Falklands Bowlers Land in Ramsbury
By Christopher Snelling
There was an unmistakable buzz at Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club on 28 June as the Falkland Islands international bowls team arrived for a crucial training camp ahead of the 2025 Island Games, to be held in Orkney.
The nine-strong visiting squad travelled 8,000 miles from their remote South Atlantic home, exchanging wintry winds for a Wiltshire heatwave that peaked at 30°C during a Saturday tournament.
The connection to Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club began through family ties. Laura, daughter of club members Ian and Sharon Barnes, accepted a teaching post in the Falkland Islands in 2018 after spotting the role advertised in the UK. Following a visit, Ian and Sharon were so taken with island life that they decided to relocate there themselves in 2021. That family move helped establish the strong link between Ramsbury and the Falklands team.
The contrast in conditions could hardly have been greater. With no full-size outdoor bowls green in the Falklands, the team had been training wherever space allowed. That included sessions on synthetic grass and, more unusually, inside a local school corridor. There, they laid out taped-together mats and practiced between classes.
“We had been unable to play when children and teachers were walking down the passage,” their captain, Chris, noted.
A Saturday American-style tournament saw local players and the Falklands squad compete side by side. Ramsbury’s own Chris Martin took top honours on the day.
For the Falklands bowlers, the chance to play on Ramsbury’s six lush grass rinks was a rare and valuable opportunity. Ramsbury & Aldbourne chairman Bob Osmond said, “Hosting the squad was a point of pride. They brought great energy and a real sense of dedication.”
The bowls club, part of the Ramsbury Recreation Centre, proved an ideal base as the Falklands team prepared for the first ever outdoor bowls competition in Island Games history. They hope to build on their 2023 Guernsey silver medal.
For these visitors, it was more than sport. It was a warm welcome, a patch of real green, and a world away from a school corridor on the other side of the globe.