Blind Bowls Nationals – Begin today at Burnside Bowling Club

Lorraine McLeodNews

A special group of bowlers have descended on the Burnside Bowling Club today with the New Zealand Blind Lawn Bowling Association National Championships being played. Singles will be played today t and Tuesday, followed by pairs on  Wednesday and Thursday. This is the first time the event has been held in Christchurch.

There are four divisions - B1, B2, B3 and B4. The B1 is the totally blind division. Players in the B2 category can see very little and nothing clearly. They can usually only see light changes within a couple of feet range. B3 players can move about with a  degree of independence  but cannot see with any clarity upon the green. They can often see up the green to about two thirds of the distance to the jack but cannot see any details of bowls on the head. The B4 division is for players mostly affected by tunnel vision. It is like looking through two straws and being able to see in a straight line but having very limited peripheral vision (less than 20%). Players will play against others with their own level of visual impairment. There are small numbers entered for the event however it must be remembered that the qualifying criteria is a tested level of visual impairment. Those player competing are courageous in taking on the challenge of competing along with their personal challenges of their sight impairment.

Results will be updated regularly throughout the event and can found on the Burnside Bowling Club website at www.burnsidebowlingclub.com. Visit the section in the left column entitled National Blind. Information about the event is now available at that site.

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