A SPORTS club has welcomed its youngest ever president as members work to remove the old-fashioned stigma of bowls.

Kevin Surrey, 37, from Bournemouth, joined King’s Park Bowls Club only a year ago after moving to the area from Suffolk.

However, during his short time at the club, he and the other younger members came up with new ideas to boost membership numbers and it was a natural group decision for him to take the helm.

He said: “I started here in 2012, and I met lots of really nice people and it was a very social place to be.

“But at the same time, we on the events committee want to add more, with things including barbecues, discos and team-building days for companies.

“We had the Bournemouth Open here last summer, and the winners were two guys from Torquay, both aged 19. Our youngest member here is 25 years-old and we would love for some younger ones to to come and give it a go.

“We just ask that children are accompanied by an adult, but it’s a lovely sport to play, and certainly, if we had the interest shown, we could look at having a junior league.

“It’s not as easy as people think and requires a lot of concentration and team work, but they say that young people in Bournemouth don’t have anything to do, so why don’t they come and try this?

“You can play football, cricket or tennis and it will take a while to build up, but with bowls you could be playing at national level within a couple of years.

“I was 22 when I started going to a bowls club, because my Uncle Roy used to play it on family holidays and I realised that it was quite skilful.”

King’s Park Bowls Club will be holding open days for anyone who wants to take a look at the sport, on Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, from 9am to 1pm, and Sunday, May 19, from 10am to 5pm.

No previous experience is necessary and there is no admission charge, so people can just turn up.

For more information, email Kevin on KJS75@rocketmail.com