The National Blind Tenpin Bowling Association (NBTBA) – sponsored by The Primary Club – is now in its 10th year of running Tenpin Bowling Leagues specifically for visually impaired bowlers from all over the United Kingdom – but how do they organise fixtures for the teams?
The problems are immense – with over 200 members throughout the UK, organising matches presents its own problems with regular travelling for the teams being a non-starter. But the answer is simple.
The NTPBA issues a fixture list with each team being scheduled to play two games at its home centre every two weeks. They play the game and send their score to the MBTBA offices who match them with their scheduled opponents who have similarly played the same week at their home centre. The NBTBA compares the scores and declares the winner. Simple but highly effective.
The NBTBA run a Winter Trios league and a Summer Doubles league which culminate in end-of-league finals weekends. Throughout the season there is a lot of competition to see which 12 teams will make it to the finals, held in May and November, in Wigan, Lancashire.
Winners 2015 – The Dream Team from Bristol
At the last finals in May 2015, 12 teams travelled from Bristol, Cleethorpes, Sunderland, Southend, Airdrie, Glasgow, 2 teams from Skegness, 2 from Salisbury and 2 from Stockport. The teams play 6 games during the Saturday; in the evening, all teams attend a presentation dinner and this is where they find out who has won the trophies for 1st to 12th place. No one, apart from the scorers, knows up to this point.
Trophies are awarded from 12th place to 1st and a lot of fun is had when it gets down to the last 3 places and your team have not been called out yet. All our members look forward to the next league starting so that hopefully they will reach the finals again.
The 2015 Finals for the summer Doubles League will be held at the AMF Bowling Centre, Wallgate, Wigan on Saturday 17th October 2015 – all are welcome to come along and see high quality tenpin bowling
As Pauline Greenhalgh, a voluntary fundraiser with the NBTBA says:
“These final events cost a lot of money to stage and without the help we have had from the Primary Club we would not be able to continue making so many people’s lives both exciting and rewarding.
So on behalf of all our members and voluntary committee may I send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all the help the Primary Club have given to us over the years.”
For more information on the NBTBA, visit their website at www.nbtba.org.uk