Disability Bowlers Gear Up for Commonwealth Games
In the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games in April 2018 on the Gold Coast Bowls Australia is looking to identify, prepare, manage, select and coach Bowlers with a Disability to compete in the non-gender specific triples competition.
Potential candidates have been identified and asked to indicate an Expression of Interest to be considered as part of a training squad for a selection camp in October. Bowls WA is more than pleased to announce that Eddie Gollan has been asked to throw his hat in the ring for consideration!
Eddie only recently relocated from NSW to WA and is yet to play a Pennant Season at his chosen venue the Kardinya Bowling Club – a club that is becoming the hub for physical disability bowling in WA. Playing in NSW at Raymond Terrace Bowling Club up until their last season Eddie has not only achieved many State and Pennant Grade, main and disability stream, wins he has also successfully represented Disability Bowls on a national level competing in the Multi-Disability Championships for many years most recently resulting in a 2014 1st place in Open Triples and 3rd in in the B7/8 pairs at Fitzroy in Melbourne, followed up with 3rd place in the B7/8 Singles in 2015 at Musgrave on the Gold Coast.
2016 was a year of transition for Eddie, with a coast-to-coast move from NSW to WA; he immediately entered the WA State Multi-Disability Championships hosted in April at Kardinya and earning Gold in Pairs, alongside Joe Davey from Fremantle, and Silver in the Singles Category. Barely a month after the state championships Eddie and the rest of the WA Disability Bowls Team played in the 2016 National Multi-Bowl Championships at Clearview SA and Eddie achieved Gold in the Open Men’s Pairs, alongside Steve Murray from Scarborough, and Silver in the B5/6 Men’s Singles.
Previously classified a B7 disability bowler as he started his playing career in 2001 bowling from a wheelchair, Eddie was re-classified at the 2015 National Championships as a B6 disability bowler due to being a thru-knee amputee bowling upright with the aid of a prosthetic leg. Eddie is thrilled to be offered the opportunity to potentially represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games and can’t imagine anything more thrilling than wearing the Green and Gold on home turf … first things first – being selected as part of the squad to attend the October selection camp – more updates to come!
