One of the most respected figures in Scottish sport receives an MBE at Windsor Castle.
Bob Dick from Cupar is one of the most respected figures in Scottish sport. His wife Ann was with him at Windsor Castle this week to receive an MBE from HRH Princess Anne. They joined the family in the evening for a meal. It was in Bob’s words “a very special day”.
As well as being an international bowler himself, Bob Dick has offered years of voluntary service to Bowls Scotland. For the past two decades Bob fully committed to the development of Para bowls in Scotland. Over and above national and international commitments Bob is a committed Duffus Park bowling club member and has been an enthusiastic supporter of East Fife Sports Council.
I was introduced to Bob Dick when I moved to Fife in 1975. We met socially through mutual friends. Shortly after I invited Bob to tutor a bowls coaching course for Disability Sport Fife as part of his coaching role with Bowls Scotland. Thereafter we worked together to try and raise the performances of Para bowlers at national and international level. Bob was charged with the responsibility of managing the Scottish Para bowls triple at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and the success of the triple changed Para bowls in Scotland forever.
Pre Manchester, Scottish Para bowlers, competing for Spinal Injuries Scotland or the Scottish Paraplegic Association, won bowling medals at home and overseas in international events specifically for wheelchair users. Two of those great players, John Robertson and Ivan Prior, teamed up with David Heddle MBE to form the Manchester triple and win gold for Scotland. David Heddle from Fraserburgh was Scotland’s most successful ambulant Para bowler at the time winning a Para bowls medal at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, the last occasion Para bowls was on the Paralympic Games programme. Bob Dick had a major input to the success of that amazing men’s triple.
As well as being industrious, reliable, and hardworking, Bob is a man of immense integrity, consistency and honesty who understands the principles of inclusive practice. During his years of involvement, Bob has been a champion of the Para bowlers he has always tried to support, develop and inspire. Bob was recognised at the Sportscotland coach and volunteer awards for the immense contribution he has made to bowls over many years.
Bob became heavily involved with Para bowls from 2005 onwards. There was a Scotland/England International every year, and the pattern was quite uniform with each country winning on home soil. Team Scotland bucked the trend in 2010, when they won at Gedling IBC in Nottingham. The Internationals then became Tri-Nations when Wales entered the fray. England have been more successful to date, but at Bob’s final event in 2019 at Glasgow IBC, Scotland and England shared the spoils. England however won the series due to their better record against Wales.
Bob’s first event abroad for Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) was the 2007 International Bowls for the Disabled (IBD) World Championships in Manly, near Sydney, Australia. Scotland’s medal collection in the section for visually impaired bowlers was a singles B1 silver for Ada Meikle, a bronze in B1 mixed pairs for Ada and George Gourlay and a bronze for Alex Soudan, Shirley Ann Harris and Harry Harris in the triples. In the section for physically disabled bowlers there were no medals, but the late James Smith from Elgin & District Indoor Bowling Club came close. The ladies triple missed out on two games because one of the players became unwell.
Bob’s next IBD Championships were in Pretoria, South Africa in 2011 and once again Scotland selected an excellent squad of bowlers and coaches. This paid great dividends, with Team Scotland winning three gold and three bronze medals, equally split between the physically and visually impaired bowlers. In the section for physically impaired bowlers, Kevin Wallace won a gold in the singles and a bronze in the pairs with Michael Simpson from Auchtermuchty and Strathmiglo bowling club. John Hughes added a bronze in the singles. There were two gold medals for visually impaired bowlers Irene Edgar and Robert Conway in pairs and Maria Spencer from Dunfermline and Abbeyview Indoor Bowling Club in B4 ladies singles. On this occasion all the directors for the bowlers with visual impairments were qualified coaches and this made such a difference.
The 2011 performances in South Africa were excellent, but results at the IBD World Championships in New Zealand in 2015 were even better. There were gold medals for Irene Edgar and Maria Spencer in separate singles events and for Harry Harris and Martin Hunter from Burntisland Bowling Club in men’s singles events. Irene and Billy Edgar added a fifth gold medal in the mixed pairs. Equally impressive were the two pairs silver medals. One for Maria Spencer and Harry Harris, and the other for Rosemary Lenton and Michael Simpson, who defied all the odds in winning their medals. Five of the medals went to bowlers with visual impairments and this can be attributed to the evolving skills of the directors/coaches.
The other major competition in Bob’s Para bowls career were the Home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014. In the year leading up to Glasgow 2014, there were two competitions – the Four Home Nations and the Eight Nations, the latter being the more important, because all the Commonwealth Games nations attended. There were particularly good performances from physically disabled triples bowlers with Billy Allan from Cowdenbeath Bowling Club, Michael Simpson and Kevin Wallace winning the event and Gary Clelland, Martin Hunter and Garry Brown finishing in third place. From the two visually impaired teams, Irene Edgar and Robert Conway finished in the bronze medal position.
Although the Para bowls results at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were considered disappointing in Bob’s opinion, visually impaired bowlers Irene Edgar and Robert Conway won the silver medal, and improved on their position in the Test event.
Bob’s journey as an active Para bowls head coach came to an end at a Three Nations event at Glasgow Indoor in March 2019. On this occasion, Ron McArthur and Bob organised and ran the Tournament, which went like clockwork. This offered the coaches of the physically disabled bowlers the opportunity to manage the squad on a session-by-session basis.
Bob believes a head coach cannot develop and organise top class bowling without considerable back-up. During Bob’s time in Para bowls Scottish Disability Sport developed a strong team of coaches and directors, some of whom enjoyed dual roles. Bob is indebted to the team of coaches, directors and significant others who worked with him during his very successful and happy years in Para bowls. Nineteen years helping to develop Para bowls was never on Bob’s mind at the outset, but we are so glad he stuck with our movement and helped to change attitudes, promote inclusive practice, and raise standards in Para bowls throughout Scotland.
Bob Dick MBE has worked tirelessly throughout his life to develop bowls and more recently Para bowls. Congratulations on your recent honour – so richly deserved.
