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"BOWLS MADE ME FEEL ACCEPTED,", SAYS KATIE KING |
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Katie King threw everything into bowls after her best friend Henry
died in March last year. "Since losing Henry in March 2023, my bowls career/path has just taken off, I didn't miss a women's or mixed match during the outdoor summer season, I was put forward for the Amy Rose by Bob Munday, the coach at Aylesbury Town, which was a fab opportunity and then I got asked to play for the DBE by Judy Plater. "Bowls means the absolute world to me, it is my life, since being in a state of grieving I have never needed bowls more than I do today, it has given me a purpose and a reason to get out of bed in the mornings, it's completely saved my life I wouldn't still be here without it."  Katie started bowling in 2019. "My friends Chris and Mandy, who are also disabled, invited me along to Foxhill IBC Aylesbury to watch them bowl one October afternoon," she recalled, "I just watched the first week then got the opportunity to have a go myself, with the coach's help. "If I'm really honest my concerns initially were that bowlers were all a bit clicky, and I didn't think I would be very welcomed especially as a new young disabled bowler, but going along with Henry definitely helped. It was Henry who encouraged me to bowl outdoors in 2021 and I took to it like a duck to water. I found the atmosphere at Aylesbury Town club to be very friendly. "My best experience by far was when I was invited to Waddesdon to play in the county women's fours outdoors - for me it was a moment of feeling really accepted, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I had finally arrived home." At first Katie was reluctant to join DBE, but since making the decision, hasn't looked back. "At first, I didn't want to get involved as I'd worked really hard on my game to get me to a mainstream standard and I thought joining DBE would be a step back in my progress. The word disability was also putting me off, but again, I thought it was a really good opportunity to get back out there. Now I see the organisation as like a family." Katie plays up to five times a week, juggling games with her other hobbies; Zumba, aqua, volunteering at her local church and hosting a local hospital radio show. She said: "I would like continuity and more of the same to happen in the next few years, I am not the best when it comes to change, I LOVE my routine; I have really enjoyed the last year in particular and I don't really want anything to change. "I am so proud to be part of the bowls world, the passion I have for it has not faded, it's just grown. Mainstream sport for the disabled is so important, bowls is the only real thing that makes me equal to everyone else." Sian Honnor. We'd love to know what bowls means to you, get in touch at info@eiba.co.uk Previous Article - Interview with Dom McVittie |
March 2024
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