Since 1958, older people have gathered at the Chadstone Bowls Club in Melbourne, Australia to play lawn bowls — a game that involves rolling balls so that they stop as close as possible to a smaller ball. But now, the club could be in danger, The Huffington Post reports.
The local Stonnington City Council is intent on creating a $20 million sports stadium for basketball and netball (a game similar to basketball) on the festival grounds. To fight this measure, the ladies of the club, also known as Chaddy Bowls, knew they'd have to get creative. So they brought in someone everyone will listen to: Beyoncé.
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Even though only one of the members even knew who Beyoncé was, they all committed themselves to learning the "Single Ladies" choreography. But for their musical plea to the council, they wrote new lyrics. In a viral video dubbed "All The Bowling Ladies," they sing, "we're bowlers and you can't take this away from us...don't treat us like we no longer matter just because we're not netballers. Lawn bowls is what I prefer. It's what I deserve."
Member Denise Wallish, who organized the video, told HuffPost Australia that the loss of Chaddy Bowls would mean more than just fewer sporting opportunities. "I know with my own kids, basketball is one of many things in their lives — but for the bowlers it is the [only] thing in their lives," she said. "For some of the elderly men, it's the reason why they get up in the morning."
The club is asking those who enjoy the singing and dancing to sign a Change.org petition calling on the council to build the stadium elsewhere. "We are not fighting netballers/basketballers or a stadium," it reads. "We are just saying this is has been our sporting home for 60 years and we matter too! The decision is not logical or equitable."