Miss-Delectable
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New Zealand Deaf Games selection for bowls pair - Central North Island news on Stuff.co.nz
Silver medals won in Auckland recently have qualified two Rotorua bowlers for the Australian Deaf Games to be played on the Gold Coast in January.
Four straight wins in the triples helped Patricia Hanson, Brent Austin and their Palmerston North team mate Barbara Hazelwood ensure a silver medal for their Central A combination at the New Zealand Deaf Games played in Auckland.
The two friends are both members of the Rotorua Bowling Club and between them have won an array of titles at the Government Gardens since joining eight years ago.
Neither player believes their disability is a handicap in a sport where sight and read of the green is critical.
"In a way I think we are at an advantage," Austin says. "There are fewer distractions for us and our other senses work better like a feel for the wind."
Neither player is a stranger to international competition. Austin recently returned from the 5th International Deaf Bowls Championships in Wales and was a gold medal winner in the triples at the Australian Deaf Games in 1993.
Hanson has never competed outside New Zealand but took part in the World Deaf Games hosted by Christchurch four years ago.
She was introduced to bowls in Wanganui and says she is "very passionate" about the game. "When I lost my husband I decided that I needed to take up something and I'm mad about bowls now."
Austin works for eight months a year at a freezing works in the Hawkes Bay but doesn't allow himself to get out of touch during the bowls season.
"If there is a championship event on I'll come back for the weekend," he says.
Hanson, a volunteer for the Rotorua branch of the Deaf Association, has won club titles across singles, pairs, triples and fours while Austin's successes include two handicap singles wins.
Silver medals won in Auckland recently have qualified two Rotorua bowlers for the Australian Deaf Games to be played on the Gold Coast in January.
Four straight wins in the triples helped Patricia Hanson, Brent Austin and their Palmerston North team mate Barbara Hazelwood ensure a silver medal for their Central A combination at the New Zealand Deaf Games played in Auckland.
The two friends are both members of the Rotorua Bowling Club and between them have won an array of titles at the Government Gardens since joining eight years ago.
Neither player believes their disability is a handicap in a sport where sight and read of the green is critical.
"In a way I think we are at an advantage," Austin says. "There are fewer distractions for us and our other senses work better like a feel for the wind."
Neither player is a stranger to international competition. Austin recently returned from the 5th International Deaf Bowls Championships in Wales and was a gold medal winner in the triples at the Australian Deaf Games in 1993.
Hanson has never competed outside New Zealand but took part in the World Deaf Games hosted by Christchurch four years ago.
She was introduced to bowls in Wanganui and says she is "very passionate" about the game. "When I lost my husband I decided that I needed to take up something and I'm mad about bowls now."
Austin works for eight months a year at a freezing works in the Hawkes Bay but doesn't allow himself to get out of touch during the bowls season.
"If there is a championship event on I'll come back for the weekend," he says.
Hanson, a volunteer for the Rotorua branch of the Deaf Association, has won club titles across singles, pairs, triples and fours while Austin's successes include two handicap singles wins.