Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is delighted to return to the Dundee International Sports Centre (DISC) for the second successive year.  The Carpet Bowls Championships of 2009 were an outstanding success but numbers were lower than usual because of inclement weather on the day.  The venue, organisation and local support provided in 2009 was of the highest order and SDS decided to make a return visit in the hope of offering a larger number of players the opportunity of competing in this excellent national facility.  Numbers are up but only slightly.

The National Carpet Bowls Championships were launched in 1981 at the Lochgelly Centre in Fife as part of the Council’s contribution to the International Year of Disabled People.  The 2010 event will be the 30th time that SDS has hosted the National Carpet Bowls Championships in venues throughout the country.  This is one event on the national calendar that constantly moves around our local areas and the local Branch is fully involved in the planning and preparation.  Dundee Disability Sport has taken the lead this year and the eight visiting Branches of SDS are indebted to branch personnel for their support.  SDS also acknowledges the continued support of Glasgow City Council with the provision of bowling mats. 

Carpet bowls is seen in many of our local areas as an introduction to lawn and indoor bowls.  The game requires a considerable amount of precision and patience and no shortage of tactical awareness.  Many of Scotland’s leading bowlers enjoy playing carpet bowls and some of the most successful play carpet bowls all year round.  Large numbers of SDS members play the game but it is the more complex sports of lawn bowls and indoor bowls that offer the pathway to international sport.  In the summer of this year SDS will send a team to take on England and Wales in Nottingham and the IBD World Championships are scheduled for South Africa in May 2011.  In 2014 of course we have the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and who can forget the magnificent gold medal performance of the late David Heddle, John Robertson and Ivan Prior at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.  The international bowls opportunities now available to performance bowlers from Scotland have never been better and the squad system introduced prior to the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur have insured that Scotland always fields top quality performers.

In the summer of 2009 Scotland was well represented at the Special Olympics Games in Leicester.  When the results were analysed there were many Scottish bowlers featuring in the top finishing positions across the classes.  Scotland has a strong tradition in bowls for players with a learning disability and Disability Sport Fife has decided to introduce a new event to the national calendar in June of this year.  The 1st Inter Area Bowls Test Match for players with a learning disability will be held at the Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy on Wednesday 30 June and invitations have been extended to Lothian and Highland to take part and they have accepted.  One other Scottish area has been invited and their response is awaited.  The event is part of the Celebrating Fife 2010 programme and is supported by Fife Council. It is hoped that this event will become a regular feature of the national calendar of events.

In July 2009 the 3rd Bowls Test Match between Scotland and England was held in Kirkcaldy.  We were delighted when Scotland won the match convincingly and now lead the series by 2 to 1.  It was evident during the two days of competition that Scotland’s physically disabled and visually impaired bowlers have never been stronger.  The 12 bowlers who represented Scotland will form the basis of the national squad going forward.  It is however hoped that the 2009 carpet bowls championships in Dundee will identify bowlers of the future who one day will move from the short carpet to the longer carpet and maybe thereafter gain selection for Scotland.

Thank you Dundee Disability Sport for your involvement in another national carpet bowls championships and thank you Glasgow City Council for the provision of equipment for yet another year.  We wish as always that our players play to the best of their ability and that the most deserving players reach the finals.  SDS is also indebted to the many volunteer markers who give up their day to officiate at the event.  The bowling community in Scotland is hugely supportive of disabled bowlers and this year’s championships are no exception.