Courtney Meneely enjoys smashing the stereotype that lawn bowls is a sport just for the older generations.
Meneely will be competing at her first Commonwealth Games this summer in Birmingham.
And at 27 years of age she isn’t even the youngest among the five players selected for Team NI - Chole Wilson is 20 while Shauna O’Neill is 22.
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Meneely was involved in bowls from an early age, but it was a trip to the Belfast Indoor Bowls Stadium at 11 years old with her Ewarts club coach Mandy Cunningham - a bronze medal winner in the pairs at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games - that ignited Courtney’s passion for the game.
Meneely is the youngest ever player to win the Irish Singles title and her six-year-old daughter is already playing bowls.
"It is a sport for anyone of any age," she said.
"There is a social aspect, there is a competitive aspect and I think there needs to be more exposure to the sport to allow people to understand that it is not for one specific age group.
“It is a misconception in my opinion. I play bowls with girls who are a lot younger than me. The squad coming behind us is so talented and they are all aged from 11, 12, 13 right up, I’m one of the oldest on the squad.
"My daughter plays bowls, and she is six years old. I don’t understand why it has always been perceived as an older person’s sport.”
Meneely explains how she went from being a disco dancer to concentrating on bowls.
“My mum and dad played bowls, the club where I play (Ewarts) is also a social club and they were members," she said.
“Our assistant manager Mandy (Cunningham) was a big part in me starting bowls, she brought me to the Belfast Bowls Indoor Stadium when I was 11 to try out for the junior international team and it all kind of started from there and I never looked back.
"I’ve met some of my best friends through bowls.”
All five Ladies are making their Commonwealth Games debuts in Birmingham but there is plenty of experience in the team with former gold medal winners Matin McHugh and Ian McClure.
McHugh will be competing at a seventh Commonwealth Games while it will be McClure’s sixth.
“This is the achievement that everybody wants in our sport, I’m absolutely delighted to be part of such a special experience and to share it with the team is great," Meneely added.
“Anybody that plays bowls at our level the Commonwealth Game is their goal so to be selected is a dream come true.
“Ian and Marty can give us that experience being at six and seven Commonwealth Games and I think it is very important that we have that experience and knowledge of this level of the game because we have never experienced anything like this before.
“It is great to have people that know exactly what they are talking about and can give us a bit of insight what to expected at a competition like this.
“Mandy won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games so big shoes to fill, there is a lot of experience our high-performance team have all played at this level.
“I’m playing in the triples and fours which I’m very pleased with, we’re a very close team in the ladies and the men’s and we get all on really well.
“I’m playing in the middle of the triples and third in the fours, there is responsibility and pressure, but we are all very positive.”
“People look at me as one of the more encouraging people on the rink depending on what way the game is going obviously you can’t be like that all the time.
“I do pride myself on being quite encouraging for the rest of the rink and I think that is one of the reasons for the positions I have been picked to play in and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Meneely is no stranger to podium finishes at major competitions, and is the youngest person to ever win the Irish Singles.
“That was probably the biggest achievement of my career. Still saying it out loud after all these years still doesn’t feel real," she said.
“It is the biggest achievement in my career along with winning a bronze in the Atlantic Rim.”
Another misconception about bowls is you don’t need to be fit but as Meneely clarifies you can be on the rink for lengthy periods during a match.
“It’s intense already, we have started a fitness programme," she explained.
"We are putting a lot of effort into our fitness which I think is really big because people don’t associate bowls with being a sporty sport, but it is, you could be on the green for three to four hours on your feet and keeping that concentration all the time.
“So it does require a level of fitness, at the minute I’m training three to four times a week.”
Read more: Commonwealth Games 2022: Jing Yi Graham's remarkable journey continues
Read more: Team NI confirms its lawn bowls line-up for 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
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