Blog: "Lawn bowls is very good for me, it’s a big part of my life"
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it’s L for Lawn Bowls, and Lynette Zadrazil from Devon discusses a lifetime enjoying sport.
Read more in the A-Z blogs series.
Lynette’s blog:
I’m from Africa, Rhodesia originally, married an Austrian, and after all our world travels now live in Paignton in Devon.
I am in my 70s now and I’ve been playing lawn bowls for seven years. I started playing in South Africa and my partner Peter, who is English and a Level 3 coach, came out to Africa and started to teach people. And that’s when I took up the sport.
I have been disabled all my life but have always participated in sport. The older I have got the less I was able to continue playing golf, tennis and so on.
But bowls shouted out to me as a sport I could play. It was not going to be too taxing, it would be enjoyable and it would enable me to move my body the best of my capability. And I really love it.
I was born with a deformed left leg, much shorter than my right leg, with an undeveloped knee with a foot with just three toes and no ankle. I walked on it until the age of six so developed very bad curvature of the spine.
But I have managed all my life, and these days have a prosthetic limb.
In Africa, growing up, I did still participate in sport and in all rested on your ability. I managed to be part of the swimming team at boarding school, and I also dived. But it all depended on the teachers, and my hockey teacher refused to take responsibility for me and include me. That was disappointing.
Before I took up bowls it was not a sport that had occurred to me. I remember watching it as a child in Africa, and I’d always thought of it as something that was too slow.
However, bowls is a community thing, it brings people together and it gets the best out of everybody. It is a marvellous game, for both young and old. It is perfect too for disabled people, because we can keep up. It is so nice to be included in everything.
I play three times a week at the Brixham Bowling Club in Devon, having just joined. It’s very nice and I’m made to feel very welcome.
"I play to be best of my ability"
I enjoy playing singles but you can also compete as pairs, triples and fours. There’s a social side to it and teamwork is essential. People cheer you on, encourage you. It’s really good.
I play to be best of my ability and I am very grateful I can do it. Otherwise I’d be sitting at home on my own, and that’s dreadful for a disabled person.
Because my back is so bad someone engineered me a seat, a bit like a shooting stick, with a big rubber disc on the bottom so as not to disturb or damage the green. And on the top, instead of a bracket to sit on I have a bicycle seat. I just perch on that between bowling, and it takes the weight off my spine. Everyone is absolutely fine with it.
Being disabled is not being different, it’s just being impaired. If people allow you to do the best you can with your disability it makes you feel involved, one of the team. You realise you can do it your way, but you can do it.
Bowls is very good for me, it’s a big part of my life.
