Morningside Country Club opens its greens to inclusion

What began as a simple morning at Morningside Country Club greens has grown into a meaningful movement for inclusion, connection and confidence building.

My Bowls Academy, in partnership with Down Syndrome Association Gauteng and the club, once again hosted the World Down Syndrome Day celebration event on March 19.

Read more: Bryanston Sports Club bowlers ready to compete against the best at JBA 4s finals in Randburg

The event brought together children and adults with Down syndrome, along with their families, for a morning of lawn bowls with no speeches or formalities, but with laughter and shared experience.

The greens were filled with energy as participants of all ages took part in the sport, many trying it for the first time in a relaxed and safe environment.

My Bowls Academy director, Rob Zimmermann, said the event was built on a similar event hosted late last year, and they were hoping to make it a quarterly event.

“The idea there is to get the affected kids with their spouse and their parents to all be able to do stuff together and have a fun day where there’s no judgment and the rules are really loose so that they can participate,” he said.

“We hosted one a couple of months ago, four months, which was a success, and the kids really enjoyed it. So we decided to make it an ongoing thing.”

While the focus remains on fun and inclusion, Zimmermann said they were going to give the children training in bowls and were hoping to take some to compete at the World Bowls event.

Also read: Morningside Bowls Club celebrates a standout year on and off the green

“World Bowls does have a category for mentally impaired kids. So there is a target goal, but that’s going to take some time to get there. We just need to be doing this regularly, and then hopefully we’ll get some clubs that will entertain it and some of the districts and get a bigger school. We’ll work with the Down syndrome institutions and go from strength to strength.”

Down Syndrome Association Gauteng general manager Jill van der Bijl said the purpose of the event was to have an inclusion day for children with Down syndrome.

“We are here [Morningside Country Club] today with our beautiful children. But on top of that, we’ve got all the parents and their siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins, whoever wanted to come with, to have an inclusion day for our children to play a game of bowls.”

Van der Bijl added that these children were very active, speaking from a personal experience of her son, Christopher.

“We have to include our children in everyday living. And the more they are put aside, the harder it is for them to actually become involved with everyday people. I’ve got a child myself, his name is Christopher, and he is very active. He loves sports, he does swimming, he plays soccer, and he does horse riding.”

“But a lot of the children are actually not fit. They basically are put into a room, pushed to the side, and made to feel that they can’t be included in anything because they’re special… So we’re a typical person, they’re a special needs person, but at the end of the day, we’re all the same.”
She encouraged parents of children with Down syndrome to seek support and guidance if they are not sure what to do.

“Down Syndrome Association is here to assist those parents in helping their child to live as normal a life as possible, and to enjoy their life and be included with their family and friends around.”

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