Nationals in Aberdeen once again
The listing was posted by Scottish Disability Sport 2
Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is delighted to return to the Westburn Park in Aberdeen for the 2010 National Lawn Bowls Championships. Westburn Park has been the established home of the championships for over 20 years and SDS is once again indebted to Aberdeen City Council for its continued support. SDS is also indebted to the Aberdeen Branch of the Association for its input to the preparations for the championships. We would wish to acknowledge the considerable input from Andrinne Craig, SDS Regional Manager and Aberdeen City Council employee.
Unfortunately for the very first time in the history of the event the 2009 championships had to be cancelled because of inclement weather. SDS has been fortunate with weather over the years but the most unusual period of sustained rainfall in the lead up to the championships of 2009 prevented the event going ahead. It was a major exercise for SDS personnel to cancel the event and once again we apologise to all those who were disappointed but it was the right decision at the time.
Since the last national championships Scottish bowlers have enjoyed considerable success in major events throughout the UK and overseas. Scottish bowlers with a learning disability performed exceptionally well at the Summer Special Olympics Games in Leicester and many from that memorable event will be competing at the 2010 championships. Scotland’s visually impaired bowlers have enjoyed considerable success at home and overseas during the past 18 months but unfortunately few of them have entered for the SDS championships. Their most recent success was at the UK Championships in Gateshead. Scotland’s leading visually impaired bowlers will have a major role to play when Scotland travels to South Africa in May 2011 for the World Championships. The squad is preparing at this time and hopes are high that the team will go one better than the third place team finish at the championships in Australia three years ago.
Scotland’s physically disabled bowlers have enjoyed a hugely successful last two years. In the Third Bowls Test Match at Kirkcaldy in Fife in 2009 Scotland’s physically disabled bowlers convincingly won the Test Match title with a memorable victory against England. This summer the team travelled down to Nottingham for the revived Homes Countries Bowls Championship plus Fourth Test Match and managed a win each event. This was the first occasion in the Test Match Series that either Scotland or England had won away from home. It was a well deserved victory. Scotland now has a much stronger physically disabled bowls squad than travelled to Australia and Malaysia and under the expert guidance of Bob Dick and Ron McArthur the squad continues to make progress. When the team is selected for South Africa we are confident that it will be strongest disability bowls team ever to represent Scotland. Many squad bowlers will be competing at the championships this year. In addition there are other bowlers who will be making late challenges for places in the team for South Africa.
A new event was added to the bowls calendar this year at the Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy in Fife. The first Inter Area Bowls Test Match for players with a learning disability was hosted by Disability Sport Fife as part of the Celebrating Fife 2010 celebrations. After three full sessions of play the event was judged a major success and thoroughly enjoyed by the players from Highland, West of Scotland, Lothian and Fife. Fife and West of Scotland shared top spot at the end of the event. This was the first occasion that Scotland’s leading players with a learning disability had been offered the opportunity to play singles, pairs and triples in a one day event. Such was the success of the inaugural event that Lothian Disability Sport has agreed to host the event in 2011. It is a welcome addition to the national calendar and offers Scotland’s bowlers with a learning disability an additional quality competitive event.
The entry for the championships of 2010 is modest but within the list of entrants there are many quality bowlers. SDS still considers bowls one of its major participant sports and a sport that Scotland has enjoyed incredible success for over a decade at international level. 2011 is an important year for Scotland’s physically disabled and visually impaired bowlers as they take on the leading bowlers in the world in South Africa. 2012 also will be a major year for Scotland’s bowlers as Scotland attempts to defend the disability bowls team gold medal that was won in Manchester when EAD disability bowls was last on the Commonwealth Games programme. It is an import two years for SDS and disability bowls and as always we wish the participants at the 2010 National Championships every success. SDS acknowledges once again the interest and support it receives from Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Disability Sport and the many volunteer markers and support staff who turn out year after year to assist.