Above: First Bowls Sesson at Walthamstow Borough Bowling Club
East London Vision, in conjunction with Metro Blind Sport, Walthamstow Borough Bowling Club and Motivate East, organised the first Vision Impaired bowls taster session
As someone who is an enthusiastic sports person, it was a pleasure to be able to help run the first ever VI Bowls taster session in East London and here is a short report.
On a glorious Thursday afternoon, the sun most definitely played a big part in ensuring this session was a success! The obsession with the weather means, we often start a conversation with the weather and as our members were introduced to the Bowling club staff, we are pleased to report, they certainly maintained the tradition. Although perhaps as a Cricketer who spends his life praying for the sun, it is probably me, who is a little obsessed!
After a quick introduction to VI bowls, rules and the equipment. We had a tour of the 6 Bowling rinks and only then did the members have the opportunity of throwing a Jack and the wood. This would stand them, in good stead for a competitive game later on in the afternoon. I do sincerely hope, no one had the camera out, when yours truly had the first ever go, let’s just say, it won’t live long in the memory!
Visually Impaired Bowls England was founded in 1975 and is made up of more than 50 clubs and has around 600 members. Globally, there are 5,000 blind and partially sighted members of the International Association, which makes lawn bowls the largest outdoor activity for the blind in the world.
Bowls is not only a great game to take part in socially; it also helps improve confidence and general fitness of players. Although the snacks probably didn’t help the general fitness, everyone involved had their competitive juices flowing, as we wrapped up the day by playing a couple of games. When the final scores came in, one or two were left perplexed, as both teams drew 3 all. Although, VI Bowls was the big winner on the day.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank, Ian Francis (Sports Development Officer) Metro Blind Sport, Vision Impaired bowling experts from Metro Blind Sport Eric and Amit, Motivate East, our members for attending and last but most definitely not least, Walthamstow Borough Bowling Club, your continued support and effort is much appreciated.
– Report by Hassan Khan
If anyone is tempted to join us or just wants to know more about the game, why not get in touch with Eric Gallacher or Ian Francis ( Sports Development Officer)
Contact: ericgal@blueyonder.co.uk or Ian Francis: ian.francis@metroblindsport.org
