Harvey Bowling Club vision-impaired captain Calvin Rodgers named in 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games squad

Calvin Rodgers is a talented man but dealing with adversity is perhaps his greatest trait. Rodgers was a keen sportsman who played hockey, basketball and football before he lost his sight in a car crash in Karratha with his girlfriend at the age of 21. The now 42-year-old took up lawn bowls after his accident and last year joined the Vision Impaired and Blind Bowlers of WA and began to dominate. Rodgers was named the Sports Star of the Year at the WA Disabled Sports Association’s annual awards and won three medals at the Australian Blind Bowlers Association National Championships in May. On Wednesday, the Harvey Bowling Club captain was named in the five-person vision impaired squad to trial for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. “It was thrilling to receive the notification, particularly with my current health battle,” Rodgers said. Rodgers was diagnosed with bowel cancer seven weeks ago and is currently receiving chemotherapy, but said his diagnosis had not yet affected him on the bowling green. “Fortunately there is no real side effects at the moment from the treatment, which may or may not get worse as I go further,” he said. “At the moment I am feeling quite good, healthy, and playing bowls and competing is no hurdle at this stage, so I am quite comfortable in being able to challenge for the spot in the team.” Rodgers said that while he had been good at dealing with adversity, he had found it hard to come to terms with his health battle at the beginning. “It generally doesn’t take me a long time to accept good or bad news, and I tend to move on reasonably quick from any adversity. “Luckily for me, maybe it’s built in to me, it’s not something I work on necessarily, so that helps with being able to work on the positives.” The Harvey Bowling Club have thrown their support behind the star, with fellow member Anthony Burnham set to bowl for 24 hours straight against 24 different players on January 25 and 26 to raise funds for Team Calvin — Rodgers’ friends, family and team. Rodgers said being the face of a fundraising campaign did not sit well with him. “I feel uncomfortable and I don’t feel worthy,” he said. “I just feel I am a member of the community that doesn’t deserve all the effort and fundraising. “However, I am obviously grateful when it happens.” The vision impaired squad is made up of three males and two females and will be cut to one male and one female at trials on the Gold Coast from January 22 to 24.