Lombardy East disabled lawn bowler shares her success
LOMBARDY EAST – The disabled have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations as anyone else.
Desiree Levin, a lawn bowler at the Lombardy East Bowling Club, is an internationally classified bowler with a disability.
Recently, as the only disabled player in the field, Levin clinched the Johannesburg Bowls Association (JBA) Senior Women’s Singles title. Although she has skippered her able-bodied team in other JBA competitions to victory, she said this singles win was a first for her.
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She said her disability enhances her strength of character, and she attributes her latest victory to her nomination as the only female on the ‘short list’ of potential players to be considered for selection for the current Commonwealth Games in Australia. Although not selected, the lawn bowler said her practice routines during the selection process have tightened up her game and improved her concentration.
“Lawn bowls can be played by anyone, able-bodied or disabled, from age eight to over 80 years old,” said Levin.
“It is thus termed 1Sport4Life. Bowls can be enjoyably played socially, competitively or as a means of corporate team building or fundraising.”
She added that recently, over R1 million was raised for Cansa and other institutions during the Accumulo Bowls Festival.
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Levin grew up watching her parents play bowls but said, in those days, it was not considered a sport for the very young. She said bowls was considered to be a highly disciplined sport inculcating respect, honour and dignity, requirements that were not suitable for children.
“Today the sport has been reformed to a large extent, and the value of its development for youngsters cannot be underestimated. Bowls hones in on skill, discipline, concentration, consistency, focus and tactical development, and it is a sport that caters to a wide variety of individuals,” she said.
Youngsters of all races, colours and creeds are encouraged to play the sport, and Levin said they will be staging youth nationals in Bloemfontein. About 450 players have entered and, according to her, more than 40 per cent of the field are players of colour – this is a transformation of note, she added.
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Lawn bowls is one of the few sports where able-bodied and the disabled can compete together on equal footing by virtue of the nature of the sport.
“Disability should not be viewed as a stigma and disabled people are first and foremost, people. We own our disability… it does not own or engulf us. We have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations as anyone else and, for many of us, it can be overcome as a state of mind,” she said.
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