Cottenham Bowls Club uses FECA grant to buy defibrillator

Cottenham Bowls Club is a village outdoor and indoor bowls club open all year and formed in 1940 to provide a facility for lawn bowls in the village. All members pay an annual subscription fee to cover the running costs of the club and all work undertaken by the club’s officers and members is on a voluntary basis to ensure the continuation of the club.

The club currently has a membership of 76 consisting of 42 full members and 34 social members who include both working and retired men and women from Cottenham and the surrounding villages, but are mainly over 60.

Bowling does not require great physical effort and as a consequence many bowlers are still bowling well into their eighties and even their nineties. Due to the general age profile, the Club recognised that  the biggest safety risk for their members is that they might have a heart attack whilst at the Club and that immediate help would not be at hand when time is of the essence. Modern defibrillators are very user friendly and so, with very little training of their membership, by having a defibrillator in the clubhouse, they are now in a position to provide immediate assistance to anybody who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest.

Cheque Presentation to Cottenham Bowls Club

Neil Gough, Chair of the Fen Edge Community Association, presented a cheque for £1,000 to Bernard Goodin (Chairman) and Dave Parrack (Secretary) of Cottenham Bowls Club at the clubhouse. The grant has been used to purchase the Zoll AED Plus Defibrillator, the only Automated External Defibrillator that ensures infrequent rescuers respond appropriately during an emergency.

Cottenham Bowls Club has kindly agreed that the defibrillator will be made available to the Fen Edge Community Association for the Fen Edge Festival and other FECA organised events.