Foxley BC, Club Story
Foxley BC in the East End of Glasgow have ambitious plans for their 2025 season, Andy Shea, Secretary of the club spoke to us outlining some of the clubs’ community events and sharing his personal story. A member of Foxley BC, since the age of 14, Andy had a below the knee amputation in 2023 as part of cancer treatment and has found his return to bowls rehabilitative for both his physical and mental health. Having taken on a range of volunteering roles at his beloved club over the years and shared in some of the clubs’ competitive successes, Andy is passionate about ensuring others experience the friendships and opportunities that the sport has provided himself.
Foxley join a force of over 490 Try Bowls clubs across Scotland who are passionate about welcoming their local communities to enjoy our sport which is accessible to all ages and abilities. Andy told us how he first got immersed in bowls and his involvement at the club over the years, outlining the support he has had from the club and the wider bowling community since returning to the green following his cancer treatment…
“The family aspect of Foxley”
“I joined Foxley’s Youth Section when I was 14 years old, formally joining the club when I was 16. However, I was introduced to the game by my Dad when I was much younger and he was a member of St. Rollox which is also in the East End of Glasgow. I’d pop along to St. Rollox after school most days to watch my Dad playing and was hooked from there. When we then moved house to beside Foxley I joined the youth section along with some friends who’s parents were members of the club. My Dad then eventually joined the club too.
“My favourite thing about bowls is definitely the competitive but social aspect of the game. I get to play bowls with my mates. We’ve been lucky enough to win things together but also have a great laugh playing against each other within the club. Foxley is very much a team, with everyone pulling together to help the club succeed.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be very involved in the club from the start. I was Match Secretary of the club when I was in my early twenties, holding that role for nearly a decade before moving on to be President, then Treasurer and now Secretary of the club. The continued success of the club, its traditions and values, are very important to me.
“On the green I’ve been fortunate to be Club Champion and win a few things within our local association. My highlight is definitely being part of the team that has won the GBA Top Ten on a couple of occasions. Both wins, for me, highlight the real team dynamic that Foxley has. From the team on the green to the busload of supporters at the side, everyone was pulling as one. We were very much underdogs in both those finals but a team spirit, and some really good bowling got us over the line. I was part of those teams with both my Dad and brother, and then just my brother as my Dad had recently passed away, again reflecting the family aspect of Foxley.”
Return to the Green
“In May 2023 I was diagnosed with a really rare form of cancer. Along with 14 rounds of chemo and a handful of radiotherapy sessions my treatment included a below the knee amputation. To be honest, when it happened, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever play bowls again. However, with some really amazing work from my physio I was able to play on Opening Day of the 2024 season. Don’t get me wrong, bowling was very different thing for me then, but I was back on the green.
“Playing bowls again was so important to me. It was part of my return to normal. Part of getting back to how life was before my illness. Spending time on the green again, playing in matches and ultimately representing Foxley last year was a huge boost to my mental health. Winning a few singles ties also helped.
“My bowling technique has definitely changed since losing my leg. If I was to describe my delivery before my operation I’d use just one word: shambles. A lot of delivery relied on forward momentum and my step off of the mat. Now, it is very controlled. To ensure I keep my balance I use a modified walking stick, and I control my delivery much more.
“The club as a whole, as well as many members of clubs across Glasgow and Lanarkshire have been nothing short of remarkable. They have encouraged me and been at times patient with me as I’ve returned to the green to play bowls. They’ve also tried not to treat me any different when it has come to competitive games. I’ve not been given an easy ride, something I really appreciate.”
A Community Club
Foxley BC are registered as a Try Bowls Club, offering no-obligation opportunities for their local community to try our sport. In January 2025, 8 members of the club completed the Introduction to Bowls Coaching Award, a course that was arranged using the ‘Request a Course’ option to deliver coach education according to demand across the country. Now boasting a total of 13 coaches at the club, and with Andy also completing his Introduction to Coaching Para Bowls Award in February, the club can offer existing and new members the opportunity to develop their game. The first of these kicking off this weekend, before the official opening of the green later in April…
“We’ve been involved with the Try Bowls campaign ever since it started back in 2015. We are very keen that the club is viewed as a welcoming and open place for people from the local community to engage with. Although it has never translated into massive numbers of new members for us, the Try Bowls days and then the general idea of Try Bowls has always resulted in modest increases to our membership.
“For season 2024 we decided to change up our approach to our Try Bowls events. We always felt that we offered them too late in the season but could never find a suitable date at the hectic beginning of the season. For 2024 we held our Try Bowls Community Open Day before the Bowling Club Opening Day. In something that would never have been allowed in the past we opened the green and the club to the Community before the traditional start of our season. It was a fantastic success. This allowed new members to join and not miss out on a full season of bowls. Coupled to this we introduced follow up evenings, for the first four Mondays of the season where potential new members could come to the club while our members were down playing games; getting involved in the fun, social aspect of bowling.
“April 6th 2025 is the beginning of this process for season 2025. With our Try Bowls Community Open Day again running before our Opening Day on 12th April. This will be followed up by six Mondays of Try Bowls evenings at the start of the year. For our Open Day we are inviting anyone interested in trying bowls to the club. All of our club coaches will be available to show people how to play bowls and we will have special membership offers available.
“We think it’s vitally important that Foxley connects with our local community. We are already the venue of choice for the local charity ‘Tollcross Matters’ allowing the use of our clubhouse for children’s’ Christmas and Halloween parties as well as fundraisers to help the charity support the people of Tollcross. Beyond that we feel that our local community has untapped potential. With so many new families moving to the area we feel that Foxley, as a family orientated club, is a great place for families to join in with the sport we all love.”
Ambitions for the Future
In addition to continuing and driving community engagement, Andy finished by telling us about his passion-project for the coming season, a dream to create a Glasgow based hub for people with a disability to play bowls together. A project that hopes to support para bowlers to connect with each other and remove any barriers that may restrict participation…
“As a disabled bowler I was disappointed to find that there wasn’t a club in Glasgow that catered for disabled bowlers, allowing them to play against other disabled bowlers in an organised way. Clubs seemed to just deal with their own members who may acquire a disability, but I’m certain the sport has probably lost bowlers this way. As Secretary of Foxley I was in quite a unique position to try and change that in Glasgow. I had the buy in from the club and the passion to drive my idea forward due to my own circumstances.
“Bowls Scotland, Scottish Disability Sport and Disability Sport Glasgow have all been invaluable in getting my idea of a Disabled Bowls Hub in Glasgow up and running. We’ll have our first event, Disability Try Bowls at Foxley, on the 24th of May. This first event is aimed both at brand new disabled bowlers, trying bowls for the very first time, and disabled bowlers across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and beyond, who want to come along and have a game of bowls against other disabled bowlers. We’ll follow up our launch with a competition day for disabled bowlers on the 19th July.
“If there is demand, and we are sure there is, then we will have regular days for disabled bowlers to come together at Foxley and play bowls. How this evolves will very much depend on the disabled bowlers of Glasgow. The days are open to anyone with a disability, we don’t need you to be formally classified. The aim is very much to show that people with a disability can still play bowls and enjoy the sport that we all love.”
Bowls Scotland wish to thank Andy for sharing his story with us and wish him and all at Foxley BC all the best for the 2025 season. We hope to share updates from the clubs’ Disability Try Bowls Day later in the Summer and would welcome any other clubs looking to provide opportunities for participation for new or experienced bowlers with any disability to please contact Stuart Chesby, Bowls Scotland’s Disability Development Officer via stuartchesby@bowlsscotland.com for more information. If your club is looking to upskill volunteers to lead coaching sessions for new and existing members, visit our Annual Calendar to find out about the coach education opportunities available.