The Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) and Scottish Indoor Bowling Association (SIBA) National Indoor Championships took place at Falkirk Indoor Bowling Club from the 27 – 29 April 2019. The event offers an opportunity for players with a physical, visual and learning disability to compete for the national title.
The event is grateful for the ongoing sponsorship from Coop Funeralcare and we are indebted for their continued support. We are also delighted to announce that they will continue their support for the 2020 event.
These national championships are a significant event on the calendar as it allows players to compete within their classification group. This opportunity is limited within the Scottish para bowls programme.
Physically Disabled B6 Men
Eight bowlers competed but it was no surprise to see two of the most experienced B6’s contest the final. Reigning champion, Billy Allan overcame Henry Spiers 21-10 in the semi final to set up final with George Guthrie, who defeated newcomer, William Nichol, 21-14. The final was a close contest that could have gone either way, however, the experience of Billy Allan shown through as he retained his title.
Physically Disabled B7/8 Men
This extremely competitive class is well populated with bowlers and for the first time in the events history, a playdown had to be held to reach the championships. Eight bowlers eventually made the cut which set up an evenly balance competition. The semi-final stages saw reigning champion, Johnny Boy Wardrope come up against the very experienced Jocky Hughes. The Ayrshire men had a great battle but Wardrope came out on top, 21-14. In the other Semi-Final, Commonwealth Games Lead, Garry Brown, was defeated by newcomer to para bowls, Garry Hood. Hood is a v very experienced bowler and overcame his opponent 21-19 in a very tight affair. In the final, Wardrope started quickly and took a commanding lead, 13-4 before Hood retired due to tiredness. Another title for the very improving John Wardrope!
Physically Disabled B7/8 Ladies
The female section is lacking players and this year’s championships were contested by last years Champion, Barbara McMillan and newcomer (to Scotland), Pauline Wilson. Wilson has recently moved to Glasgow from Wales but comes with bags of experienced, as she skipped the Welsh team at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018. They contested a very close 21-19 final in Pauline’s favour.
Visually Impaired B2/B3 Men
Four players contested this section following a selection process by our partners at Visually Impaired Bowling Scotland. Ian Graham (Kathleen Sweetland) defeated Robert Graham (Ken Johnson) 21-10 in the first semi-final, whilst Robert Barr (Sarah Jane Ewining) defeated Billy Edgar (George Miller) 21-5 in the other semi-final. This set up a final between two experienced players, but the outcome was a win for Robert Barr, who retained his title.
Visually Impaired B2/B3 Ladies
Four players contested this section following a selection process by our partners at Visually Impaired Bowling Scotland. Melanie Innes (Grace Whitton) defeated Mary Stevenson (Chris Morrow) 17-9 after reaching the 2:15 time limit, whilst Sylvia Johnston (Ron McArthur) defeated Eleanor Clarke (Doreen Strachan) 15-9. The final was played out in good spirits but in the end, Melanie Innes was too strong, winning 21-4. Innes continues to improve and was delighted to claim the national title.
SDS is would like to thank our former Disability Bowls Inclusive Performance Manager, Ron McArthur, who has been the driving force behind this competition. Ron continues to support this event in a voluntary capacity, and we are extremely grateful for his continued input and expertise.
Learning Disability Sections Male A, Female A and Open Section B
The competition for players with a learning disability has now closed these championships for the last two years. The quality of play was unrelenting throughout and all players proved to be a credit to their representative areas. It proved to be a host of familiar names competing on the day as all three defending champions pitched up to retain their titles in the face of stiff competition from the leading bowlers from other areas.
Pamela Mitchell and Daryll Stewart (both Fife) defended their titles in dominant style. Pamela won all her matches in a round-robin group of five players finishing ahead of Glasgow’s Sandi Todd to claim the trophy and gold medal adding yet another title to her considerable haul in both the outdoor and indoor formats of the game. Daryll was in similarly imperious form and defeated Glasgow’s Jordan Donnachie – who himself had an outstanding championship – in the final by 16 shots to 6. It was left to Lothian’s Euan Wright to complete the full house of defending champions retaining their trophies, and he did it in style, overcoming local favourite Lee Duncan in the final by 11 shots to 4. To wrap things up Team Fife retained the Co-op Funeralcare Trophy they won in its inaugural year in 2018.
SDS is would like to thank our former Disability Bowls Inclusive Performance Manager, Ron McArthur, who has been the driving force behind this competition. Ron continues to support this event in a voluntary capacity, and we are extremely grateful for his continued input and expertise. SDS are also grateful to Falkirk Indoor Bowling Club for their continued excellence as hosts and to all umpires, markers and team support for their substantial efforts in supporting this event.
Photo courtesy of John Wardrope