GCP and Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club

GCP are bowled over to be Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club’s 2025 charity partner!

The partnership between Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club and GCP has been deepening over the last 2 years. This is thanks largely to our volunteer, Dennis, who is a member at the Club, famous in Edinburgh for its ten-pin bowling and skittle leagues!

It wasn’t that long ago that the Club kindly offered Dennis a couple of lanes so that our volunteers and staff could enjoy a well-deserved night out bowling.

The evening was a great success and led to GCP putting a team into their ‘Inter-works’ League.

In November 2024, Dennis nominated us for charity of the year and, in January, we heard the fantastic news that GCP had been chosen as the Club’s 2025 charity partner.

GCP, 2025 Charity of the Year

As Charity of the Year, there will be collection tins and raffles for GCP held during 2025, with a whole day of bowling and fundraising dedicated to GCP in November. GCP will also be offered lanes for members to try ten pin bowling, as well as to use as a focus for our own fundraising events.  

In recognition for their generosity, our Volunteer Manager Kevin went along to present Jimmy and Club Secretary Ross, with a wooden plaque which will be exhibited in the Grassmarket Centre foyer, a thank you and permanent record of this special partnership.

GCP look forward to supporting the raffles with prizes from our Tartan and Wood Workshop Social Enterprises. We also hope to improve our ten pin bowling skills, as it does seem that our team needs more practice. Club member and Events Coordinator, Jimmy, damned us with faint praise when he said,

‘Well, the Grassmarket team does turn up and always have fun, at least!’ 

Kevin says,

‘It is so good to be able to recognise this fantastic partnership.

‘It’s great to know that there are organisations out there that know about us and want to support what we do.

‘Ten pin bowling has really brought staff and volunteers together and built relationships with other organisations which has been fun and raised our profile in the city.

‘‘I have to thank Dennis for all this too, for nominating us and being such a fantastic volunteer and ambassador for GCP.’

More about Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club

Kevin enjoyed seeing behind the scenes at Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club,

‘It was so interesting to be shown around the Club and find out more about the history from long-time member, Jimmy.’

Jimmy joined the Club in 1980, and says he’s stayed so long because of,

‘…the people and the sociable side of things. Everyone is friendly and it’s a real community’.

Murrayfield Indoor Sports Club was founded in 1937 in a disused biscuit factory, originally on the ground floor. The Club was unique at the time, as ten pin bowling was still a new sport which had just been introduced from the USA. The ten pin lanes were complemented with more traditional skittle lanes. The first formal skittle alley in Scotland has been dated to 1899, although Jimmy informed us that the military used cannon balls to play long before that!

Things have changed over the years, with carpet bowls ending in 1983 and the Club having to move with the times. Things have been tough since Covid, as Secretary Ross says,

‘Habits changed post-Covid and money is tight with the cost-of-living crisis, but we have a loyal membership. They all paid their subs during lockdown just to ensure the Club survived.’

Now, despite the challenging times, the membership is stable and the leagues are thriving with everything from Singles and ‘the Old Farts’ league, to junior and corporate leagues, like Ferranti.

Shared values and community membership

Recently, Jimmy was invited to visit GCP, where he was impressed with everything on offer,

‘There was so much going on, with courses every day, everyone gets fed and I didn’t realise you could also do apprenticeships at the Grassmarket Centre. They really make the most of the space and it has a nice vibe. It’s great you can also get coffee there, which is for a good cause and cheaper than Tesco.’ 

Murrayfield and the GCP share values, as Ross explains,

‘We try to be as ethically-spirited as we can and have a Community Membership programme where Carers can join at a subsidised price, so they can bring along those they care for, for  free, during off-peak hours.’

If you know anyone who would benefit from such a Membership, please contact Ross

A big thank you to everyone at Murrayfield Indoor Sports Centre for choosing GCP as their 2025 Charity Partner, we look forward to building the partnership further in 2025 and beyond.