BY STEVE HIBBERD
In the morning of 21 March, I was at arrivals inside Alicante airport, waiting for the Bristol and Gatwick flights to arrive. Complete with my ´BOWLING ABROAD´ placard, I was there to greet 11 members of ´Teds Army´, a group of deaf green bowlers, all set to embark on a weeks tour of Costa Blanca´s green bowling clubs.
Having made the short journey to Benidorm, the group met up with the remaining 5 members, who had made their own way from Manchester. We then proceeded to book in at Poseidon Resort hotel, which is ideally situated between the old and new town.
Having been associated with a green bowls company known as ´Bowling Abroad´ for some 10 years, this was my 3rd time of working with deaf bowlers in the Costa Blanca. The first time was back in 2015, when they held their 8th home nations festival at Greenlands BC, whilst based in Poseidon hotel, Guardamar.
In 2018, when the 11th festival was at Finca Guila BC, we were again based in the same Benidorm hotel. The very first festival was held in Algarve, Portugal back in 2008, which will again be the venue later this year. Last year, for the first time, Oykun hotel in Fethiye, Turkey hosted the festival.
As Ted is retiring next year, he has arranged for a once in a lifetime trip to Durban, South Africa, for the 17th, and possibly last ever festival. I´ve been given heads up that if all goes well, yours truly will the tour manager – fingers will be firmly crossed, I can tell you!!
But, in addition to England/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Wales festivals (held in one venue), there are also Teds Army tours, who use multiple venues. First off was a trip south to Bonalba BC, close to Alicante, then following a rest day, the nearby town of Calpe was the next venue.
A further rest day, spent either touring or soaking up wall-to-wall sunshine, was followed by a trip north to Benitachell, for the final match of the tour. Although the group failed to register a single winning rink all week, a post-match excursion to the quaint mountainous village of Guadaleste, made up for their disappointment.
