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BOWLING AIDS
24 BOWLING AIDS
First we have to decide the definition of “Disabled” and
this is a very complicated issue. I was the Disabled
Championships mat sponsor for several years until
they ceased through lack of funding, as Disability Sport
England only got funding for elite sports and sadly
Short Mat bowls lost out.
We all think of physical disabilities that people
may have had all their life and also Learning Difficulties
but what about us “old farts” with bad backs and Arthri-
tis etc. that gets worse every year, along with failing
eyesight? Not that much we can do about failing eyesight apart from perhaps using a monocular
to see the head from the delivery end.
This scribe suffers from an arthritic shoulder stiff neck muscles
and occasional Bursitis to add to my diabetes and high blood pres-
sure but at 69 I know I’m in good company with a lot of people my
age and older, so in truth we are also “disabled” to a greater or
lesser extent but that does not mean we could enter a disabled
championships. It is a huge frustration for me that I’m not even a
shadow of the bowler I used to be but I keep trying and again I’m
in very good company.
So, do we give up or do we keep plodding along until we find
some other way of allowing us to bowl? The top picture shows a
Thomas Taylor “Thruster”. The photo on the right shows a metal
t u b e d
delivery Chute. The one in the photo
is for tenpin bowling but gives an alter-
native idea that can be built relatively
easy with some tube and a welder.
The outside picture on the left
shows a bowler using a chute and un-
able to release by hand so he uses a
“paddle” shaped to fit the Chute. The
chute is wide Guttering, with a V notch
at the end to smooth the run of the
bowls as they contact the mat.
There are other ways to release
bowls, at least one of which is very
simple, with a notch either side of the
chute and using a piece of Dowling
with some elastic attached to the
Dowling on both sides and running
under the chute.
The next picture is a player who
released by hand and her Chute has
a “Ski Jump” finish at the end so that
bowls make a very smooth contact
with the mat without decreasing the
speed of the bowl.
Chutes can be used from a
wheelchair, an ordinary chair or free-
standing.