ROSEWOOD Bowls Club champion Karen Kington thought her sport was for “old people” when she was encouraged to try it as a late starter.

Years later, the former club vice-president was delighted to see a group of juniors discovering the benefits of a challenging sport.

“My friends got me playing and I was the same: ‘I’m not playing bowls, it’s an old people’s sport’,” Karen said, having moved to the Rosewood area in 1996.

“It’s completely different [to what I thought when I started].

“For the kids when you are young, you can go on and you can make a career out of it.

“There’s a lot of good things that can happen in bowls.”

Long-time Rosewood Bowls Club player and official Karen Kington with the family shield. Photo: DAVID LEMS

Karen’s parents Fred and June Hesketh provided a memorial shield in 1997 for juniors to play for at the club - after the efforts of a former state player Cohen Litfin.

The last junior championship was in 2010.

So Karen decided to polish up the family-created shield and help other Rosewood Cobbers club members organize another junior championship.

That started on September 18 with a group of enthusiastic players aged from 9-17 testing their skills on the Rosewood greens.

“We thought because of my parents and we’re getting a few juniors, we’d start it up again,” Karen said.

Club president Terry Hobden was supportive of hosting the junior championships with singles and pairs play.

“It’s the kids’ day and fun,” Terry said keen to see junior bowls revitalised.

“Competition has restarted.”

Karen was also delighted to see a potential group of new Rosewood “Cobbers” having fun on the greens.

One of the juniors was Eli, who said he enjoyed bowls after playing rugby union in winter.

“I don’t have any sport in summer so it [bowls] was a nice thing to do in the off-season,” Eli said.

“I have my brother out here. I can play against him.”

Eli won his singles game 17-4 to make a great start in the junior championships.

“It takes a little bit of effort but once you practice a couple of times, you are ready to go,” Eli said.

Karen has served the club in a variety of roles since becoming a member 28 years ago.

She said bowls had widespread appeal for young people.

“It’s good to get out and socialize with other kids in the open with fresh air,” she said.

“It’s better than being inside.

“It’s have fun and enjoy it.”

Current club vice-president Noel Joy and secretary Joanne Marshall coached the  young players involved in the championships as they developed their bowls’ skills.

“It gives them something to work towards,” Karen said.

“It teaches them a lot of discipline because there are rules which they have to follow . . . shaking hands and being polite . . . it’s a good sport for that.”

Karen said an ideal age to start bowls was eight or nine.

“You’ve got to learn how to let the bowl go,” she said.

“The bowl has a bias  . . . and there’s different greens that play differently.”

Karen said another benefit for younger players as they get better is the opportunity to represent the club at other competitions.

As the latest group contested the revamped junior championships, they gained extra motivation knowing there was lots of room on the Fred and June Hesketh’s Memorial Shield for their name – as a winner.