The Sunday Mail
THEY are all draped up in white as they gather at Alexander Sports Club in Harare.
The group heads into the clubhouse, pull out their equipment and set it up, each member with their own colourful set of “bowls.”
A few things make the scene absorbing. The first being that the group is almost entirely made up of the elderly.
Another is that the group is predominately white, with one or two black guys sticking out.
“Don’t let the numbers fool you, lawn bowling is bigger than the numbers suggest,” said Malcolm Evans, who surveys the scene from a distance.
Evans has been the president of the Zimbabwe Bowls Association for almost a decade now and is on a mission to breathe life back into the sport.
“There was a time when we had over 5000 members and about 28 clubs in Harare alone. Sadly that number has dwindled to about 500 members, a combination of the sad state of our economy and the stigma that this is a sport specifically for the minority (white people).
“That is all rubbish though as more and more of the younger generations are starting to come up and we have tried to spread the sport into schools and the high density areas,” he added.
Zimbabwe has a rich history in the sport and is currently ranked second on the continent and ninth in the world.
The Commonwealth Games were the sport’s biggest hunting ground, producing gold medallists in 1982 and 1998 games. Since then, the country has been resigned to African States competitions held every two years and a couple of friendlies with South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana.
But the World Bowls Championships, scheduled to be held in Australia in December, are coming up and Zimbabwe is ready to make a mark.
Representing the nation at that competition will be 20-year-old Aaron Chilundo, one of the beneficiaries of the sports’ developmental drive.
The Prince Edward High School old boy is the reigning national champion and is excited about it all.
“This is the holy grail of lawn bowling, with over 100 of the best singles players in the world expected to converge,” said Chilundo.
“My ultimate goal is to be world champ one day, and this competition will give me a chance to compare myself with some of the best, in particular world champion Aaron Tey.
“Resources permitting, I want to give it my all and hoist my country’s flag up high.”
