TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Community resident, Jenny Skinner only took lawn bowls up in her retirement four years ago and she already has a number of national and international medals to her name.
An outstanding achievement made even more so as Miss Skinner is visually impaired.
Most weeks you will find her playing bowls at either Geebung Bowls Club with the Queensland Blind Bowlers Association or the Aspley Memorial Bowls Club on Brisbane’s northside where she plays against sighted people.
Miss Skinner says she likes the social side of lawn bowls, as well as getting out in the fresh air and sunshine.
“It is also good to learn something new in retirement and I like being part of a team.”
Miss Skinner has been visually impaired her whole life but says it hasn’t held her back when it comes to playing sport.
“With a disability it’s important to choose a sport that suits you, so you can play to the best of your ability. Bowls is that sport for me.”
Bowls is well suited for the blind as the rules of the game are the same for sighted and the visually impaired. Blind bowlers have their own ‘director’ who assists them with delivery and orientation and provides them with constant information on the position of all the bowls.
Ever so modest, Miss Skinner has won a number of medals in competitions including Gold and Silver medals for Queensland in the Australian Blind Bowls National Championships and a bronze medal in the mixed pairs at the World Bowls in 2017 competing in the B1 Total Blind Category.
Living a very independent life at TriCare Compton Gardens, Miss Skinner feels very much part of the community.
“I had mobility training to learn how to get around the Village when I first moved in and I live in a very social lane where everyone looks out for each other.”
“With a number of other visually impaired residents, TriCare is very supportive of our lives here and it is a very pleasant place to live,” said Miss Skinner.
