BOWLERS from Stella Park Bowling Club earned their bragging rights after excelling at the African States competition in Edenvale, Johannesburg.
Bronwyn Webber, who has been playing bowls for the past 15 years, was awarded silver in the singles division, bronze in the pairs division and the SA ladies team was awarded gold overall. Wayne Rittmuller, who represented South Africa for the first time, received his colours at the event. He won gold for pairs and singles, gold overall and was voted player of the tournament, receiving another gold award.
Bronwyn said she used to watch her parents play bowls when she was younger, although she never felt the desire to play until her 20s.
“I was sports mad at school and ruined my knees through some of the sports I played. In my 20s I saw an advert in the paper about bowls, and decided to give it a try. I got hooked, I loved it! I’ve been competitive all my life, so I enjoyed it. It’s a more passive sport, but it keeps you mentally and physically fit. It is competitive and is now a more ‘funky’ sport! I first joined RDLI BC, then moved to Durban BC and I have now been at Stella Park for two years,” she said.
Bronwyn started playing for the province in 2006 and has represented SA as a Protea bowler since 2013, participating in the African States competition. She is presently in the top six squad for SA. She has played in the SA Masters for the past 11 years as one of the top 15 singles players in SA.
“This has been a great achievement for me to play so many years in a row, as you compete under very tough conditions,” she said.
Bronwyn took part in training camps every month in Edenvale building up to the selection for the Commonwealth Games in Australia. She said she attended a week-long training camp recently which she won, which placed her in the top six. “I’ve been playing good bowls and am hopeful I will make the team, but the other players have more experience abroad,” she said.
Wayne’s interest in bowls started as a young man,. He said his parents played bowls before he was born and he was raised in a bowls club.
“I always saw it as an old man’s sport, but I decided to give it a try and officially joined up at the age of 19. I started at Wentworth, then moved to Hillary BC, and have been playing at Stella Park since 2012,” he said.
Wayne played for the Port Natal U25s for three years, winning gold in 2004 and represented the Port Natal B Side in 2011. He then moved to the Port Natal A Side in 2012 after winning a gold at an inter-provincial event in Johannesburg, and still plays for this team.
“Representing SA for the first time in September was very exciting, especially winning so many golds at my debut. I wasn’t expecting to win everything as I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the competition. I also played against a guy from Namibia who could be regarded as a world champ, and I beat him!” he said.
Wayne won the SA national singles 2017 in July and as a result will be going to play in Australia in November. He will also take part in the SA Masters (singles), the most elite competition, in Johannesburg in February next year.
