R’fontein hosts world-class bowls tourney
The Randfontein Bowling Club hosted the 2016 Gauteng Bowls Open.
While bowls is thought to be an elderly sport it has proven the contrary similarly it has proven it does not treat disabled players differently.
The Randfontein Bowling Club which falls under the Sables Bowling Organisation hosted the 2016 Gauteng Bowls Open and able and disabled bodies alike took to the club’s rinks. In most cases disabled players do not play separately, they play with able bodied players.
Bowls may not get as much exposure as rugby or cricket but South Africa is ranked as one of the top bowls nations in the world and the standard of bowling at the open was world-class.
The open started on Saturday, 2 July and ended on 10 July. The club hosted male singles who played first to 21. Singles are considered to be the most competitive version of the game and also the most exciting to watch.
Weather conditions on the first day of the tournament were challenging for players with more wind on the rink than usual. The chill of the morning made it difficult for players to get a grip on their bowls which meant a few bowls strayed off from one lane to another.
For Donny Piketh, former national bowls player weather conditions seemed not to be much of a pain as his every shot looked comfortable.
Donny is originally from Randfontein. He his forefathers played at the Randfontein Bowling Club. The family’s name appears all over the club’s honour board. On the board, Donny is a four-time bowls champion.
Unfortunately Donny has since moved clubs and towns and now plays for Belgravia Bowling Club in Germiston. Previously he used to represent the town against players from Germiston and now he ironically is the other player.
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