Colne sports group awarded £5,000 to expand its work (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Colne sports group awarded £5,000 to expand its work

2:00pm Saturday 11th August 2012 in News

A SPORTING group set up in memory of a tragic Colne dad-of-two has been awarded more than £5,000 to expand its work.

The Philip Wright Memorial Bowling Fund was founded in January 2010 in memory of 25-year-old Philp, who died alongside two friends in a car crash in July 2009.

The money will be used to attract more young participants to the sport of crown green bowls.

Philip, who was brought up in Elm Street, was a passionate fan of the game and excelled in the Pendle leagues.

His father Daryl said: “The whole point of the memorial fund is that Philip would love it.

“One of his ambitions was to change people’s perceptions of the sport. When you see it advertised it’s always old people who are featured, but Philip wanted to change that image.

“Anyone aged from six to 106 can enjoy bowls. We’ve channeled a lot of energy into this for the past three years and especially the ten months of hard work it took to apply for the grant.”

The £5,668 lottery grant will allow the organisation to purchase new bowls and equipment featuring brighter colours as they hope to inspire a new generation of bowlers.

An annual doubles match is held at the green at Colne Cricket Club in July every year but more coaching camps are planned thanks to the new funding.

Daryl added: “We will be holding weekly sessions until the end of September. We can’t always be reliant on the cricket club though.

“We had more than 40 at our first weekend practice in Colne but we’re also holding events in Thomas Street Bowling Club and we’ll be at the Barrowford Show.

“It’s great to see the kids’ faces when they get to grips with the bowls.”

Philip worked for Pendle Leisure Trust at Colne Muni as bar manager before he and his friends, Tom Petty and Jessica Foxley, died after colliding with a wall in Skipton Old Road three years ago.