NZ Disabled Bowls Nationals comes to Christchurch

Lorraine McLeodNews

The New Zealand Disabled Bowls will be held in Canterbury from Sunday 3 November to Thursday 8 November 2019.

Participants in this tournament will travel from all over New Zealand with competitors coming from Whangarei down to Invercargill.  There will be in excess of 50 players participating, all who have some form of physical impairment. Over the week participants will play in the Singles, Pairs and Triples disciplines.

Kaiapoi Riverside Bowling Club is the host club and will host all disciplines, with two other Canterbury Clubs hosting as well;  Kaiapoi Workingmen's Club (Singles) and Papanui Club (Pairs). 

 The players have overcome significant problems to not only come to terms with their impairment but excel in their own local bowling competitions throughout the country. Many have competed at a higher level by their inclusion in the Commonwealth games and also overseas World Bowls tournaments. A group of ten including Mark Noble, who silvered at the Commonwealth Games, just recently returned from a World Games tourney in South Korea.  Another such participant is local Para Athlete Bruce Wakefield who also gained a silver medal at the last Commonwealth Games and was just recently named as Bowls NZ Para Athlete of the Year.

Each year the Nationals are held at a different location; with Wellington hosting in 2018.  The event will conclude with the presentation of trophies and medals at the Thursday dinner and will be carried out by a guest speaker – Dick Tayler (1974 Olympic Gold Medalist) as well as representatives from Bowls New Zealand and Bowls Canterbury.

 

 

L - Frank Overend; Event Organiser. R - Bruce Wakefield NZ Para Athlete of the Year