DURBAN resident, Jimmy Mills has been playing bowls at the Durban Bowling Club since 1996 and this makes him one of the club’s longest standing members.
Mills was drawn to the sport for the sense of camaraderie and good sportsmanship around the game – traits that keep him returning to the greens today.
“I used to live along the beach front and the municipality used to have two bowling greens along the beach. I used to go with a couple of mates from the pub on a Saturday morning,” he said.
Also read: Durban Bowling Club, established in 1903
He first tried out bowls when a friend invited him to tag along
“I used to play golf and, one Sunday morning, one of the guys from the Beachwood Bowling Club invited me to have a game of bowls. I just wish I had started years earlier. It’s just a super game,” he said.
In 1992, he joined the Queens Bowling club in Victoria Park.
“I played there for four years and then came to the Durban Bowling Club,” said Mills. He has since racked up quite a few trophies. In 1998, Mills won the Port Natal Pairs alongside Jonny Vosloo.
Also read: Durban Bowling club welcomes new members
“I was playing lead at the time. The final was played at the Silverton Bowling Club,” he said.
The accomplished player said he also won the Port Natal Bowling Association Singles in 2011. He won the Durban Bowling Club pairs competition in 2012 and went on to win the club singles in 2018 and 2019.
He explained that the lead bowls first, followed by the second, third and, finally, the skip, who carries the most pressure as they have the power to knock the jack out at the last minute. In pairs, there is just a lead and a skip taking to the greens.
Mills hails from the United Kingdom. He moved to Johannesburg in 1966, before settling in Durban.
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