by Alex Bagwell
Twice this year, the Dreaming Spires ten-pin bowling team has headed to Sheffield to represent Oxford at the annual tournament for the Visually Impaired. The good results meant that we are very much the team to beat at the moment.
The team is captained by Kevin Pamphilon and also features Danny Lazarescu, Paul Bambrook and me, Alex Bagwell. Kevin is from Wales and is the Dreaming Spires captain, and its founding member since 2002. Danny is from Romania. Paul has been a member of Dreaming Spires since 2012.
We each have differing eye conditions with Kevin being blind, and myself, Danny, and Paul being partially-sighted. My father Julian, and Paul’s father Ken act as spotters when we bowl, telling us what number pins are left and telling us if we’re bowling either too far to the right or left. We play league matches every other Friday at the bowling alley near the Kassam stadium, and I’ve been a member of Dreaming Spires since August 2019.
A Friday in May was the beginning of our run. The big event in Sheffield featured teams from all over England, organised by British Blind Sport.
Before the 2022 tournament started, we’d won our mini league, which meant that we were in good form leading up to the event and I was quietly confident that we’d do well in the tournament. It’s a trio tournament, which means that from a team of four one is rested every game. I had a relatively poor tournament, being the only member of the side not to score over 100 during the competition. Paul was the pick of our bowlers, getting a score of 100 or more four times in a row. Given my scores, I thought we wouldn’t be well placed.
That night at the awards dinner we received certificates for winning the league, then they announced each team’s placing in the tournament, starting from the bottom up. The formula they use to decide the winner takes averages into account, so even if you don’t do very well overall, if you stick to your average score then you should be alright. After not being named in the bottom 7, I thought we’d get at least top 5, when it got down to the final 3, I was thinking “Surely we aren’t going to win?” then it came down to us and a team from Swindon, and if you know your football rivalries then you’d know that Oxford United and Swindon Town don’t exactly like each other!
When the announcer said, “… and the winners are Dreaming Spires!” we all cheered very loudly (actually, we cheered even more loudly when Swindon were announced as No.2, as we knew that meant we were the winners!). We then got our picture taken holding the cup and a shield with the names of previous winners on it, the winning trophies. For the next year the team gets to keep both; my three months holding the shield went too quickly. When the trophies are returned, our name will then be engraved on the shield.
In sport, when you win an event as a team, you can either sit back and think that your job is done, or you think “that was great, I’d love to win it more often” and that’s what I and the other members of the team felt going into the next event in Sheffield, in November.
That competition was a pairs event, with Kevin and me competing in the Hay Moffatt tournament which is six games, and Danny and Paul playing for the BBS Primary Pairs trophy which is eight games. In football terms, the BBS is like the Champions League, and the Hay Moffatt is like the Europa League!
Paul’s dad, Ken was on hand to help Kevin and I when it came to telling us which number pins were left, with my dad, Julian doing the same job for Danny and Paul. Kevin and I played three games before lunch and three games after lunch; I needed the break as before lunch I wasn’t bowling very well! I did do a lot better after lunch and Kevin was steady throughout.
In the other tournament both Danny and Paul did very well indeed with Danny getting above 100 in every game, and Paul getting four scores of 100 or more in his eight games.
That night at the awards dinner, I wondered what position Kevin and I would finish in the Hay Moffatt trophy, as well as thinking that Danny and Paul had a good chance of winning the BBS trophy given their scores. I was proved right when they were announced as winners. I didn’t expect Kevin and I to finish 2nd in the Hay Moffatt trophy, however, we were beaten by a female team called 2FB’s which I can assume stands for something that’s unprintable!
So that result means that Dreaming Spires are the holders of both the doubles and triple team trophies this year, so you could say that we’re the England cricket team of ten-pin bowling, with them having won the 50 over and 20 over World Cups.
My Dad says that I should retire after this, but I’m only 29 so have quite a few more tournaments left in me, although I may be phased out of the team in a few years’ time for being ‘past it’ in my mid 30’s like a lot of sports people these days!
If you’d like to find out more about ten pin bowling or to have a go, contact Kevin Pamphilon via email on: kp16302@aol.com
