Rookie Rollers continues to have positive impact on community
Bowls continues to prove its versatility and diversity in being an accessible sport to people of abilities, with a recent school holiday program another great example.
Two of Sydney’s most historic clubs hosted Rookie Roller holiday programs in January, with a total of 95 children between the ages of 6 and 16 using Rookie Roller kits, barefoot bowls and the amazing All Abilities kits.
Dooleys Regents Park was first with a big group of young bowlers.
Regional Bowls Manager Ben Krikstolaitis set up five different fun activities, with the young bowlers first learning a key skill of the sport – control.
Bowls continued to prove its valuable family connection too, with a young set of twins taking to the game.
Their mother discussed prior to the start of the games about her children, one of whom had acquired a brain injury a couple of years earlier. She was mobile but dependent on a walker.
“The look on the twin’s faces when they discovered that they could both play the same sport with each other was priceless,” Ben said,
“It’s something I’ll never forget. She made good use of the ramp, was able to play with the other kids at the same level as them and had an absolute blast.”
The All-Abilities kit has been designed specifically for this scenario and it did the job spectacularly. Alongside the recent Accessibility Champion Course that was undertaken by all of the RBMs, Ben was able to manage the activities so that the young lady could play at the same level with the other children.
The next day Ben headed to South Coogee starting the day with a session for the younger kids with a group of 47.
There was then a session of teenagers who started with the Rookie Roller kits but ended up playing a short competition with the heavier barefoot bowls kits.
These sessions proved the effectiveness of the basic Rookie Rollers kits and their ability to be used in conjunction with the All-Abilities kits. If there was any need to prove the ability for bowls to be inclusive for every single person then Ben’s days at those to clubs laid any questions to rest.
