Not even a pair of arthritic knees can stop Sterling Stratton of Charlottetown from playing the sports he loves.
In 1988, at the age of 50, Stratton thought his curling days were over, but he was able to return to the rink after an extensive hiatus with the assistance of a device called a delivery stick.
He has never looked back since, winning numerous championships with the Cornwall club’s stick curling team.
The delivery stick hooks to the curling stone’s handle and allows players with restricted mobility to deliver a rock, using a release mechanism, from an upright position out of the hack.
With the use of a device that applies the same logic as the delivery stick, called a bowling arm, Stratton is again able to conquer his physical limitation and continue playing another sport he loves — lawn bowling.
For the last two years, Stratton has had to give up the sport but that changed just three weeks ago when he found the bowling arm, which would allow him to get back on the greens.
“I just went on the Internet just looking for lawn bowling devices and suddenly there’s this literal bowling arm,” Stratton said while practising this week with the device at the Sherwood Lawn Bowling Greens.
He ordered the instrument, which looks and operates very much like a reaching arm device, from Australia and began practicing with it immediately.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” he said. “(I found the) release point and weight (are the biggest challenges).
“If I let (the ball) go too late, it will put a hole in the green. If I release it too early, it doesn’t go anywhere. Very embarrassing.”
Stratton demonstrated what happens when the ball is released too late or too early but seems to have the hang of it.
He is happy there are devices out there that can help him continue playing two of his most favourite sports.
“The (bowling arm and delivery stick) have similarities in that they allow someone like myself to participate in these two sports.”
Stratton plays mixed pairs lawn bowling with his wife, Gloria, every Monday night at the Sherwood Greens.
To his knowledge, he is the first to use the bowling arm on the Island and may be the first Canadian to use it along with the delivery arm to play two sports he wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate in.
amacleod@theguardian.pe.ca
