need to renewed every 3yrs from the date of issue.

Link to the NLFCBA Safeguarding pages on the website https://nlfcba.com/safeguarding/

NLFCBA AGM NEWS

North Lancs & Fylde AGM was held at the Canberra Club on Sunday 25th January. The meeting started with a Disciplinary presentation by County Development Officer, Steve Clamp and Safeguarding Officer, Sue Sinclair.

Please click on the link to view the presentation

118 people in total attended the AGM from North Lancs & Fylde Clubs and Leagues. County Secretary, Pete Harris and Neil Payne (Financial Officer & Registrar) have stood down from their roles after several years in post. We thank Pete and Neil for all their hard work.

Karen Kenworthy is the new County Secretary and can be contacted at secretary.nlfcba@gmail.com

Irene Jones is the new County Financial Officer and can be contacted at financeofficer.nlfcba@gmail.com

Minutes of the AGM and 2024/25 Financial report can be viewed by clicking these links:

Please find the link to the BCGBA National Development Report for December 2025, kindly supplied by the BCGBA National Development Officer Jayne McKay.

The Bowls Development Alliance are running a week of learning from Monday 26th January to Friday 30th January.

The week of learning programme offers free webinars to members of affiliated bowling clubs. Topics for the week include:

Registration will be open until the morning of the session. You can register for your free space by clicking this link https://bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com/week-of-learning/ Once registered, you will receive an email with the session link and further information.

If you encounter any problems please email clubdevelopment@bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com

BDA Roadshow – Fox Lane Sports & Social Club, Fox Lane, Leyland

Saturday 28th February 2026, 10am – 4pm

The Bowls Development Alliance in partnership with the BCGBA, will be holding a roadshow at Fox Lane Sports & Social Club in Leyland with the aim to provide the tools, knowledge and support needed to help clubs grow, recruit new members, strengthen governance and build stronger links with their communities. This is a practical workshop and is open to all bowls clubs in North Lancs & Fylde.

1. Introduction to the BDA
   An overview of who we are, the support we provide and the services available to help clubs develop and thrive.
2. Setting the Scene
   A look at national priorities for 2026, and how the BDA is working with clubs to encourage participation, strengthen sustainability and support long term growth.
3. Affiliation Overview
   A clear explanation of the benefits of affiliation, including the support that National Governing Bodies provide to their member clubs.
4. Key Areas of Focus
   The core development themes guiding the week:
   – Recruitment and retention
   – Club development
   – Insurance
   – Funding
   – Coaching
   – Greens maintenance

To book your place at the Fox Lane Roadshow, please click this link: https://bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com/bdaroadshows/

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*

Please see the letter from the BCGBA regarding the Group Insurance Policy for 2026. It is requested that only Clubs who require their insurance to be renewed to provide cover for winter bowling, i.e. from the 1st January, should follow the manual process and renew now.

If you do not need to renew your cover immediately, can you please wait until the automated process is available which is due to be launched in two months time.

All payments are to be made direct to the BCGBA via bank transfer and not to the NLFCBA account.

If any Club or League is unsure of their BCGBA registration number please send an email to the County Membership Coordinator, Gill Sutton at cmc.nlfcba@gmail.com

NLFCBA 2026 AGM will be held on Sunday 25th January at 12pm, at the Canberra Club, Samlesbury Aerodrome, A59 Samlesbury, BB2 7LF.

There will be a short presentation on the BCGBA disciplinary procedure, followed immediately by the NLFCBA AGM.

It is mandatory that a committee member from each of the North Lancs & Fylde’s affiliated leagues attends this meeting.

Officials and players from all bowling clubs are invited to attend.

Please find the latest Safeguarding newsletter from the Bowls Development Alliance

To all Clubs and playing members,

This is to advise that the individual lifetime player membership with the BCGBA has increased from £15 to £20

Junior bowler who is under 18 years of age will receive free membership until they attain the age of 18 years when they will pay the full membership fee.

Any individual can apply for BCGBA membership by completing a BCGBA Membership Application Form, which is available from the NLFCBA website or from the County Membership Co-ordinator. The completed form should be sent to the County Membership Coordinator for processing.

Membership Cards lost or damaged will be replaced upon application to the County
Membership Co-ordinator and on payment of the appropriate fee.

To download the new application form please visit the NLFCBA website by clicking this link:

Bowls Development Alliance are running a ‘Week of Learning’ programme, which next takes place from Monday 13th to Friday 17th October. For those who are unaware, it offers ‘Free’ Webinars to members of any Club Affiliated to British Crown Green Bowling Association.

There will be sessions of the following topics:

You can read what each session will cover and register your free space by clicking on the Blue Box below each session. Please click this link to visit the BDA website: https://bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com/week-of-learning/

Registration for each session will be open up until the morning of the session. Once registered, you will receive an email with the session link and further information. Please feel free to promote ‘Week of Learning’ to Club, Members, Committee etc.

If you encounter any problems, please email the BDA at clubdevelopment@bowlsdevelopmentalliance.com

The Semi Finals and Final of the North Lancs & Fylde 2025 County team Competition takes place this Saturday 20th September at the Crown Hotel Bowling Club, High Street, Garstang, PR3 1FA – Games start at 11am, No practice

All spectators are most welcome.

Semi Finals –

Hambleton v Two Gates

1. Steve Atkinson v Gerald Oakland
2. Geoff Little v Lee Longland
3. Jonathan Goodall v Andy P White
4. Ben Duke v Stephen Clough
5. Lee Coleman v Anthony Rukin
6. John Ronson v Harry Hargreaves
7. John Wilkinson v Dean Butler
8. Callum Danson v Lee Hammond

Reserves: –
Steve Jackson Colin Crawford
Eric Rawcliffe John Bentley

Hoghton v Lostock Cons

1. Gary Daw v Andy Graham
2. Ross Hatzer v Dave Hargreaves
3. Christopher Miller v Keith Morgan
4. Michael Coupe v Trevor Bibby
5. Peter Hawkes v Brian Morgan
6. Joshua Iddon v Martin Halsall
7. Gareth Whittle v Phil Wood
8. Kevin Bond v Pedro Peter Ped Yates

Reserves: –
Mark Hinchcliffe
Graham Myers

Winner and Runner-up will qualify for the 2026 BRITISH CROWN GREEN BOWLING ASSOCIATION CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP