Helping roll off the campaign are Echuca Mitsubishi and Mazda’s Garet Stobaus and Echuca Bowls Club’s Anna Meyer. Photos: Jordan Townrow
Echuca Bowls Club is embarking on a bold fundraising plan to build new clubrooms, aiming to raise about $2 million for the project.
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The club’s current infrastructure has had leaks and an overwhelming amount of asbestos, meaning a revamp is required.
“We've got an issue with our building, and it has been assessed, and basically, we've been told it’s past its use-by date,” president Trevor Liddell said.
“There’s a lot of maintenance involved, and it’s probably cheaper to start again.”
Such projects are difficult for a club with Echuca’s structure to take on, given its volunteer-led nature, with limited hands on deck and the inability to afford outside assistance, particularly without alternative revenue streams.
Its revenue is mainly generated from memberships and hosting tournaments, which Mr Liddell estimates usually draw 2000 to 3000 visitors to Echuca.
While various grants have been looked into, the club is struggling to meet the criteria for them, ruling many out as an option.
“Grants are virtually off the table in Victoria at the minute, or that's what we've experienced,” Mr Liddell said.
“So we've got to try and do it by ourselves, and it's probably the biggest venture that the club has ever strived to achieve in the last few years.”
Club members understand they may have more success securing grant funding by morphing the current clubrooms into a multipurpose venue, with Mr Liddell confirming this direction is one they have started heading towards by hosting events for external groups.
But such events are not major fundraisers.
Given the lack of available options, Mr Liddell acknowledged the club was relying on the broader community being sympathetic to the endeavours it has planned to aid fundraising, noting that reaching the required amount will take multiple years.
The first part of the fundraising plan is a raffle, supported by Echuca Mitsubishi and Mazda, where those who enter go in the running to win a car, with tickets priced at $25.
Echuca Bowls Club’s Anna Meyer and Echuca Mitsubishi and Mazda’s Garet Stobaus are teaming up to support the local club.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Stalls will be popping up around town over the next few months selling tickets, and the winner will be announced in September at a gala dinner — the club’s second fundraising effort.
A redevelopment committee, led by chair Anna Meyer, has been set up to lead the overall fundraising project, which Mr Liddell praised for its work with initiatives such as the raffle, but admitted that they had to be successful.
While success away from the bowling greens is moving ahead, on the greens, Echuca has just finished a successful pennant season in the Campaspe Playing Area.
In the weekend competitions, its division one and two sides both claimed premierships, while in the midweek, the division one team made the grand final, the third straight year it reached the decider.
“To go beyond the two premierships won, I think we've got nine teams that play between midweek and weekend, and out of the nine teams, I think seven made finals,” Mr Liddell said.
“So I see that as one of the major achievements of our year, and that’s our main target, pennant.”
Echuca Bowls Club players celebrate winning the division one weekend pennant title.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
While the pennant season has concluded, the bowls won’t gather dust, with a few events coming up.
A fundraising event will be held on Good Friday for the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where any bowler can play a game for $15, with all entry fees being donated.
The club is looking for at least 50 bowlers for the event, which is expected to be very social, with participation open to anyone, not only club members.
Following this event, May is shaping up to be a big month for the club, which will host a carnival running just over a week.
Drawing bowlers from all over Victoria and parts of NSW, Mr Liddell said it was “basically” fully booked out, though there may be cancellations.
The tournaments usually attract more players that he labelled “middle-level bowlers”, making them more social events that are not defined by competition.
Capping off a busy period of bowls will be the club’s annual meeting in May, as members look towards a year where community will take on an important role, seeking to embrace its surrounds to assist critical future goals.
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