The Beacon Blind Bowling team, took on a sighted team from the Prince’s Trust to help shine a light on National Eye Health Week. But the game was played with a twist, as players from the Trust wore simulation specs to mimic living with sight loss on Wednesday (25 September) at Tenpin Dudley. 

Beacon’s visually impaired tenpin bowling team has played up and down the country and have won a host of trophies including the 2019 National Championship. The challenge was the brainchild of team captain, Ranjit Boparai, who wanted participants from the Prince’s Trust to spend a moment living with sight loss.

Ranjit, 53 from Wolverhampton, said: “Today was all about getting the Prince’s Trust to better understand sight loss for National Eye Health Week. Eye health is important, but we also want to help raise awareness around life beyond sight loss. Bowling has become a life changing activity for many people we play with. Some of our players were living in isolation and have struggled with their mental health and wellbeing. However, bowling has changed everything and is helping many people come out of their shells and integrate with their community.” 

Players were guided with verbal instructions by a sighted volunteer who directs individuals with verbal directions but were not allowed to physically guide or touch players.

Lisa Cowley, CEO, at Beacon Centre, added: “We want the Prince’s Trust and the public to understand how National Eye Health Week is shining a light on how we support people living with sight loss. This is a huge opportunity to get all the community involved and for the Black Country and Staffordshire to understand how they can support us.”

The match was won by the Beacon Centre’s visually impaired team who won by a healthy margin.

If you would like to get involved with visually impaired bowling, contact enquiries@beaconvision.org