Swansea Indoor Bowls Club

Swansea Indoor Bowls Club was founded in 1976 at a well-attended meeting held at the YMCA. The members present each contributed £1 to form the Indoor Bowls Club, which eventually boasted 1,000 members.

The Club’s indoor green was housed at Swansea Leisure Centre, which had been opened by Her Majesty the Queen in the summer of 1976. The first competitive game was held there during the 1977 season, which also saw the formation of the Ladies’ Section.

Over the years, Swansea has boasted an excellent playing record, producing many international players to represent Wales in the British Isles Championships at all levels (Over 50s, Seniors, and Juniors), not to mention Welsh Championship winners in singles, pairs, triples, and fours – a tradition that continues to this day.

The closure of Swansea Leisure Centre in 2003 resulted in the Swansea bowlers relocating to the nearby Earlswood Bowls Club until the new Stadium at Landore, funded by the City & County of Swansea Council, opened for business in March 2008.

In November 2014, the club became a Not-for-Profit Public Limited Company to facilitate a lease agreement for the Stadium. In 2015, a lease was negotiated with the City & County of Swansea, and the club took over full responsibility for the Stadium.

Swansea Indoor Bowls Centre, known for its high-quality sports facilities, recently decided to undertake a significant upgrade of its lighting system, with the primary goals of improving visibility for players, enhancing energy efficiency, and reducing maintenance costs.

To that end, the Centre selected the Ansell Lighting Opti-Linear LED Low Bay lights, known for their excellent performance and reliability, as the optimal solution to meet all their needs.

The project began with a thorough assessment, followed by extensive planning, which led to the proposal to use the Opti-Linear 202W LED Low Bay lighting, due to its high lumen output of 26,390 lumens and a Cool-White Correlated Colour Temperature of 4000K. This made them an ideal choice for providing bright and consistent lighting, which is crucial in an indoor sports environment.

The Opti-Linear LED Low Bay is ideally suited to a wide range of industrial, commercial, and internal sports applications, offering an excellent solution for both new installations and retro-fit applications replacing luminaires that use traditional light sources.

The fitting is constructed of mild steel with a white powder-coated body, and wiring is facilitated via an access hatch at the rear of the product, with push-fit terminals enabling a fast installation process. The fitting also comes supplied with a 1.5-metre catenary suspension kit. The Opti-Linear LED Low Bay has a beam angle of 50°/100°, a Colour Rendering Index of 80, and, for the 202W version (AOLLBLED/3), an output of 26,000 lumens, with an operating lifetime to L80 of 54,000 hours, providing both performance and longevity.

As an LED fitting, the light output is achieved instantly upon switch-on, and it offers unlimited switching, with a 1-10V dimmable option as standard.

Supplied with an input of 220/240V at 50/60Hz, the fitting operates within a temperature range of -30°C to 45°C, with an ingress protection rating of IP20 and an impact protection (IK) rating of IK08.

The installation process was streamlined by the user-friendly design of the Opti-Linear lights, which included versatile mounting options and a quick-connect system. This facilitated a smooth and efficient installation, minimising disruptions to the Centre’s regular activities. Following the completion of the installation, the lighting system was thoroughly tested to ensure uniform light distribution and the desired illumination levels were achieved.

The benefits of the new lighting system were immediately apparent, with improved lighting quality and significantly enhanced playing conditions. The new system offered greater optical visibility for players while reducing eye strain. Additionally, the LED system was significantly more energy-efficient than the previous setup, leading to substantial savings on electricity costs. With a life expectancy of 54,000 hours, the Opti-Linear LED Low Bays require minimal on-site maintenance, further reducing operational costs and future disruptions to play.