Writteny by Kelley Tantau for Waikato Times
Sue Curran believes a blind person can do anything a sighted person can do. Including lawn bowls.
But not only can they play, they can excel.
Curran, a Hamilton blind bowler, was part of the team representing New Zealand at the World Championships.
She and her bowls partner David Stallard brought home a silver medal in their division.
Curran also finished fourth in the singles, after starting strong but accepting defeat from Hong Kong.
But representing New Zealand on an international stage doesn’t happen over night.
Curran said an many hours go into training and preparing for the sport.
“You’ve got to put a lot of practise in. Games can be up to three hours long.”
Curran decided to give bowling a go at the end of 2011 after participating in indoor bowls for many years.
She has been a Blind Jack since 2013 and competed at 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she set the mark as New Zealand’s oldest Commonwealth Games competitor at age 67.
The World Championships in March were Curran’s second and she admits the team is “quite competitive”.
In 2013, the Blind Jacks brought home four medals.
“We hold our own quite well,” she said.
Curran and Stallard are in the B3 partially sighted division.
Curran said she has a retina dysfunction, which has been ongoing for about 30 years.
She said bowls was a good sport for both sighted and blind people.
The proof is in the pudding with Blind Jack player David Monk, who is in the “totally blind” B1 category.
He returned home to Tauranga with a silver medal in the men’s singles.
“We’ve been told there’s no way a blind person can play bowls,” Curran said.
“It’s proving that you can do anything a sighted person can do.”
Medals are encased in frames and hung on the walls inside Curran’s home.
She’ll find a spot for her new silver, but now she has her eye on a gold.
Curran and Stallard have been selected as part of the NZ Black Jacks squad to compete in a Trans-Tasman clash at the end of the month.
Held across the ditch in Gold Coast, Curran said the Kiwi-Aussie rivalry is still alive and well.
