AN ANNUAL bowls tournament that has been running since 1929 could be held for the final time this year.

The Hove Open Bowls Tournament has been attracting players from all over the country for decades but is now looking for new members to join the tournament committee to help keep the event going after this year.

Some of the current committee members will be stepping down after this year’s event, which is held at Hove and Kingsway Bowling Club.

Mike Hollingdale, 73, from Ditchling, is one of the committee members who will be stepping down after eight years of organising the event.

The retired insurance broker said: “We desperately need one or two more people on the committee to help run the event and keep it alive, as it would be such a shame for a historic event like this to have to come to an end.

“The problem is not financing the tournament as we have a pot of around £13,000 to keep the vent going for now, but it is just the man power behind the event that we need.

“We are appealing for help to keep this tournament going, which at one point was attracting over 100 people to come and take part.

“Bowls is currently tending to suffer because of a decline in interest and participation in the sport and now the lack of youth involvement has also impacted on the ability to run these types of competitions.

“The city council has stopped us from accessing two greens in recent years that could have been used for the tournament, which is another issue that has affected our ability to keep running it annually.”

The event is hosted under the licence of the English Bowling Association and under the patronage of Brighton’s mayor, councillor Pete West, and Brighton and Hove City Council.

Cllr West will be attending the award ceremony at the end of the tournament to hand out medals and prizes to participants.

A council spokesman said: “We wish the club the best of luck in attracting new committee members. However, this is not something the council has any control over.

“The number of bowling greens has been reduced in the city due to the decline in demand from fewer people playing bowls.

“Through our highly popular Active for Life programme we are offering hundreds of different sports, leisure, exercise and healthy living opportunities to our residents.”

There will be singles, pairs and triples rounds, with a £500 prize fund available for the winner of the singles event.

The tournament will be held from July 24-30 and entries close on June 5.

For more information or to book a place call 01273 410916.