Cabramatta bowls – raising the bar in shaded sport

Cabramatta Bowling Club.

MakMax Australia, Australia’s leading provider in tension membrane structures, is currently working on installing a world first long span bowling greens cover. Following enormous success at Pine Rivers Memorial Bowls Club in Queensland the bowls community has seen the value in covering greens and providing a sun-safe playing environment.

Cabramatta Bowls Club will be the first lawn bowls facility in the world to cover a bowling green with state of the art PTFE (polytetraflouroethylene) fabric roofing. The inner fibres of PTFE are in essence fibre glass with a Teflon outer coating, this will help to keep the surface a clean, crisp white colour for decades to come. Other facilities that use PTFE for roofing include Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, The Gabba in Brisbane, Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre as well as countless stadiums world wide. The application for bowls is brand new, MakMax are confident the product is the perfect fit to suit Cabramatta’s needs now, and well into the future.

Construction is due to be complete by mid October 2011. Cabramatta will boast a state of the art covered green leaving two greens as a natural surface. The variety in playing surfaces means the pro’s at Cabramatta will be even more skilled on any surface.

Barry Watkins, General Manager of Cabramatta Bowls Club says “The new covered green means a big change for our club, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to host major events, even international competitions”.

With one green out of three covered the club is able to plan events and programmes that weren’t possible previously. Watkins adds, “The fact that play won’t be interrupted by weather also helps, we can rely on a schedule and there is definitely comfort in that.”

Cabramatta currently have 8 world champions past and present calling the club home, the space and flexibility created under the roof allows the club to expand its operations considerably. Watkins continues, “In the future we hope to set up a training centre, and develop programmes that will benefit our community.”

With Cabramatta bowler Karen Murphy holding the Australian Indoor Championships title, it appears the club is determined to keep its winning edge.