Staff member, Emma Cooper, (second from left in image) reflects on her recent international sporting success.
Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to travel to Hong Kong to represent England in the sport of Lawn Bowls at the Hong Kong International Classic; returning home with a silver medal. This is one of the most prestigious annual events in the World Series calendar and is attended by countries including Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, as well as the other UK nations.
Over the course of the eight-day competition, we were faced with every weather imaginable, from sunshine one day to a category 8 typhoon the next; it was quite the experience! The pairs competition involved a full-on schedule of 11 matches over the course of five days to decide the qualifiers for the knockout stages. Competing alongside my pairs partner, Harriet Stevens, we finished second in a tough group to set up a quarter-final tie against Wales; a team we know well. We put on a dominant performance to beat them in straight sets which put us into the semi-final against New Zealand. This match was much tighter, but we held our nerve to pick up the five shots we needed on the last end to tie the final set and earn our spot in the final.
The unpredictable weather played havoc, once again, meaning the final had to be played on an indoor, artificial surface rather than the grass we had played on throughout the rest of the tournament. The final, against Canada was a very tense match, being decided by a three end tie break. We, unfortunately, lost out on the very last bowl of the last end meaning the result couldn’t have been any closer if we tried! Our men’s pairs team were also incredibly successful, bringing home a silver medal too, which meant we were one of the best performing nations. Bowls has a stereotype of being a sport for older people, but with our team having an average of 28, it is a myth we are trying to dispel!
It is always an honour to represent England and to come away with a silver medal at such a high level event is something I will never forget.
Photo credits: Steve Watson (Sporting Highlights)
