Sport opens doors in Ballina

BLIND and low vision athletes were given the chance to try a range of sports in Ballina as the Northern NSW branch of the Lord’s Taverners hosted its first local come-and-try day.

The initiative was held at Cherry Street Sports Club after previous events in Lismore.

Branch president Bruce Ward said the idea grew from a lack of opportunities for blind cricketers in the region.

“We support the national inclusion championships in cricke Lord’s Taverners hosts inclusive sport days in Ballina, offering blind and low vision athletes a chance to play cricket, tennis, and more.t, including blind, deaf and intellectually disabled cricket, but there’s no real opportunity for blind cricketers in the Northern Rivers,” he said.

“We thought we’d see if there was much interest locally. At the moment there’s still not an opportunity to run blind cricket on a competitive basis here, but this is about allowing people with a disability to have a go and try the sport.”

Participants were introduced to cricket, tennis, lawn bowls, frisbee and soccer, with numbers kept small to allow one-on-one coaching.

Ward said the event attracted participants aged between 10 and 40.

People are offered a range of activities with support from the local branch.

“It’s a mixture of kids and adults, which is fantastic,” he said.

“While someone’s doing cricket, someone else is doing lawn bowls, and they all get individual attention.”

The Lord’s Taverners was established as a cricket-focused charity, with the Northern NSW branch started by Stan and June Gilchrist in 2010.

The branch now supports disadvantaged and disabled people through sport and education.

“The whole philosophy is about trying to improve the quality of life for people who are disadvantaged or disabled,” Ward said.

“Sport improves people’s quality of life, but education transforms it. You can’t take someone out of social or economic disadvantage without education, June was big on that.”

Ward said the branch also funds tertiary support.

“University scholarships cost us about $20,000 each, but our TAFE support is incredible value – it’s usually between $1000 and $1500 to get a young person through a course. That’s the best money we spend.”