A JAMAICAN on a lawn bowls green is as unlikely as a heatwave in the North Pole. Just as rare is the sight of a black man taking part in the sedate pastime of lawn bowls. Hard on the heels of Jamaica’s famous bobsleigh team which spawned the hit film Cool Runnings, Andrew Newell is attempting to put the country on the sporting map once more.
London-born Newell, the offspring of a St Elizabeth father and a Clarendon mother, is as close to Jamaican as it gets.Newell began playing lawn bowls seven years ago after having seen it on television and having watched it live in parks around London.He was instantly interested and went to a local club and joined. He haswon a few finals in regional competitions and is now inspired – after his rapid progress in the sport – to pursue an international bowls tournament.
representing Jamaica Newell, though, is such a patriot that he cannot imagine playing lawn bowls without representing Jamaica while doing so. He says that research he has conducted has revealed that due to the lack of a Jamaican governing body for the sport, it is impossible for him to represent Jamaica as a member of the World Bowls Organisation (WBO).The WBO demands that there be a common interest in the sport in Jamaica before anything can get started.To date Newell has not found a lawn bowls green in Jamaica. However, he plans to find or create one and establish a high profile invitational competition featuring the world’s best, whilst raising awareness of the sport in his family’s homeland.Newell said, “Who knows which latentworld champions are playing marbles in Jamaican streets, unknowingly practising in preparation for an opportunity to beat the world’s best skippers at lawn bowls.”Newell was in Jamaica, noted for producing cricketers and track and field exponents, pursuing his dream of placing Jamaica on yet another world stage.
