Life’s a bowl … Ken Anderson from the Mulgrave Country Club lines up. Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Shaun Inguanzo
ALLAN Kerrison is a rolling inspiration. The avid lawn bowler, 65, lost his vision 10 years ago and admits he “hid in a corner” for the first few years.
But his passion for lawn bowls led him to discover the Victorian Blind Bowlers Association, an organisation established for legally blind people wishing to bowl.
“You have got to be legally blind, and there are three categories,” he said.
“There is total vision loss, classed as B1; and there is B2, which means you can see a little bit but not much; and then B3, which is legally blind but you can probably see a bit of the bowling green.”
Last Thursday the association held its Victorian championships at Noble Park Bowls Club with great success.
Mr Kerrison said blind bowlers required assistance from a trained “director” who would stand several metres out from the bowler on the angle they believe is the best to bowl.
Directors use a clock system to call their hour position in relation to the bowler, who then rolls the bowl in that direction, while determining how hard to roll it.
Mr Kerrison’s director is his wife, Shirley, who has helped him reach Victorian and Australian teams, and he has competed among the best blind bowlers in the world.
Mr Kerrison said the VBBA had 60 members and was growing.
To learn more about blind bowls, or to participate, contact Shirley Kerrison on 5995 1878.
