BOURNEMOUTH bowler Varity Crawley saw gold at the European Championships of Champions.
Crawley, who is the only British professional women’s bowler on the international circuit, took gold alongside Hadley Morgan in the mixed doubles to defend their title at the championships in Bratislava.
She also took bronze in the individual competition, before being inducted into the UK Tenpin Hall of Fame for her contributions to the sport in the country.
The medals capped off a successful 2024, where, despite not adding another title, she finished ranked fourth in the world and was also given the prestigious Dick Weber Ambassador Award.
Talking to the Daily Echo, Crawley told how she and Morgan romped to a convincing win to defend their crown.
“Last year we won, so we were both very excited because it gave us an opportunity at defending a doubles title, which is obviously not very easy to do,” Crawley said.
“We won; we won by quite a lot as well. So from a score standpoint, we were very ahead of second and third. We outperformed what we did last year as well.
“If we'd have had our same score from last year, we also still would have won.”
Crawley said in the singles competition, she was leading after qualifying, after which the field is cut down to 12 bowlers and then to four, with the 30-year-old leading then, too.
She then lined up in match play against the fourth placed bowler and unfortunately lost, but did secure third place and the bronze medal.
Crawley lives in the USA, where she competes on the PWBA circuit, and while she is the only Brit, she says the privilege of representing her country at the European championships adds another element to it.
“It's different because when I bowl on the professional tour, everyone knows that I'm British, but it's my name on my back,” she said.
“Whereas when I bowl in the European Championships or World Championships, you have England on your back, so you truly feel like the whole weight of the country in a very different way than you do when you're competing for yourself.
“It's a very nice feeling.
“Obviously, not everyone in every sport gets an opportunity to represent their country, so it's something that I don't take lightly.
“As a junior bowler, all I ever wanted to do was represent Team England, and it was always very difficult to make the team.
“I was successful as a youth bowler, but I often found that I didn't make the team. They’d take six, I'm number seven, so for me, it's always been such a nice feeling to then have that opportunity to put on a shirt.
“Then obviously when you medal and you hear the national anthem.
“It's a very special feeling, my parents were able to come and support me as well. So that also adds another layer, when I compete in the US it's very rare that they get to watch me live in person.
“So being able to be in Europe and have their support as well means a lot.”
On her induction into the UK Tenpin Hall of Fame, Crawley said it was very unexpected and she thought she would be too young for it.
“I'm aware of some of the hall of Fames that they have in the US, competing there so much, and a lot of them have a rule that you have to be 50 plus,” she said.
“So it was very unexpected when I was told about the England one, but amazing because I still feel like I'm too young to have influenced or done what I've done. So, that's very special.”
Receiving the Dick Weber award, too, was unexpected.
“There's just one award per year that gets voted on and it tends to go to an ambassador in the sport,” Crawley explained.
“Someone who has constantly tried to push bowling, help bowling grow. And for me, it was again, very unexpected.
“When I looked at a lot of the names that had come before me, that a lot of them were my idols, they were people that I looked up to, I wanted to be like them.
“They've either won X-amount, or they've done so much within the sport.
“So then for me to be added to that list kind of blew my mind a little bit.”
Looking to next season, Crawley is aiming to win three times on the professional tour and put herself in contention to be the Bowler of the Year in the PWBA.
But for now, she is back in Bournemouth for Christmas and will be seen practicing at Hollywood Bowl in Branksome – and substituting in for her mum in her weekly league to get her competitive fix!
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