2024 International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Garry Brown and Danny Porter Q&A
To celebrate 2024 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we are profiling two of Scotland’s most talented para bowlers in Garry Brown and Danny Porter.
Both men have had to overcome adversity both on and off the bowling green to get to where they are today, competing and winning for Scotland on the international stage.
Garry has been a dominant force in the Scottish para bowls scene for many years, winning the Bowls Scotland Gents B7-B8 Singles in 2019 at the National Championships. He also has regularly represented Scotland in the Para Home Nations which is contested annually between Scotland, England and Wales. Garry’s finest achievement to date came at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where he won gold in the Para B7/B8 Men’s Pairs alongside Kevin Wallace.
Danny has been on a meteoric rise over the last few years, dedicating many hours of his week to practice sessions and travelling the UK to compete in the highest-level competitions possible. Both of which have helped develop his all-round game on both indoor and outdoor surfaces. Danny’s big break through came in 2022 when he won the inaugural Para Men’s Pairs with Michael Simpson at the National Championships. He was also chosen to be part of Team Scotland’s Achieve programme during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, an initiative which helps to inspire the next generation of Scotland’s finest athletes.
However, individual talent doesn’t necessarily guarantee team success. It’s this point which Garry and Danny arguably both understand the most and use their togetherness and desire to win as their biggest strength.
In 2023, Garry and Danny were selected to represent Scotland at the 2023 World Bowls Championships in Gold Coast, Australia. Despite winning three of their five group games on the Southern Hemisphere greens, the duo narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knockout stages by 6 shots after being tied on points with Singapore.
Although this was an agonising blow for both players, Garry and Danny were not to let this disappointment get in their way of success. They returned to represent Scotland just one year later in the 2024 Bowls Europe Championships at the National Centre for Bowling, Ayr. The European Championships have been contested around the continent for over 20 years, but this year’s event will be remembered for being the first Bowls Europe Championships to include para disciplines.
Keen to make amends and get their hands on a major championships medal together, Garry and Danny were in inspired form over the two days of competition to defeat Ireland’s Glenn Kaufmann and Brian Smyth and Paul Brown and Damian Hallett from Wales to clinch a memorable gold medal for Scotland. This victory also helped secure Scotland the Andy Meekison Trophy for the overall best performing nation at the championships.
Following on from their heroics, we caught up with Garry and Danny to find out more about their bowls’ journeys on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Read the full Q&A below.
Q1. Can you tell us a little about your disability and your journey to get to where you are today?
GB: “I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy which affects my right hand.
“My sporting journey started way back in my early school years at the age of 8 when I started competitive swimming and represented Scotland and Britian along the way. I then changed to playing Cerebral Palsy football before eventually joining Blackwood Victoria Bowling Club in 1999.”
DP: “I have a rare form of dwarfism, Metatrophic Displaysia Dwarfism, which I was born with but never let it stop me.
“I’ve achieved a 2:2 BEng Architectural Engineering at Heriot Watt University and work as a Client Account Manager. In my spare time I have the odd game of bowls.”
Q2. How did you first get involved in bowls and what’s your favourite thing about the sport?
GB: “I first got involved in bowls at a come and try multi-sport event and just fell in love with it. I joined Blackwood Victoria Bowling Club in 1999, and I haven't looked back since.
“The thing I love about bowls is on the green we are all equal and it's great to test yourself against not only Scotland’s best but if you are lucky then the world’s best.”
DP: “Due my condition, I didn’t do a lot of PE at school and bowls provided me that little bit of exercise. When I returned from Uni, I joined my friends in the local pub league and fell back in love with bowls and shortly after, went to a Para Development Day and the rest is history.
“My favourite thing about bowls is anyone can play no matter your ability and you can play for a long time. Plus, the sport recently becoming more inclusive on the big stage where myself and Garry have been fortunate to be a part of it.”
Q3. In 2024, you won the inaugural Para Men’s Pairs at the European Championships. How did it feel to stand on the top step of the podium together?
GB: “To win any major event is special but to win the first Para Men’s Pairs at the European Championships is a great honour. To win it the way we did going undefeated was amazing.
“Danny will say he carried me on day one with some amazing bowls but the bowls I played to win the last two games on day two might just be up there with the best I've ever played.
“To win the event with Danny made it extra special because we narrowly missed out on a medal in the Gold Coast which was heartbreaking. To keep our record of 17 wins out of the last 19 games we have played together is pretty good going as well.”
DP: “First of all, I was grateful for the ramp as it was a big step!
“We were paired together for the inaugural para involvement at the 2023 World Bowls Championships in Gold Coast, Australia so it was great to compete at this year’s European Championships together as well and come home with the gold. It was brilliant to get over the winning line this time around which was great to get over the bitter disappointment of missing out on a medal at the World Championships on shot difference.
“We both contributed to the win, myself more on the first day then Garry in the final two games. The added bonus was that winning Scotland’s only gold model of the Championships helped to contribute to winning the Overall Team Championship and picking up the Andy Meekison Trophy.”
Q4. Tell us more about the dynamics of your partnership. Why do you get on so well together off the green and does this make competing together on the green easier?
GB: “What can I say about me and Danny’s friendship. On the green we are just so determined to win, and we both hate getting beat. Off the green we have been called everything from Jack and Victor to Ant and Dec.
“I'm sure there is a Teammates video that will answer just how well we get on both on and off the green. Going away or competing with Danny is brilliant, we just laugh all the time and get on great.
“All the para squad are like a big family. We also like a prank or two which is always good, depending who it's on right enough!”
DP: “Anyone that wants to know more about our personalities and friendship just has to watch the full outtakes from our 2023 World Championships Teammates video. Little and large get a bad reputation but in reality, it’s like butter wouldn’t melt with the two of us.
“We complement each other well, play to our strengths and in particular in few games over the last year or so, have had to dig deep at times, never buckling under pressure to get the job done and that’s why we have a great record together.”
Q5. In 2024, Bowls Scotland introduced an open podium pathway for all bowlers in Scotland. Did you find these events to be beneficial and inclusive as a para bowler?
GB: “The podium events were a great way for para players to test our ability and get the chance to play against Scotland’s best.
“To come close a few times to qualifying from our section in the open events was a great advert for para bowls and just shows we can mix it at any level.”
DP: “For me, I particularly enjoyed them as it provided competitive practice and purpose to games but unfortunately I was only able to play in two events due to playing at the IBD World Championships in South Africa.
“I managed to play in an all-para triple with Garry and another good friend of ours Michael Simpson in the triples event. We got to a last game decider against the Banks family in our group, so we were able to compete with everyone else and show what para bowlers are all about!”
Q6. Looking ahead to next year, have you set yourself any targets for the 2025 season?
GB: “My target for the next year is to keep getting selected for Scotland and keep striving to be better than the last time I competed. If I keep performing well, I’d hope to be in with a chance of selection for the next Commonwealth Games which is obviously the ultimate goal.”
DP: “Continue to compete at the highest level I can, playing for Scotland whenever the opportunities arise. I’ve been fortunate to have played in Australia and South Africa over the last year or so and the possibility of more amazing experiences to come. Hopefully I can give myself the best opportunity going into 2026 with a home Commonwealth Games on the horizon.”