Lawn bowler Alex Scott rolls out hip-hop video to promote sport

What do you do when you're a world-class competitive lawn bowler and a freestyle rapper and you're trying to recruit more members to your lawn bowling club?

Alex Scott did what comes naturally. He and some friends put together a hip-hop video promoting the Nutana Lawn Bowling Club, and posted it on YouTube.

"I basically joined the marketing campaign this year to try and spice up the sport a little bit, and try and reach more of an audience than just older people," Scott said.

Should anyone think lawn bowling is strictly for oldsters, well, that's a bad rap. Scott, 29, got his start in the game at the age of 10.

You'd be surprised how many 25- to 35-year-olds are there basically bowling and kind of hauling ass- Alex Scott, champion lawn bowler and rapper

"The social aspect of it is unbelievable," Scott said. "I've travelled all over the world and all over the country, just meeting similar-aged people who are all there to do the same thing."

Competitions have taken him to Eastern Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, the United States and all over Canada. He, Grant Wilkie and Keith Roney won the Canadian Men's Triples event a year ago. Roney was installed in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

"Once you get to a competitive level, you'd be surprised how many 25- to 35-year-olds are there basically bowling and kind of hauling ass," Scott said.

Being outdoors, doing the same fluid motions for about six hours a day can be strenuous, he added. Not to mention the skill that's required. Scott said it took him at least ten years to get to the national competitive level. 

He said he is simply looking to see more people, of all ages, take up the sport.

The Nutana club has about half the membership it did a decade ago. With now fewer than 50 people playing, Scott fears the club won't survive if the membership drops further.