Durham County Indoor Bowls Association has recently appointed two new Youth Development Officers. Jordon Harston who bowls out of Aycliffe Indoor Bowls Club and Tom Cairns from Darlington Bowls Club.
Jordon and Tom have bowled for over 30 years combined and have been part of the Junior County Programme, winning Club, County and National titles along the way. They now want to provide a platform for young bowlers in the region to develop, but most of all, enjoy the sport they love. They first started playing bowls from around the age of 10. Since they started playing they have had some great experiences including representing Durham County, winning National titles and International trials as well as meeting new people and friends.
Their role will include creating new opportunities and tournaments, getting the sport of bowls out there as much as possible and developing our young players to encourage them to succeed.
Jordon said “I started playing Bowls at the age of 9 and have been hooked ever since. I’ve been fortunate enough to represent club and county as well as taking part in an England International Trial. Bowls is really a sport for all. It’s a true multi generational sport that allows for both social and competitive players. It’s such an open and inclusive sport and I want to show the younger generation that you can be successful in this sport. The region already has a huge range of players who have won multiple national championships and international honours, but are often overlooked by more popular sports and want to highlight this through this new role.”
Tom said “I’ve made some lifelong friends, been to places I’d never have gone without the sport, it’s so important for the sport to invest and develop their young players. I think I speak for me and Jordon when I say that we would never be where we were in the sport if it wasn’t for coaching, motivation and skills from all sorts of players, whether that be at Club, Youth or County level. It’s great to be given the opportunity to give back to the sport that’s given us so many opportunities.”
If you are interested in giving bowls a go, please contact: aycliffeindoorbowls@outlook.com
Photo: Jordon on the left and Tom on the right.