Barham’s state-of-the-art bowls greens have drawn bowlers from all over the world in recent months, but at Christmas, it was our chance to export some.

Four intrepid adventurers from the Barham Bowling Club, President Steve Wilson, Glenn Faul, Damien Paterson and Dave ‘Harry’ Potter competed on the world stage at the 2025 Tin Ding Sin China Lawn Bowls Open in Qiantang district, Hangzhou, China.

More than 100 athletes from 23 teams representing seven countries and regions, including China, South Korea, Australia and Malaysia, competed in frigid 2-degree temperatures.

Arriving on December 24, the Australian contingent didn’t get much practice time due to the weather.

“We arrived on the 24th and only rolled for about 15 minutes. It was just too wet. Next day, we woke up, and it was as bright as bright and as cold as hell, with frost across the Greens most mornings,” said Steve.

“The greens were made out of a rubbery fibre, they held the frost.”

“You’ve had to be careful you didn’t slip over. When you bowled you thought it’d go quickly, but it didn’t. It did the opposite, the bowls went backwards.”

With China relatively new to bowls, the country is embracing the sport with gusto, looking to compete at the 2032 Olympic Games. The invitation to compete for the local players came about after the Chinese Sports and Recreation Minister Mr Pang Zheng, played at the first World Bowls Competition at cluBarham.

Glenn Faul recalls the initial invitation, “You’ve got to be in China on December 24, and this was on December 12th. I had to find four guys at Christmas and thought that’s probably not going to happen. But I went home and thought about it, spoke to the family, my son Matt turned around and said, “Just go, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“We were guests of the Chinese government; they treated us fantastically. It was amazing,” said Glenn.

The region where they competed was home to a meagre 19 million people, and Steve Wilson even got an interview on the local news, broadcast to some 35 million people.

The bowl’s action was hotter than the frigid temperature, with the boys taking on both the Korean and Malaysian Commonwealth teams. Sadly, the silverware eluded the Aussies, but they claimed a respectable 5th overall in the points.

For first-time visitors to China, the team was overwhelmed with the hospitality of their host, the cleanliness of the cities and the sheer scale of the development.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 15 January 2026.