Bowls Hawke's Bay could well have adopted the 1979 Village People smash hit In the Navy in its drive to attract young talent to its ranks.
"We want you as a new recruit" could have been the slogan in Bowls Hawke's Bay's manoeuvre to entice 25-year-olds and younger to take up the sport which, wrongfully so, is associated with older people.
"Not so," said Jim Bentley, president of Bowls Heretaunga, in Hastings. "Bowls has undergone a metamorphosis and we now have over 3000 bowlers between the ages of 12 and 18 in various youth programmes run by Bowls New Zealand. It has rejuvenated a sport that was rapidly losing players. Nationally there is a new dynamic and a new life in bowls. And we don't want to be left behind."
He pointed out that more and more young people, both male and female, take up bowls as a sport.
Bay under-25s have enjoyed considerable success regionally, nationally and internationally.