Over 100 years since leagues started in South Wales, the pastime is looking for younger members
POOL, darts, and Sunday league football. These are the games that typically come to mind when the words “pub” and “sport” are uttered together.
But in South Wales, there is another contender: skittles. For over a century, this historical cousin of ten-pin bowling has been a cherished pastime.
It is not uncommon to walk into a Cardiff pub on an average weekday evening and bump into 24 men or women getting ready to do battle on a weathered wooden track.
Even if you don’t watch, you are sure to be able to hear the rumble of the wooden ball or the inevitable shouts, moans, groans and laughter – it’s deafening.
Skittles in South Wales is now facing the most difficult chapter in its long history. With the number of teams slowly dwindling, the sport is not catching the attention of younger players.
But after peeling back the curtain on what is often seen as a secretive game, it is the camaraderie and community spirit of the players that shines.
‘It’s a night out, but also a chance to catch-up and chew the fat’
The Park in Barry was like any other small-town pub on a Friday night – heaving with locals catching up and having a drink. The incoming storm Darragh did nothing to dampen the spirits.
It was also playing host to a Barry and Districts Division One match between Geest and the visiting Willie Wombles of The Tynewydd Inn, the team I attached myself to for the night.
Jon Kemp, 44, who has been playing skittles since the age of 18, was the Wombles anchorman on the night, meaning he had the all-important responsibility of rolling last.
“I didn’t know until earlier that I was on the anchor-leg. I’m not usually, so it’s a bit of added pressure,” he joked, before entering the alley with a pint of Strongbow in hand.
The Willie Wombles were one of the original teams in the league and have been playing since 1976.
This is not unusual – as league chairman and Geest team captain Steven Jones told me.
“We started in 1987/1988 but several teams such as our opponents tonight the Wombles, The 49ers, Cavaliers, Colcot Boys, Posties and the British Rail have all been playing for 50 years plus.
“Many teams are full of fathers and sons, siblings, family members, work colleagues. For a lot of people in the town, skittles is a night out and chance to catch up and ‘chew the fat’ as they say.”
From my vantage point at the far end of the alley, I saw both teams as they loudly supported their teammates in action.
Elongated shouts of “go on” followed by one of the various player nicknames accompanied almost every roll.
Kempy, Felty, Russ and Takka were just a few of long-standing nametags.
At the back of the alley was the “sticker upper” – responsible for repositioning the fallen skittles.
Usually the job of a teenager associated with the home team, Geest were paying 14-year-old Leon £20 for a night’s work.
The players’ £2 subs before each game helps to pay for the sticker upper and a £10 prize for the night’s top scorer.
“It’s much cheaper than ten-pin bowling – you just pay your two pounds and you’re good to go,” said Jon.
“We use the money to go away as a team to the Newbury races every year, it’s good fun and something we always try and do.”
It’s not just about family, it’s about friends – some of these lads have been playing together since the 1970s
Daz Singh Landa
This sense of community was present in every pub that I visited. The Fairwater Hotel on the outskirts of Cardiff has, in recent years, become a skittles hub.
“We now have six teams using this as their home alley – it’s always a great social evening especially when two local teams are playing,” said general manager and Bulldogs player James Anderson.
The 46-year-old, who despite only joining eight months ago, is already an established member of the Bulldogs team. He invited me to their home game two days later.
“Don’t judge too harshly, it’s the same day as our staff Christmas party,” he said grinning.
The opposition were the Albany Rovers, a group of friends that had been playing together in some guise since the early 1970s.
Team captain Daz Singh Landa, 57 and his 80-year-old father Dave Singh Landa, are two of only three Indian skittles players in the Cardiff and District Leagues.
“My father started playing in his factory team, the Curran Kingpins, when he arrived in this country – that’s what it was like in those days, you played with your colleagues,” Daz told me.
“It’s not just about family connections though, it’s about friends – some of these lads have been playing together since the 1970s.”
Other members of the team, who jokingly referred to me as “Panorama boy” for my journalistic intentions, included Jeff Gould and Andy Banfield.
They have been part of the team for over 40 years and are still captivated by the sport.
“We have been playing all these years and we still can’t hit them,” joked Jeff as the team headed into the alley for their final rolls.
This claim can’t have been true as the Albany Rovers ended up victorious on the night, putting an end to the Bulldogs’ nine-game winning streak.
Alley closures and a lack of young people is threatening decades of history
At one point, the Cardiff and District League had 12 divisions. It now has just three and is losing teams every year.
Barry and District League has two divisions – 20 years ago, it had four.
Daz said: “Three third division teams have disbanded this year alone; they just can’t recruit the players.
Young people play for a while but can’t stick with it, they are more interested in birds and booze at those ages.”
The sport undoubtedly attracts an older crowd, an issue that is not lost on the players that remain.
Steven Jones, who oversees skittles in Barry, told me: “Skittles is possibly not as cool as it could be – young players have other things they could be doing at home like gaming.
“Alcohol has also become more expensive which doesn’t help.”
The impact of lockdown was also raised as a reason for dwindling competitors and pub closures.
“Lots of people did not get back into it after Covid, they stopped coming when the pubs closed and never came back,” said Daz.
The number of alleys in Cardiff has also dropped post-lockdown, according to James Anderson.
“The game used to be big everywhere,” he said.
“Now, a lot of pubs have had to turn their alleys into extensions of their restaurants to try and bring in more money”.
The Railway in Llandaff North is encountering a similar problem.
Owen Cadman, 21, works behind that bar at the community pub and told me that it is no longer feasible to have one room solely dedicated to skittles.
“It does get really busy on a skittles night, but we have had to put a pool table in the room to try and boost income,” he said.
The community is welcoming – go along and you will see for yourself
Bulldogs player Callum Perkins, 30, made this plea at the end of their match with Albany Rovers: “It’s a good atmosphere, it’s a good laugh and if younger players were to start a team they would absolutely love it.
“There are five generations of my family in this pub and I have grown up with the game – I want it to carry on.”
When asked whether the game will be around in 20 years, Daz replied: “If I could tell the future, I would be a very rich man – who knows? I can only hope. It’s about getting more people to play.”
