Russell bowls into GB tenpin squad

From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:25:07 -0400

Swindon Advertiser, Wiltshire (UK)
Thursday, October 25, 2007

By Ben Perrin

A PARTIALLY-sighted Swindon man has been chosen for the Great Britain tenpin
bowling team.

Russell Riggs, from Haydon Wick, will compete for his country in the visual
impairment world championships next month.

The 46-year-old has suffered from retinitis pigmentosa all his life. It has got
progressively worst and he was officially registered blind in 1993.

He only took up tenpin bowling two years ago with the Swindon Bats, it stands
for Blind As Bats, so his selection is a fine achievement.

"I was quite amazed to get the call," he said.

"The Bats took part in the national finals in March this year in Sheffield,
where one team of ours finished third and another 11th, so we did quite well.

"From that the British Blind Association would have seen everyone's averages
and I was one of the lucky ones to get the chance in the team."

He and seven others will be competing against 12 other teams, including the US,
Japan and Australia.

Russell, who has two daughters, Georgina, 15, and Brittany, 13, will be jetting
off to Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.

The competition, which will be held between November 2 and November 11, will
involve a mixture of round-robin games, including single, double, treble and
foursome matches.

Visually-impaired players are told which pins are left after they have
delivered their first ball.

"The games are set up in different formats so there are a lot of chances to win
something," he said. "I'm really excited - it is an opportunity of a lifetime,
but I couldn't have done it without the help and support of the Bats.

"There is a great atmosphere in the club and always lots of banter."

Russell had to raise £2,000 in sponsorship to cover costs of his trip.

He has special thanks for the Wiltshire Blind Association, the White Hart pub,
in Stratton, and the Fox and Hounds, in Haydon Wick, for their support.

Swindon Bats chairman Derek Smith said: "It's tremendous that he will be
representing our club in the Great Britain team.

"We joked with him that he can't come back to the team here unless he brings
back a medal."

The Swindon Bats meet at Tenpin, in West Swindon, from 12.30pm to 113.30pm on
Wednesdays.

For more details contact Mr Smith on 01793 33841.

6:00pm Thursday 25th October 2007

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Russell bowls into GB tenpin squad

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