An award-winning ten-pin bowling team is helping to “stop isolation” for people who are blind and partially sighted, according to BBC Online.
The Swindon Bats compete in the British Blind Sport UK league, and in September won a BBC Make a Difference Award to recognise “an individual or group of people who create real change by breaking down barriers and bringing together people from different walks of life for a common cause”.
Participants in the team told the BBC how the group had helped them deal with their sight loss.
Becky Harrison said: “It can be really scary and quite frightening when you do lose your sight.”
She added: “The group is also a really good chance to get together and have a bit of a giggle. It stops that isolation that sight loss can bring and makes sure that people feel connected and make sure that nobody’s left us alone on that journey.”
Sue Mead, a Swindon Bats member for 16 years, said winning the award was “amazing, it was fantastic”.
She added: “We were so lucky because we were picked out of so many people. It was just a real recognition for all the work that a lot of people have done as part of the Bats.”
The BBC reported that the club has been running for 17 years, with members playing in teams which each have a ‘spotter’ with full vision who calls out which pins have fallen. The pins are numbered and players memorise where they are.
Another member said the gatherings also create an opportunity for players’ guide dogs to socialise.
Sue added that the award was “a really nice way” to thank everyone involved in the club. She said: “We’re all volunteers and we take our own time to do it. It meant so much for us to get that recognition.”
