British Blind Sport ten-pin bowling: High rise

Brian Gowler came seventh in the British Blind Sport ten-pin bowling pairs finals on Saturday, despite taking up the sport less than a year ago. Brian, 53, from Littleport, who is classified as partially sighted, is no newcomer to sport. He was a member

Brian Gowler came seventh in the British Blind Sport ten-pin bowling pairs finals on Saturday, despite taking up the sport less than a year ago.

Brian, 53, from Littleport, who is classified as partially sighted, is no newcomer to sport. He was a member of the England squad that won a bronze medal in the 1993 World Blind (lawn green) Bowls Championships in Canada and regularly plays at the City of Ely Bowls Club. However, Brian explained that this was of no help to him when taking up ten-pin.

He said: "You have to approach it in a totally different way so, it was all completely new to me"

Cathy Percival, from Cambridge, was his partner in the finals and she is almost totally blind. Bowlers are guided by a helper and the gutters are on either side of the alley to prevent the ball running off.

Always ready for another challenge, Brian has also tried archery, which he plans to do during the summer.

Brian and Cathy represented Camsight, a local charity that assists the visually impaired.

Photo: supplied