Editorial: It's time bowling gents caught up

5:30 AM Saturday Oct 13, 2012

Photo / Dean Purcell

At the venerable age of 151 the Auckland Bowling Club has a couple of years on the Herald, so it might not take kindly to a mere upstart urging it to grow up. But as one of the only clubs in the country that still bars women from full membership, it has clearly become an embarrassment to bowling too.

Bowls NZ's marketing manager, a woman, says: "We do not support the continuation of single-gender clubs in today's society. Our sport is values-based and any segregation ... does not fit within our values and mission." That sort of palaver does not endear anybody to modernity either, but she is right.

Women have separate gyms for fear of prying eyes but men today are not against women's company. They are accustomed to working alongside women, dealing with them in business, meeting them on equal terms almost everywhere except sports, where a male physical advantage necessitates separate competition. That is probably not true of bowls. It might be unkind to suggest the sport was segregated for so long in case the ladies won.

For whatever reason, bowling was not integrated until 1996, and even now, there are 26 that operate as separate clubs in the same premises, but only two - the other in Christchurch - that bar women.

There is no law against it and there should not be. But law is just a minimum standard of conduct. Society can set higher standards, and it has. So come on gentlemen, catch up.

Gavin Whitelaw (Italy) | 01:05PM Sunday, 14 Oct 2012

You give a whole list of exceptions to your own argument but want to tell the bowling club what's "modern". Maybe they don't want to be 2modern"? In the end, there's not much point in having a club if you can't choose who you let in.

Sans Requisiteur (Howick) | 01:05PM Sunday, 14 Oct 2012

Why should they if that is what they want? There are plenty of women's clubs, gyms and other organisations which bar the entry of men either physically and/or as members. I wonder what would happen if I were to apply for membership of one of these clubs and were refused on the basis of gender. Would the Herald write an editorial about these clubs needing to get with the times? I doubt it. It is time for some these editorials to stop being so precious.

Kiwimac () | 01:06PM Sunday, 14 Oct 2012

I wholly disagree.
Why should men not exclude women from their clubs? There is a well known change of women-only gyms, so why is that OK but this is not?
I personally value a place to get away from the all-pervasive presence of women myself and if I lived in Auckland I would certainly be taking up bowls and applying to join this club.