Vision impaired bowlers win Packaworld Team of the Year Award

New Zealand’s highly successful blind lawn bowls mixed pair of David Stallard and Sue Curran were celebrated on Saturday night, alongside their directors Peter Blick and Ann Muir, at the 2018 Blind Sport New Zealand Sports Awards.

The group won the Packaworld Team of the Year Award in recognition of their dedication and strong performances at the Blind Lawn Bowls World Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The award, sponsored by Packaworld International, was one of eight awards presented during an awards dinner at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland.

The event was MC’d by sports broadcaster Rikki Swannell and celebrated outstanding achievements within the New Zealand blind and low vision sports community.

Announcing the Team of the Year Award, Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts paid homage to the group’s hard work and impressive international performances on the bowling green.

“The winners of this award have shone on the world stage winning silver at the Blind Lawn Bowls World Championships in the B3 mixed pairs. They went on to place fifth in the B2/B3 mixed pairs at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in a tightly contested tournament.”

Playing with a vision impairment means Stallard and Curran enter the bowling green with directors to give them directions, distances, and a picture of where the bowls have ended up. Stallard plays with Blick as his director and Curran’s director is Muir.

Mr Roberts said the team’s success showed what could be achieved with dedication and hard work behind the scenes. It was a success story that aligned perfectly with Packaworld’s mission of “smashing exclusion” and “making the joy of sport real to more people”, and it was an honour to be able to present them with the award at the blind and low vision community’s premier awards event, he said.

Stallard also won the Blind Sport New Zealand Sportsman of the Year Award, and Supreme Award.

Mr Roberts said Packaworld had worked closely with Blind Sport New Zealand in recent years to develop high quality portable posts for the sport of goalball and full-sized inflatable rugby posts for blind rugby, and would continue support blind and low vision sport in future.

Saturday night’s awards ceremony was the first Blind Sport New Zealand Sport Awards since 2006.

Blind Sport New Zealand National Manager Dan Shepherd said it was “fantastic” to see the blind and low vision sport community coming together to celebrate its sporting achievements.

“I am proud that Blind Sport New Zealand has relaunched this awards ceremony after 12 years and am excited for the future of our organisation”.

Award recipients 2018:

• Packaworld Team of the Year - Sue Curran, David Stallard, Ann Muir and Peter Blick
• STA Travel Emerging Talent Award - Shannon Cleave
• Blind Sport New Zealand Volunteer of the Year - Helen Casey
• Blind Foundation Leadership Award - Donna McCaskill
• Blind Sport New Zealand Coach of the Year - James Dunn
• Blind Sport New Zealand Sportsman of the Year - David Stallard
• Blind Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year - AJ MacDonald
• Blind Sport New Zealand Supreme Award - David Stallard

Packaworld Team of the Year recipients (L-R) Peter Blick, David Stallard and Sue Curran, with Packaworld CEO Peter Roberts.

Lawn bowler David Stallard receiving the Team of the Year Award from Packaworld CEO Peter Roberts (left).

Packaworld CEO Peter Roberts with Blind Sport New Zealand National Manager Dan Shepherd.