Meet Wyatt Martin
Wyatt (15) was eight years old when he started playing bowls, after his mum saw an advert in his school newsletter and asked him if he wanted to give it a go.
Seeing as he used to play with his grandad’s bowls in his lounge room and on his lawn when he was a toddler, he decided to try it again and see if he liked it. The rest is history.
Wyatt plays bowls for two hours per week unless he’s training for competitions, when he puts in more time. He usually needs to travel around the North/South Burnett region for bowls, although around two hours is the furthest he usually he has to go. When not playing bowls, he enjoys playing rugby league and cricket .
Wyatt says his favourite bowls memory has been getting picked for the Queensland squad for the first time this year. “I would love to play for Australia one day,” Wyatt said.
“I have always looked up to Kurt Brown, I have followed him for a while now,” he said. “I have also always looked up to my coach, Ashley Harris, who has helped me through this journey all the way.”
Playing bowls hasn’t really affected Wyatt, other than being able to spend less time with his family and friends and on other hobbies. There’s also the travelling and costs involved.
He thinks that more people should give bowls a go. “I would say if you think bowls is an old people’s sport, it’s not, it’s for all ages and it is heaps of fun,” he said. Wyatt would like to see more juniors get involved with bowls, “cause it’s a good sport.”