Photo credit: Chris Snelling
Last week The Falkland Islands international bowls team arrived in Ramsbury. Hosted by Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club, The Falklands nine member team are in training for the Orkney 2025 International Island Games which run from July 12th to 18th. 24 member islands belong to the Internaional Island Games Association and the week-long event will see athletes from across the world compete in 12 sports of which bowls is one.
Christopher Snelling, Publicity Officer at Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club has written the following account of The Falklands team’s visit.
“There was an unmistakable buzz at Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club last week as the Falkland Islands international bowls team arrived for a pivotal training camp ahead of the 2025 Island Games, set to take place this July in Orkney.
Their nine-strong squad travelled 8,000 miles from their remote South Atlantic home, swapping wintry gusts for the British summer’s soaring temperatures, which hit 32°C during Saturday’s tournament in Ramsbury.
The contrast in training conditions could hardly be more extreme. There’s no full-size lawn bowls green in the Falklands. Instead, players have honed their skills indoors at a local school, rolling mats down corridors and taping them together, squeezing practice around school hours.
“We’ve been unable to play when children and teachers are walking down the passage,” noted the team captain.
Access to Ramsbury’s lush, real-grass rinks has been transformative for the team. While the Island Games are often referred to as a mini Olympics for smaller nations and territories, the event is about more than medals. For the Falklanders, it’s a celebration of perseverance, community and making the most of every opportunity, even when it involves hallway carpet.
“Hosting the squad was a point of pride,” said Bob Osmond, chairman of Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club, part of the award-winning Ramsbury Recreation Sports Centre. With six meticulously maintained rinks and a thriving membership, the club provided an ideal base for the visitors to fine-tune their game ahead of what will be the first outdoor bowls competition in Island Games history.
The Falklands team are determined to adapt quickly to the new format and build on their outstanding debut performance in Guernsey in 2023, where they clinched silver in the Open Triples.
Saturday’s American-style tournament saw home and visiting players share the green in a sun-soaked display of camaraderie. Ramsbury’s own Chris Martin claimed top honours, but the true triumph lay in the spirit of sportsmanship, connection and shared experience.
For the visiting Falkland Islanders, their time in Ramsbury was more than a training opportunity. It was a chance to feel part of a wider community, to enjoy green open spaces and to receive the warmest of welcomes. And for local bowlers, it was an inspiring reminder of the passion and creativity that sport can spark — even when it begins in a school corridor on the other side of the world.”
Click here to find out more about the Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club.
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