Who are we?
Dawlish & District Indoor Bowls Association Ltd (DDIBA) are a local indoor bowls club.
We are a registered not-for-profit company at Company House.
Where are we?
Situated in sunny Devon, Dawlish is just one of many stops along the mainline train services from London and the North to SW England, but a very popular one for holiday makers to stop and stay, especially during the summer months.
History
We first opened our doors in 1970. In the early days there were some teething problems, including damp, which could potentially have damaged the fine felt carpet; also, the toilets were incomplete, meaning members had to dash across to the conveniences in the neighbouring car park. The building looked very different from today, with windows along the front and quite a grand entrance. There was also a bar for members, where the seating area is now.
The club had the great honour to be officially opened in 1971 by pipe-smoking David Bryant legendary bowls superstar and often acclaimed as the best bowler there has ever been.
David Bryant delivering a bowl
He later returned after 25 years for a special re-opening ceremony following a £30,000 upgrading of the building and its facilities. The works at that time included a replacement of the flooring and a new carpet for the 3 rinks.
In 1972 we became affiliated to Devon County Indoor Bowls Association, Devon County Ladies Indoor Bowls Association and the English Indoor Bowling Association.
In the early days there were up to 400 members and anyone wishing to play in a roll-up had to take a ticket and wait their turn to play. With only 3 rinks there was also serious competition to play in national matches, with the club holding knock-out games to decide who won the right to play.
Current club members practicing.
Why are we crowdfunding?
The club are in desperate need of funds for several reasons, but primarily to go solar.
Firstly, it relies upon its electricity to operate, both for lighting and for heating. This ever increasing cost needs to be tackled immediately, hopefully by means of installing solar panels. Only once this has been brought under control can the club tackle other necessities.
Secondly, the club has ambitions to cater better for disability needs, building on the disabled toilet which is currently nearing completion. As an example, we plan to greatly improve access into the building for those with disabilities.
Thirdly, the carpet is showing signs of wear and tear and will be in need of repair or replacement in the next 5 years or so, and funds will be needed for that too.
Since Covid, the cost of electricity has been skyrocketing. Despite increasing members subscriptions, the contingency fund has not been growing.
This has made the saving and allocation of monies for all these contingencies very difficult, and therefore soaring electricity costs are the primary item, one that needs to be tackled immediately.
The club intends to install solar heating. Quotes have been obtained and the cost of installing solar panels is estimated to be in the region of £30,000. The good news regarding this is that once they are installed they should pay for themselves in 3-5 years’ time, owing to the reduction in our energy costs and the ability to sell electricity back to the National Grid.
We would immediately see more manageable electricity bills, closer to pre-pandemic levels!
From this point onwards, the club would once again be able to build up the contingency fund, to further improve it's facilities for the disabled, and to replace or repair our existing bowls carpet.
We naturally have a desire to reduce the size of our carbon footprint too; installing solar panels will achieve this. By changing to solar the approximate saving will be in the region of 11 tons of Co2 per year. Also the community benefits if we can reduce our consumption, as there is more energy to go round which will further mitigate against the ever increasing demand.
All funds achieved through a Crowdfunder will firstly be used to cover this immediate outlay for the installation of solar panels. It has to our main priority, the rest will then follow.
We are therefore seeking 30K in funding now in order to tackle this. The club would then be in a much better place going forward, thus ensuring that indoor bowls continues to be played in Dawlish for many years to come.
Your donations will help ensure this happens.
Recent Club Champions.
How we’ll spend the money raised.
Funding achieved through a Crowdfunder will be used primarily to cover the immediate outlay for the installation of solar panels. This has to our main priority, then we can tackle the rest.
We are therefore seeking 30K funding to go solar, thus ensuring we are much better placed going forward and to fulfill all our ambitions.
This will ensure that indoor bowls continues to be played in Dawlish for many years to come.
Your donations will make this happen.
Many thanks one and all.
Colin Parker (Men's Captain) & Andy Bodenham (Webmaster)
(DDIBA committee members)
Dawlish & District Indoor Bowls Club.
Community impact.
These days, despite not having the very large numbers of participants as in the 1970’s, the DDIBA continues to offer a thriving and very valuable asset to indoor bowlers in the local community, with in-house bowls competitions for ladies, men’s and mixed teams, as well as regular roll-ups for those who enjoy a more informal game (or just want to practise for matches).
The club also offers friendlies with other bowls clubs, both locally and those visiting the area.
Dawlish Indoor Bowls members.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!