Remap strike out!

This local team of ten-pin bowlers all have visual impairments and are taking the Basingstoke bowling scene by storm.

Their only problem was finding their way from the return box, where they pick up a ball, to the start of the bowling lane and the throwing line. It is easy for them to wander into the wrong lane, so they asked Remap for a set of guide rails to bridge the gap. The rails needed to be about waist height, easy to erect, lightweight and compact when dismantled.

Richard Brown has been volunteering with Remap for an amazing 20 years and enjoys using his skills and knowledge to design and make equipment for disabled people. Making the guide rails wasn’t too hard, but how to keep them upright without them becoming heavy and cumbersome?

The breakthrough idea was to weight the bases of the rails with spare bowling balls which weigh up to 16 pounds each. Richard developed the idea and made two sets of guide rails from aluminium to keep them light.

The ingenious solution means that the bowlers can set up the guide rails by themselves and use two lanes at the same time. The rails are very light and pack into a canvas shoulder bag which means they are easily carried on public transport and to away matches.