Day 1 of Competition

After an early breakfast we boarded the bus at 7:45 am. The men 's team were playing the Republic of Ireland and the ladies had a bye. Games started at 9am. It was a bank holiday in Belfast so the trip took around 20 minutes to get to the leafy suburb of Belmont.

Brian Lockyer was the singles player and he won his game 21-4 .
Brian originates from Walcha ( Northern NSW)
and uses Dreamline bowls. He is defending his International Champion in singles which he won in Perth 2011

Our pairs team comprised of Harry Hughes lead and Ken Read Skip

Harry Hughes and Ken Read are the pairs players/ They won 37-8
Harry uses the Taylor Vector Vs and Ken is using Henselite Fusion.
Harry plays for Nollamara Club in Perth and it is his first International competition.
Ken plays for Helensvale Club on the Gold Coast and it is his first International competition

Our Triples Team is Brian Lockyer lead, Michael Barca 3rd and Barry Lynne Skip.
They won 20-16.
Michael plays for Bundoora RSL in Melbourne and it is his 2nd International championships. He is using the Aero Groove s bowl.
Barry plays for Mareeba in Qld and it is his 4th International Competition and he is the official flag bearer. He is using the Drakes Pride Excel.
This team is here to defend its International Championship in the Triples which they won in Perth 2011

Our Fours Team is  Harry Hughes Lead, Ken Read 2nd Michael Barca 3rd and Barry Lynne skip.
They drew 12-12
This team with its 2 new members of Harry and Ken are the defending champions which Barry and Michael were a part of in Perth 2011.

The single and pairs results were a one way affair however the triples and fours were hard fought out games.
Having to play through rain for a period and some unlucky situations had the team dig deep to get the this result,
Day 1 tally equals 3 wins and 1 draw,
The team is hopeful for tomorrow but not overconfident as the greens are still quite foreign in weight and grass.
Tomorrow both the ladies and the Men's team meet the powerhouse England side.

Go Aussie.

Ceremony Day

Today started early with all team members to be on the bus by 8:15am. That meant it was standing room only in the restaurant for breakfast, but we all managed to have another very nice breakfast.
The opening ceremony started at 10am and was finished by about 11:30. Lunch was served at 12 and official practice started at 1pm.
Tomorrow will worse as all players have to be ready by 7:45am. Breakfast will be interesting.
Everyone is getting excited about the competition. The ladies however have a bye to tomorrow while the men take on Ireland.
Below are photos of the opening ceremony.
Hope you are enjoying the reports

First glimpse of the Belmont Bowling green

Everyone met for breakfast and then boarded the players only boarded a bus bound for Belmont Bowling Club.
The green speed was around the 8-9 seconds and so it took quite a while to adjust to it.
Players have either brought their own bowls or have been supported by bowling companies Taylor, Drakes Pride and Aerobowls.
Practise lasted for around 2 hours with the ladies on one green and the men on the other.
Tomorrow we will have the opening ceremony and then practise for 2 hours.

Arriving in Belfast

Well the team has arrived in Belfast after a very long 31 hours of travelling.
Members flew from Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth  and all met in Dubai, then flew together onto Dublin. When we arrived in Dublin there was a coach to transport us to Belfast( 2 hours).

On arrival at the Hilton Belfast it was great to see familiar faces from the from 2011 International Deaf Championships. Also we were all very grateful for the warm welcome from volunteers and Northern Ireland players.

After check in and a much need shower we all met up for a lovely dinner and then a quick meeting for all the players and supports. Great job by the organizing committee  as everything went smoothly.
 The staff at the Hilton are also very helpful.
Saturday morning will be our first practise.
Then the afternoon will see some meetings for some while others head off to explore Belfast.
So far,  there has been light showers and hopefully fine weather will prevail. The temperature is around 18 but it seems a lot warmer than that. The Australian Cricket team booked out of the hotel on the day we arrived. They won so hopefully it is an omen.

Go Aussie.

On 27th August  the Australian Deaf Lawn Bowls Team travels to Belfast for the 7th International Deaf Bowls Championships. Players and supporters are leaving on Emirates flights from Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth and meeting in Dubai.
We will then travel together to Dublin. Once in Dublin we will board our bus which will take us to the Hilton Hotel in Belfast. We should be arriving around 12pm on Friday 28th August.
Please follow us throughout the competition as this blog will have daily updates of results, photos and comments.
We hope you enjoy the experience as much as we will.