Bowls International — November 2017

38 BOWLS INTERNATIONAL November 2017 http://www.bowlsinternational.com

INSIGHT|By Ellen Falkner

FULLY

INCLUSIVE

Following on from my last article where I spoke about being a Commonwealth Games

Gold Coast Ambassador from my perspective, for this article, I contacted Paul Brown,

Commonwealth Games medallist, Disability Bowls England Chairman and fellow

Games Ambassador, to share his journey and gain insight into his experiences to date.

By Ellen Falkner

How did you feel when you were asked

to be an Ambassador?

I was incredibly surprised when I

received the email but was extremely

excited to be offered the position. I didn't

have to think twice before clicking yes

and send! It is a great honour to represent

bowls and specifically disability bowls

and I have loved getting involved,

meeting new people and attending all the

Below: Paul

after the 2014

Commonwealth

Games in

Glasgow

Bowls is...

events associated with the role and what

it brings.

What do you hope to achieve from it?

The main thing is to raise the profile

of bowls and from my perspective

disability bowls in particular. I really

hope that we can challenge perceptions

and break down barriers and highlight the

fantastic opportunities that there are for

disabled bowlers to play at the highest

level, representing their country in the

Commonwealth Games.

I also hope that the coverage disability

bowls receives will help to showcase and

get recognition for the high standard of

play, as well as pushing the inclusivity of

the sport as well.

What has been the greatest highlight of

the role so far?

I think the overall highlight is a very

general one- being included in a range of

events and being an equal and treated as

per the athletes from all the other sports,

walking alongside, shoulder to shoulder.

I have also had the privilege to go to

some wonderful places, and meet some

great people and a particularly special

moment for me which I will cherish was

holding the Queen's Baton.

What events have you attended so far?

The first event I attended was the AGM

where the Ambassador programme was

launched. This was a great event, where

we got to meet all the Ambassadors from

the other sports.

The next event that I was involved in

was the ‘One Year to Go to the Games’

day when I was on live radio at Radio

Bristol and then on Points West TV news.

We got some brilliant coverage for

the sport as they filmed me training and

then did a live interview where I actually

made the sofa in the TV studio!

I was also fortunate to attend the

Baton Launch at Buckingham Palace. It

was incredibly exciting to be at such a

significant event and witness the start of

the journey of the baton.

There were lots of people there and it

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