Craig Nolan : Para Cap #10P

Craig Nolan, a former B3 para bowler who represented New Zealand in the 1990s, was recently awarded Para Cap No.10P.

In a long-overdue ceremony held at the Wanganui Centre annual prizegiving, Peter Belliss awarded the now deceased Craig Nolan’s Cap to his sister Wendy Stuthridge.

“I was with Craig at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in Canda in 1994,” says Peter.  “He was also from Wanganui … a member of the then Victoria Bowling Club which later morphed into the St John’s Club.  He won a bronze medal in the Men’s Para Singles.”

“Katie Portas from New Zealand also won a medal … a gold if I recall correctly. in the Women’s Para Singles.”

“For whatever reason, Craig and Katie were never recognised for their efforts when it came to handing out Caps to our New Zealand representatives in 2002,” says Peter. “Whether that was because para sports may not have been recognised as being part of the ‘official’ programme … or whether blind bowls wasn’t recognised by the IOC (until 1996) … I don’t know.  They were different times 30 years ago.”

“But it’s great to see this historical wrong righted.  Although sadly after Craig’s death in 2018.”

To us today, Craig’s original lack of recognition seems archaic … particularly when para sports have been mainstreamed for so many years.

But recognition of blind bowls has only occurred relatively recently.  A blind bowls ‘world championship’ wasn’t introduced until 1977… in Johannesburg in South Africa.  And even then, only six countries were invited … and New Zealand wasn’t one of them.

The 2^nd World Blind Bowling Championship was held in Leicester in England in 1981, and every 4 years after that.  New Zealand didn’t attend its first world championship until 1985 in Sydney with Danny Simon winning a Silver in the B2.

Craig and Katie both won silver medals in the B3 Singles at the 6^th International Blind Bowls World Championships here in Hamilton, New Zealand in 1997.

“Wanganui had a strong blind bowls following,“ says blind bowler David Monk.  “But I was a B1 and Craig was a B3 … so we didn’t really play together.  I can remember him winning a New Zealand Blind Bowls Association Pairs Championship in 1993.”

For handy bowler Wendy Stuthridge and her sister Trish, the presentation of the Cap was a very emotional moment at the prizegiving at Laird Park Bowling Club in Wanganui (their other sister Andie was not able to attend).

“It…