Bowlers are back at Huddersfield Sports Centre.
And they are back in greater numbers to send a defiant message to Kirklees Council: “We shall carry on”.
The bowlers are embroiled in a bitter row over the future of their sport, after the council decided there was no room for them in the new £36m Leisure Centre being built at Springwood.
They have pledged to try and find a new home for the indoor bowlers, who have used the existing Sports Centre rink since it opened.
But as yet, there is no sign of any future home for the bowlers.
Now the sportsmen hope it will not be their last season. Despite all that has gone on in recent months the bowlers are undeterred and far from their numbers falling, they have actually increased.
Huddersfield Indoor Bowling chairman Graham Howe, welcoming the start of the season which runs from October to March, said: “There are now 11 leagues which comprises 93 teams with a minimum of four persons per team.
“And those numbers do not include the Owls, the PALs scheme or the casual bowlers who just go along and book a rink. What more proof is needed that provision needs to be made for the indoor bowlers?
“We feel we have been let down badly by the council but have been given encouragement from the many letters of support published in the Examiner from bowlers and non-bowlers alike.
“Add to that the many councillors who have voiced their support for the bowlers and you have to ask why has this happened.
“The council say ‘It’s a financial decision’ but bowling has endured at the current centre since it opened in the 1970s and is as popular as ever.
“We think Kirklees Active Leisure seem to be obsessed with fitness suites and are putting profit before the needs of the community. The councillors should take a look at the numbers of empty fitness machines in the sports centre and question themselves on whether they have made the right decision”.
