MARGARET Rosewall is on her way to represent Australia in the World Bowls Championship for the vision impaired in 2023.<\/p>\n
Recognised as a Bendigo Sports Star award winner for June, Rosewall said being up for the award came as a total shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just an outstanding thing, I never expected it, it\u2019s a total surprise,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know I was in the running for it, it\u2019s just come out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosewall recently competed in the Australian Blind Bowls national championships in New South Wales, pairing with Max Glasse from Port Macquarie, and with the help of her husband and bowls director Brian and guide dog Letty, won gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a new introductory thing this year, you\u2019re paired up with a person from another state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t know who you got. Max Glass and I, we just shone, we really did, and it was a lot of fun. We never thought we\u2019d be gold medallists, but we did, we gave them a hard time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went up, as usual you just go up, you expect nothing, if you get something it\u2019s a bonus,\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosewall started bowling 15 years ago, however a stroke six years ago resulted in her losing her vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a right-handed bowler and I had to change to be a left-handed bowler so the whole thing became a big challenge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mr Rosewell said the pair have figured out a system that works for them, and they are determined to put in the work to compete at the highest level.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because you\u2019ve got a vision problem or something like that, you can still compete against vision bowlers, and you can compete very well, but you\u2019ve got to be willing to put the work in and practice and continue at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might get knocked down a few times, but you\u2019ve got to learn to get up and have another go. Eventually you\u2019re going to stay on your feet more often than you get knocked down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair have been invited to try out for the Australian team to compete in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MARGARET Rosewall is on her way to represent Australia in the World Bowls Championship for the vision impaired in 2023. Recognised as a Bendigo Sports Star award winner for June, Rosewall said being up for the award came as a total shock. \u201cIt\u2019s just an outstanding thing, I never expected it, it\u2019s a total surprise,\u201d […]<\/p>\n