Commonwealth bronze for Knysna bowler

KNYSNA NEWS - South Africans recently watched in excitement as the SA para-lawn bowls team won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Australia.

Australia and New Zealand have the quickest greens, which meant an added advantage for the Aussie home team.

Local Chris Patton, dubbed the King Protea in the Garden Route since his move to work and live in the Garden Route, made it to the national team to represent his country in Australia.

"The pressure was on," recalls Patton. "The conditions were a lot less favourable than in South Africa because of the pitch, but the team went on to win bronze," he added.

Patton says the camaraderie from peers – some 160 South African athletes – was great. "The journey began with a dinner in Johannesburg before departing for Australia. There was also a team building session with (swimmer) Natalie du Toit and others."

Eye on the ball
Patton says he kept his eye on the ball but that he was disappointed with his last match. "At the awards, I had a hollow feeling that I didn’t play my best games, I had played a whole lot better against the Australian team."

But who can say they've won any kind of medal at a Commonwealth Games?

Where to now for our Chris?
According to SANParks spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba, Patton was back in office four days after he landed at the Cape Town office, "trying to catch up with work".

Chris Patton (front) and his team at the 2018 Commonweatlh Games.

Although he won bronze this year and silver in 2015, Patton says he is aiming for gold for his next big game in George next month, the national championship, which will be held in Eden District at the end of May.

Mementos
Besides his bronze medal, Patton brought home a few other pieces of memorabilia from his successful trip.

"I plan to frame the one T-shirt I got as a memento, another will be given to the bowling club and the other I will wear at various public speaking events I have this month," he chuckles.

Patton juggles his many varied roles as the current president of bowling for persons with disability, a family man and demanding work well.

According to Mgwadlamba, Patton does not only advise SANParks on universal access for tourism products but is the content editor and works extensively with interpretation and visitor manuals for the organisation.

Fun facts
Patton is called "Crispy" by national colleagues and friends, while Garden Route colleagues refer to him as the "King Protea".

Mgwadlamba explains a bit more about the king protea (Protea cynaroides), which is SA's national flower: "It has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognized 81 garden varieties. The Garden Route National Park (GRNP) is home to several kinds of king proteas and recently welcomed a special kind to its regional offices on Thesen Island in the form of Chris," she says.

True to the nature of king proteas, says Mgwadlamba, Patton is just as calm and focused even after the Commonwealth Games.

Chris Patton shows off his Commonwealth bronze medal.

His journey to selection is just as intriguing as his explanation of how the game works. He started the game back in 2001 in a bowling club in Pretoria and 10 years later was spurred on by someone who encouraged him to start competing.

Trick to bowling?
He took up the offer by competing in what he calls "bread and butter bowls", playing against local teams in Irene, Pretoria. His eyes light up as he explains the trick to mastering the sport.

A screengrab of Chris Patton receiving his bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

"The competitive edge in bowling lies in muscle memory and more than average practice. The bowls bend, they don’t run straight down the line," he says, adding that what he likes about bowling in teams is that athletes with disability get to play in the same team as able-bodied ones.