Homer wins gold Down Under

Dressed in the green and gold colours of Bowls South Africa and with one fingernail emblazoned with the national flag, May Homer smiles broadly as she relays how she and her bowls partner, Herman Scholtz, got one over Aussie pair Jacqueline Hudson and Jake Fehlberg to win a gold medal in the multi-national series on the Australian Gold Coast in March.

“In the round-robin, they beat us. Their skip was driving and playing hard. He took our bowls out and the jack away from our bowls,” she said.

The two teams met twice in the round-robin with the South Africans winning 10-8 in round three while the Aussies grabbed a 14-10 win in round six.

The setback forced May and Scholtz, along with their directors Paul Homer and Geoff Newcombe, to approach the game differently in an effort to stop the opposition’s skip from driving.

“In the finals, we decided to change our strategy. We played bowls around the jack and ensured we also had bowls at the back, around the 2m mark.

“We ensured we had a bowl at the back of the jack on each end. This stopped their skip from driving and in the end we won easily.”

The pair beat Hudson and Fehlberg 21-7 to clinch the gold medal in the visually-impaired mixed pairs.

On their way to the gold, Homer and Scholtz won four round-robin games while losing two but what mattered most to Homer is the gold and new opportunities for bowlers with disability.

“It was the first time bowlers with disability were invited to play with the able-bodied guys. I enjoyed the competition. It was also nice to see how the Australians approach the game, which is different from us,” Homer said.

This competition was a pre-cursor to the World Bowls Championship in Australia. She’s confident she will be part of the national squad going Down Under.

“I’ve achieved so much in bowls. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t decided to play bowls.”

The Benoni Country Club member comes from a sporting family and is thankful to her mother for encouraging her to try lawn bowls.

“I was the only one who couldn’t play sport because of my vision. When my mom began playing bowls, she invited me. That was a good thing for me,” she said.

Years later she looks back with pride because the game has taken her to four world bowls championships while also winning multiple national competitions.

“Bowls changed my whole life. It gave me purpose and a reason to go out and socialise. Often people with disabilities are confided to their homes, I encourage them to try the sport because it’s so rewarding.”

Also Read: Medals in May for Benoni Country Club’s May Homer

Also Read: May tops the bowls podium again