National Volunteer Award Profile - James Fernie
The latest winner of the Bowls Scotland National Volunteer Awards is James Fernie from Abbeyview Bowling Club.
James was chosen as a National Volunteer Award winner for his committed long service to volunteering, having spent nearly every day of his life for the past 16 years helping out around the club.
A member of Abbeyview Bowling Club in Dunfermline since 2009, James, affectionately known as ‘Skin’, remains an integral and popular member of the club to this day. No job is too big or too small to be completed and James can often be found cutting the hedge around the green, cleaning the windows, setting up the green for competitions and serving meals or pouring drinks behind the bar. He has even saved the club thousands of pounds by repairing their biomass heating system on many occasions during breakdowns in the winter.
Not only does James carry out these day-to-day tasks without any fuss, but he has also spent many years serving on the committee. James was made President of his beloved club in 2017 and spent two years as Gents Indoor Captain in 2018/19 and 2019/20, leading on the often-thankless job of team selection.
Speaking on the satisfaction that volunteering gives him, James said: “I like to see the club doing well and continue to play a massive part in the wider community. Abbeyview is a club that has very few airs and graces and people tend to tell you to your face exactly how it is. I am a straight talker, and I like that aspect of the club. We are a welcoming club and will always do our best to accommodate requests from local and national associations to host games and events.
“The club is a special place that brings people together. Bowls is also a very sociable sport, and I have met many people and made so many friends with people from all over Scotland. I enjoy nothing better than catching up with those people over a game of bowls and I enjoy a few beers and a whisky or two during and after the game. Believe it or not I met my partner Heather at a social event at the bowling club.
“All roles in the club are important and if the club is to survive and thrive then more people need to muck in. Like most clubs we struggle from a lack of volunteers and many of our members think that the club prepares itself for games and events by magic and then tidies itself up afterwards.”
Despite dedicating a large amount of his time to volunteering off the green, James is capable of holding his own against some of West Fife’s premier players on the green. In 2024, he won the Bowls Scotland District 8 Gents Pairs qualifier alongside partner Dougie Walls to reach the National Championships at the National Centre for Bowling, Ayr. Speaking on this experience, James added: “When Dougie Walls and I won the gents nominated pairs at the club in 2023 that was the first big surprise. Anyhow we started out in the Bowls Scotland District 8 qualifiers last season and managed to reach the district final at Leslie Bowling Club.
“On the night of the district final, we played Inverkeithing, and I had a good game, Dougie played some great shots especially in the extra end that was needed to win the game.
“I was delighted to qualify for Northfield which was without doubt the biggest bowling achievement of a lifetime for me. It was great to get to play at the national finals, but I was disappointed for Dougie that I did not play at the level I had reached while qualifying.”
The hard work and dedication that James has committed to Abbeyview Bowling Club over the years hasn’t gone unnoticed by his fellow members. Stuart Roxburgh, the club’s long serving Secretary, has witnessed firsthand James’ incredible work ethic and wanted to help him get recognition at a national level.
When asked what led to nominating James for a National Volunteer Award, Stuart said: “I nominated James because he is integral to the everyday operational management of Abbeyview Bowling Club. James gives up his time freely and is prepared to put his hand to any task that needs to be done to keep the club ticking along.
“James sets up the club for functions and matches and usually ends up putting things back later that day or the next morning. James cleans the club on the cleaners two days off each week and also keeps the club gutters clear of weeds.
“On a personal note, without James’ willingness to get stuck in and give his time so freely, I would have walked away many years ago. James inspires and motivates others to get involved and remain involved.
“As quoted recently on a social media post by a former club member, James is the beating pulse of Abbeyview Bowling Club. We are very lucky to have him, and I can offer no words that would properly express the esteem that he is held in at the club. James is a very special human being.”
To James’ surprise, he was presented with his National Volunteer Award at Abbeyview Bowling Club on Saturday 10th May before the first Andrew Hamilton Trophy match of the 2025 season between West Fife Bowling Association and Fife Bowling Association.
When asked what it meant to be presented his award, James commented: “I was chuffed that my efforts over the years had been recognised, and it was nice that this was done on a busy day for the club when we were hosting the county game against our friends and near neighbours Fife Bowling Association.”
Congratulations to James on behalf of everyone at Bowls Scotland for receiving his thoroughly deserved National Volunteer Award!
Applications for our next round of nominations close today (Friday 6th June). For more information or to nominate someone, click here.