Disabled bowlers have green fees covered by Sure

Green fees for a year have been paid by the Sure Community Foundation to allow 20 bowlers with learning disabilities to continue playing.

The Special Olympics Bowls Club was formed over 14 years ago by the Guernsey Indoor Bowling Association with a view to preparing a team to enter the National Special Olympics Summer Games held in Cardiff in August 2001.

The club has continued to grow ever since with the players training every Saturday and competing in two further National Games, and also playing in one of the evening fours leagues run by the Guernsey Indoor Bowling Association and the association’s Easter pairs festival. Some members also take part independently in the Monday evening umbrella league and have also entered other competitions joining up with other association members.

"For various reasons, many of the players and their families have limited resources and so their green fees over the years have been kindly sponsored by other members. Many of those members are pensioners and so we needed to find the funds from elsewhere so the players could continue training and taking part in the league," said secretary and director of Guernsey Indoor Bowling Association Alison Merrien.

"We applied to the Sure Community Foundation for assistance and they very generously agreed to cover the green fees for a whole year which is just fantastic. The players benefit significantly as it allows them to socialise, commit to training, experience competition and gives families the chance to have a break or to come along and enjoy the time outside of their usual routine."

Jan Collins from the Sure Community Foundation said the application from the Guernsey Indoor Bowling Association was unanimously approved.

"There are clearly benefits to these players from being able to continue training and competing and it obviously makes a real difference to their lives. Making a difference is the ethos of the Sure Community Foundation and we know our support will be greatly appreciated by the players and their families and we wish them well with their training."

Charities or organisations can email communityfoundation@sure.com to apply for support.