Wingham Bowling Club has a new name, a new CEO, and a new vision.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The club, which has been in the community for 90 years, has been rebranded as Wingham Sporties to reflect the inclusive vision of the largely new board.
It is no secret that for a long while the Wingham Bowling Club was close to shutting its doors for good. However, despite the bushfires, drought and the lockdown, the club is trading profitably.
"Some bigger clubs can't say that at the moment, so we're quite proud of that," said CEO Greg Cuttance.
While some clubs are starting to taper off in profits due to COVID-19, Wingham Sporties is bucking the trend for now.
Were going really well. So it will interesting to see how that trend goes over the next couple of weeks, whether its a sharp trend down, or a temporary kind of dip in the road
- Greg Cuttance, Wingham Sporties CEO
Greg puts the changes to the club's financial status down to "a lot of administrative and governance tweaks".
"What we're trying to do is not change the basic core of the club - we still want it to be a friendly country club - but we want to do tweaks here and there so it will stay open and remain profitable without changing the core values of the club," he said.
"Unfortunately, just playing bowls and selling a few beers won't pay the bills anymore."
The tweaks include a new a la carte restaurant offering traditional pub and club food, making the club more family friendly and inclusive, and the addition of musical and family events.
"The whole idea of Wingham Sporties is to become a more inclusive club. I'm very big on zero tolerance on bullying, discrimination, any unruly behaviour. ,
The vision is for Sporties to be a safe and welcoming venue for all comers. Ladies who want to enjoy a coffee or chardonnay after work, the LGBTQI community, and families, for instance.
I dont want it to be like just blokes sitting around and no-one else wants to come in here.
- Greg Cuttance
"Anyone that might feel marginalised and not feel comfortable in other areas," Greg explained.
He is offering the club as a venue for sporting groups to hold their meetings. Before lockdown, tai chi and yoga groups used the club as a place to practise from.
There are plans to hold movie nights on the bottom green for families with children, with perhaps "cheap hamburgers", available, Greg said.
The club is now in the process of acquiring a projector and movie screen in readiness for movie nights.
Greg, a musician himself, is keen to establish the club as a hub for musicians and particularly encourage local young artists to perform there. Right now, the club is hosting a 'Month of Music' every Saturday afternoon in August from 4.30pm, and is inviting the community to join the audience.
Salt and Pepper Restaurant is open from Wednesdays to Sundays for lunch from 12-2pm, and dinner 5.30-8.30pm. Call Wingham Sporties on 6553 4030.