Bowled over

I wasn't expecting a history test during my visit to Birkenshaw Bowling Club. I know Sir Francis Drake was an intrepid mariner who defeated the Spanish Armada in one of the greatest-ever sea battles, but how does a game of bowls connect the famous seaman with the man I'm talking to?

"Drake said he'd finish his game of bowls before taking on the Armada, and that was in the 1500s," Rusty explains, in reference to the longevity of the sport he and his counterparts are busy promoting.

While the game is well publicised through the Telegraph & Argus, it doesn't attract the same kind of attention, or lucrative sponsorship, as other sports such as football or rugby.

Only the Waterloo Cup, where professional bowls players compete for thousands of pounds, is televised. But generally, crown green bowling doesn't command the same small screen space as other sports which is why, to keep it in the public eye, Rusty - the nickname has stuck even after his red hair turned white - and his bowling pals try and organise awareness-raising events.

The most recent was an open day at Birkenshaw Park, giving people chance to get on the green and have a go.

Rusty's reason for taking up bowling about 30 years ago was partly to do with his neighbour. "I'd moved up here with the fire service and two doors away was a crown green bowler. I was too old for football and cricket so I decided to take up bowls," says the 66-year-old.

"It's a sport where you don't have to be supremely fit. A lot of bowlers have been active in sports like rugby, football and cricket and when they get older bowling is a sport they can continue.

"I know I can do this until I'm 90 if I can walk about."

Crown green bowling may have a reputation as a pastime for pensioners - I'm told some ardent players are well into their 90s - but now several clubs in Bradford and the Spen Valley have set up junior leagues. The aim of attracting young blood to the ranks is being achieved, and the majority of young bowlers are following in their family's footsteps.

Bradford has a great tradition of bowling being passed down the generations. One family has a great grandfather, grandfather, father and son who are all regulars on the green!

Rusty's son played for a time before the rough and tumble of rugby lured him away, but Rusty tells me that bowling can be just as exciting and equally competitive.

"It is competitive," he says. "When you are competing you want to win. It's not win at all costs' but you want to win, especially if you're in a team because you don't want to let them down."

There is great camaraderie too and, says Rusty, it's not solely a skilful game of line and length on level or distance - it offers a fantastic social life too. "You get a lot of craic!" he laughs.

During the bowling season he is out most weekdays, and at weekends. I ask him what his wife thinks about it. "We have an understanding!" he laughs.

For Tracy Preston it was a case of if you can't beat them, join them'. She began bowling eight years ago and is now bowling at ladies' county level after taking up the sport to spend time with her husband, John.

"He was out all the time for six months of the year and it's so time consuming," says the 39-year-old.

She was seven months' pregnant when she took part in her first mixed pairs competition, alongside John. The couple now play for Shipley Bowling Club. "I had a 12-month break with the baby and then started bowling properly," she recalls. "Now I can't believe how much I'm into it. It gets you engrossed."

John, 36, followed his father, Gordon, on to the bowling green. His trophies are testimony to his skill. "I'm a bad loser!" he laughs. "I always play to win, you have to. Some people play because it's an afternoon out or a bit of fun but when you play at a higher level you have to play to win."

John hopes his six-year-old son Jordan will follow him into the sport. "I started playing because my father played. I always watched him just as Jordan watches me."

And the appeal? "It's a good craic really and you meet so many people from all walks of life," says John.

When Doris Dunning's late husband, Thomas, died in his early forties following a heart attack she couldn't bear to part with his bowls. Participating in the sport, initially with his woods, helped Doris, 74, through her grief. She recalls a lady inviting her to join her team while she was bowling on the green close to her Heckmondwike home.

"Until then it was a bit of exercise but she said they were starting a team at Birkenshaw, they were all beginners and it was for a bit of fun. I started bowling with them," says Doris.

She discovered that she had a natural ability for bowling and became a prolific player, going on to play at county level. She bowls for Birkenshaw, Heckmondwike and Mirfield Cricket Club and takes part in the Isle of Man bowls festival. "It's been good for me because you meet a lot of nice people," says Doris, who has now got her 44-year-old daughter, Sally, into the sport.

One spectator I spoke to recalls the sport being referred to as old man's marbles' in his youth but today an influx of female players like Tracy and Doris have created a game for men and women played on an equal footing.

Bowling crosses boundaries. Anyone, regardless of age, gender or cultural background, can play. People play it into their nineties. It is - to quote from the Bowling Association website - a sport for all.

Four years after taking up bowling as a young lad Ken Bedford lost his leg in a tragic accident. He was 14 at the time but thanks to his mates he continued bowling.

"The appeal for me is that I can bowl against anyone else on equal terms. I don't have to run anywhere, it's just skill," says the 64-year-old who play with Salts and Crowghyll in Shipley.

"I love it and I would love to see more crown green bowling on TV."

One of the greatest challenges facing bowlers across the county is vandalism. Birkenshaw's pretty green is imprisoned by a padlocked palisade fence - a necessity to protect the smooth surface from further damage from motorbikers and would-be footballers using it as a pitch.

Other clubs around the region are installing similar measures. It's a sign of the times but hopefully, while some members may see the fencing as unsightly, it will help preserve the greens for future generations so they can get the same enjoyment out of the sport as the bowlers I chatted to.

"I love it," says Doris. "It's my whole life, apart from my family. I'm dreading the day when I have to give it up."

• To find out more about crown green bowling call (01274) 683019 or call the British Crown Green Bowling Association on (0151) 6485740.