HKFC Re-opens Indoor Green

HKFC Re-opens Indoor Green
Hong Kong Football Club unveiled their newly laid indoor artificial lawn bowls green on New Year Eve, making it the first blue coloured green in Hong Kong. (Stephanie Worth)
1/3/2018
Updated:
1/3/2018

Hong Kong Football Club set a new milestone to the local lawn bowls history by introducing the first blue colour indoor artificial green to Hong Kong.

The green was part of the project to renovate the second floor facilities at HKFC, which inadvertently affected the ceiling above the indoor green on the first floor.  As a result, the management team decided to take the opportunity to do a complete overhaul of the existing green, which has been in use since 1996.

According to the annual report of HKFC, the base of the green was leveled to provide a playing surface well within the requirement of the controlling body, the lighting was enhance with LED fittings to increase the light level across the green and improve efficiency, and the air-conditioning system was also enhanced.

Measured at 32M X 36M, the six-rink green uses the indoor woven surface supplied by Greengauge. Its blue colour carpet made it the first in Hong Kong and will probably bring new impact to the local bowling community, especially as the ceiling is also in a similar colour tone that gives a feeling that the players are bowling under a blue sky. The pace of the green will be running at 17 seconds.

The green was re-opened on New Year’s eve for a Triples League game between the HKFC women’s Team-B and Team-C in Division 2. HKFC-C won the game 6-2 and climbed to second of the division.

The second formal game will be held tonight, Jan 4, between the men’s Team-A and Team-B in Division 1.

The HKFC green is one of the six indoor greens in Hong Kong and has been the venue for a number of indoor events in the past 20 years including the inaugural World Indoor Championship in 2005.  In the next few years, two more indoor greens are in the pipeline, including a four-rink green at the new Police Officers Club and another four-rink venue in Taipo.

This week in Lawn Bowls

The Triples League continues this coming Saturday Jan 6, with matches starting at 2:30pm at all greens in Hong Kong.. KCC-A are the early leaders in the men’s Division 1, followed by CCC-B and FC-A. HKFC-A are currently in 5th place but have the opportunity to close the gap with their match tonight against the Club’s B side. The women’s Division 1 is led by CCC-A (played 3 matches) followed by ILBC-A and SBSC-A.
Claudius Lam is an officer of the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association