Rolling back into community: Dartmouth Lawn Bowls Club opens another season
For many members, the Opening Day Jitney marks the return of friendship, routine, and community.
After a long winter tucked indoors, the green at the Dartmouth Lawn Bowls Club is finally back in play. Shoes scuff across the turf, bowls click together, and members gather for the club’s Opening Day Jitney.
It’s a simple way to start the season: play a few ends, followed by a club barbecue. But for many members, the day marks the return of something larger than the sport itself – a place to socialize, stay active, and feel connected to a group that has become part of their daily lives.
Founded in 1987, the Dartmouth Lawn Bowls Club has grown into a year-round community with roughly 160 members.
For Ann Marie Siteman, the club has shaped nearly two decades of her life. She first came into the club after her son John, then 13, spotted an advertisement for the sport.
“He was into trying all kinds of bowling — candlepin, ten-pin, whatever we could find,” Ann Marie Siteman told the Post. “He saw an ad for lawn bowling and said, ‘That’s the type of bowling we could try.’”
She agreed to go with him, and quickly caught on. “I knew I was hooked the first time,” she said.
The sport quickly became a fit for John Siteman as well. Now an accomplished competitive bowler, he has competed at 15 national championships and won a silver medal at last year’s Canadian championship in men’s pairs.
Still, he says the people are what keep him invested.
“I get to travel a lot and make friends across the country,” John Siteman said. “It pushes you to be better, but you enjoy the game along the way.”
That social thread runs through nearly every conversation on opening day. The jitney format, where players are randomly assigned to teams, is designed specifically to strengthen it. Each game becomes a new mix of personalities and experience levels.
“You could come five times and bowl with five different groups of people,” Ann Marie Siteman said. “So that way people get to know each other and be comfortable with each other.”
That welcoming atmosphere was what stood out to Barb and Hans Mueltner, who joined last year after moving back to Nova Scotia from Germany.
“My best friend had been a member for years and years,” Barb Mueltner said. “I was under pressure to join,” said with a smile.
Though lawn bowling is far less common in Germany, the couple found themselves drawn to the supportive atmosphere of the club.
“The club is very friendly,” Barb Mueltner said. “Everybody’s been helpful.”
That same openness is felt across generations. This week, the club is welcoming a group of Sea Cadets between the ages of 12 and 18 as part of a growing youth outreach effort. And then there’s Shirley MacDonald, who at 90 still makes her way onto the green whenever she can.
MacDonald joined the club after retiring in 2010, looking for a way to get out of the house and stay connected.
“I was bored,” she said. “It was a good way to get out, get fresh air, exercise, and meet lots of people.”
Now, even if she only bowls a few ends at a time, members make sure she remains part of the game.
“We just accommodate,” Ann Marie Siteman said. “We want to keep people active as long as they can.”
That accessibility is something the club works hard to maintain. Through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program, the club was able to purchase sets of bowls for members to borrow – helping lower the barrier in a sport where equipment can cost hundreds of dollars. The club also keeps delivery aids and lifting devices on hand to help members who may struggle with mobility or the weight of the bowls themselves.
That sense of community extends beyond the outdoor season. During the winter, members gather for indoor short-mat bowling, puzzle afternoons, and educational workshops on CPR, first aid, and injury prevention.
For Ann Marie Siteman, that support network became even more important after the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“COVID shut everybody down,” she said. “It made people afraid to go out. It made people afraid to be with other people. And we need to have people come out and know that there’s a spot where they can feel comfortable and welcome.”
And for the members of the Dartmouth Lawn Bowls Club, that’s exactly what opening day is – not simply the start of another season, but the return of a community.