Grant Aided by Ipswich Borough Council

Registered Charity Number 299459

Ipswich Sports Club for the Disabled

		- Carpet Bowls is 1 of the 2 main sporting activities that our members have access to at Northgate Sports Centre. - It is played in the practise hall and the main rules for carpet bowls are adhered to, with a small number of alterations to make it playable in a wheel chair.

 This is an article written by one of our clubs members about our Club.

 Our club, the "Ipswich Sports Club for the Disabled", has been going for over twenty years. The aim of the club is to provide social, recreational and sports activities for physically disabled persons as a means of enjoyment. The bowls section of the club meet  on a Tuesday evening at Northgate Sports Centre. Geoff Hoy is in charge of the bowls along with other helpers.

 The first night I joined the club I thought how friendly everyone was and how much they were enjoying themselves. I had often watched my husband Terry play outdoor bowls and was looking forward to participating in a similar game indoors. My hopes seemed to be dashed right from the start when I saw members bowling from the side of their wheel chairs or from a standing position. I could do neither.

 Then I espied what looked like a piece of guttering off the side of a house. The member was rolling a bowl down this chute, it was by passing a piece of wood in the centre of the course and it was landing the other end of the mat in a very good scoring position. Geoff told me this was what I could use. It looked quite easy and I tried it. The bowl went everywhere except where I wanted it to go. By the time the end of the evening came everyone was laughing with me at my antics, but they had also encouraged me to carry on. I had thoroughly enjoyed myself.

 We have a proper game of bowls and play by bowls rules (minus one). We find we have to bowl our two bowls one after the other instead of alternatively because the member and the helper found it tiring keep changing over. At the end of our game the majority of us meet at the "Finishing Line" our equivalent to Golf's 19th hole. There we have a drink and a social chat.

 Each person wishing to join the club have three Tuesday evenings free to ensure it is what they want. Come and join us I am sure you will enjoy it too! 

Barbara Titchner

(Club Member)