Blind bowlers raise awareness for disability
On November 13, the Visually Impaired Bowlers of Ekurhuleni (VIBE) held a disability awareness event at the Atlas Bowling Club, their home ground.
November is Disability Awareness Month, which is celebrated globally.
The international theme proclaimed by the United Nations for this year is, “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.”
On November 13, the Visually Impaired Bowlers of Ekurhuleni (VIBE) held a disability awareness event at the Atlas Bowling Club, their home ground.
The reason the event was held in the evening was to show bowlers who are not blind or partially blind how difficult it is to play when you can’t see.
The format was two bowl trips with two games of eight ends, and participants from 30 years old to 88, including non-bowlers, visually impaired bowlers, disabled bowlers, district bowlers and normal sighted bowlers took part.
Read: Raising a child with a learning disability
Beppie Summersgill, a blind bowler, explained that bowling is a sport for all. The evening started off with demonstrations by a B7 physically disabled bowler Jarid James and B3 visually impaired May Homer with her director, Paul Homer, and B1 blind Beppie Summersgill with her director, Cedric Summersgill.
“Owen James who is on the Bowls South Africa Disability Standing committee explained how the different categories of disability adapt and are able to play bowls,” she added.
Thereafter, the games began. “Exactly what we were hoping for occurred – the awareness for loss of sight.
“We heard comments like ‘I can’t see the jack; my judgment of distance has gone; my bowl is disappearing; I don’t know how the visually impaired do this’.
“There were also macular degeneration and retina pigmentosa simulation glasses available for bowlers to try,” she explained.
Summersgill felt proud of what they had accomplished at the event. “I feel that the goal of Bowls for the Disabled awareness was achieved.
“We would like to thank our sponsors for the food: Falls SPAR, Rebel Fruit and Veg and Westpack,” she concluded.
For more information, contact Summersgill on 011 425 6576 or email beppiesummersgill@gmail.com
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