BOWLING OVER THE COMPETITION

Four young bowlers are enjoying their final training preparations before heading to the prestigious Youth Triple Crown Tenpin Bowling Championships.  The team will have the honour of representing Northern Ireland at the championships in Dublin this week.

The bowlers who are aged 12 – 15 years started their sporting journey on the popular ‘Learn to Bowl’ programme at Dundonald International Ice Bowl. The six-week course was delivered by coaches from the Northern Ireland Tenpin Bowling Federation (NITBF) and helped young people discover a passion and skill for tenpin bowling.

Meeting the Northern Ireland team, Councillor Jonathan Craig, Chair of the Communities and Wellbeing Committee said, “Dundonald International Ice Bowl has a proud history of sporting success, so it is fantastic to support these young bowlers as they head off for their first competition.

Programmes like the Learn to Bowl sessions play an important role in nurturing home-grown talent. Many of these young people had only previously bowled with family and friends but thanks to the expert coaching from the NITBF they now have the skills and confidence to progress in the sport.

Sport plays such an important role bringing young people together to take part a positive activity which promotes teamwork and self-esteem. I would like to wish the team every success as they head off to the tournament today. Representing your country is a proud moment and I look forward to hearing about the experience on your return.”

NITBF President, Grant Dugan added, “We’re thrilled to be in a position to once again send a youth team to compete, after an absence of over 20 years. The Vitality Membership package has helped increase the interest and numbers in the sport especially amongst the youth members. This combined with our new development programme has seen these talented youth bowlers excel and we are excited to see the results they are capable of producing at this year’s Youth Triple Crown.

We wish them all the best for the tournament competing against other youth bowlers from England, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland this week.”