National Volunteer Award Profile – Andy Shea
The latest winner of the Bowls Scotland National Volunteer Awards is Andy Shea from Foxley Bowling Club in Glasgow. Andy received multiple nominations and was chosen as a winner due to his outstanding contribution to the local community and dedication to promoting and championing bowlers with a disability across the Scottish bowling community.
With just over 20 years of volunteering at Foxley under his belt, we asked Andy how he first got involved as a volunteer at the club…
“I first got involved as a volunteer at Foxley as a favour to my Dad. He was President in 2004 and the club Match Secretary resigned prior to the season starting. I took over the role and enjoyed it so much that I remained in the post for five years. After that I had a brief spell as interim Secretary and supported the club as much as possible. I had the honour of being Vice President of Foxley for our Centenary Year in 2014 before becoming President in 2015. I took some time after that just bowling before becoming Treasurer in 2023 and then Secretary in 2024. I qualified as a coach in 2025 and have been involved in Para Bowls since 2025.”
Last year Foxley BC organised and hosted a new event: a Disability Try Bowls Day, the event was Andy’s brain-child and he told us what was involved in the planning, from idea to execution:
“In 2023 I was diagnosed with a very rare and particularly nasty form of Cancer. Part of
my treatment was a below the knee amputation of my left leg. All of a sudden I had acquired a disability and I was a Para bowler.
“Looking online, there didn’t seem to be anything going on in the West of Scotland for Disabled bowlers. As my club’s Secretary I was in an almost privileged position to be able to do something about that. So I got in touch with Bowls Scotland, Stuart Chesby (Disability Development Officer) was a great help, Scottish Disability Sport and Disability Sport Glasgow. Between the four organisations we came up with the Disability Try Bowls @ Foxley event.
“We held the day and had support from all three organisations as well as the Scottish Bowlers Fellowship. On the day some of the International team came along, showing off their Commonwealth Games bling and taking to the green with the folk who came along. The day was a great success, despite the Scottish weather trying its best to put a dampener on it. We gained a couple of members, but that wasn’t the main objective of the day. We raised the profile of Para bowling in the local communities and proved that disability isn’t a barrier to playing bowls.”
Andy and the team at Foxley didn’t stop after the success of their 2025 Disability Try Bowls event though, since then Andy has set up the West of Scotland Para Bowling Hub at the club. Andy explained why establishing this hub was so important to him as well as the challenges and opportunities he has faced personally since becoming a bowler with a disability. He said:
“As I mentioned. There wasn’t any resource for disabled bowling in the West of Scotland until
we as a club changed that. We’ve joined Disability Sport Glasgow and raised our profile with Scottish Disability sport. We now have disabled people wanting to try bowls being referred to us and get so much from introducing disabled people to bowls, while supporting other clubs to make necessary changes to accommodate their own bowlers who have maybe acquired a disability. Our ideal solution is that we aren’t the only West of Scotland hub, but that other clubs also embrace the opportunity. If we can help them do that then we are more than happy to do so.
“We also ran our first Open Para Pairs competition, with a dozen Pairs teams from across Scotland competing in what was a really fun competition. Our first ever competition being won by a Visually Impaired team.
“My own transition into Para Bowls has been amazing. Foxley and all the members have supported me enormously. The support from other clubs that I visit has been great too. Fellow bowlers are just so supportive. There are of course challenges, but these can be overcome with a bit of time, patience and perseverance.
“I’ve also been lucky enough to join the International squad, gaining my first cap as the team won the British Isles Championship at Royal Leamington Spa in 2025. I also had the honour of representing Scotland at the Test v Wales at Llandridnod Wells in Wales last year, remaining unbeaten over my four matches.”
Andy’s longstanding commitment as a volunteer at Foxley as well as his drive to make sure the sport is accessible to everyone was recognised by Ian Duff, Foxley BC President, who celebrated Andy’s efforts with a nomination for this award, saying:
“Andy is not just a credit to Foxley but to the wider bowling community. Having lost his leg in his battle with cancer, Andy is now back on the green and representing Foxley regularly. Off the green he has set up the West of Scotland Para Bowling hub here at Foxley and disabled bowlers can come together to play bowls against one another. He set up and ran our first (but not last) Disability Try Bowls event in 2025, giving people in our community with a disability the opportunity to try bowls.
“As Foxley’s Club Secretary and a qualified Para Coach, Andy is committed not just to Foxley, but to widening access to bowls for disabled people all over Scotland.”
Lastly we asked Andy about the plans he has to continue to grow Foxley BC’s disability bowls initiatives into the 2026 season and beyond, he gave us an overview of the plans in place:
“We’ve big plans for disability bowling for season 2026 at Foxley. We are once again going to hold our Disability Try Bowls Day, continue and grow our Para Pairs competition and provide more opportunities for disabled bowlers across the West of Scotland to come together and play against each other. We also hope to refurbish the green to make it more disability friendly and are always looking for more ideas on how to grow disability bowls in the West of Scotland."
Andy was presented with his National Volunteer Award by Ian at the clubs’ prizegiving night last December, when asked what it meant to be presented with the award, he told us:
“These awards are a great idea, without volunteers bowling in Scotland would be a very different sport, so for Bowls Scotland to recognise the volunteers is a great development. I was absolutely shocked and delighted to receive the award. I see it as recognition not just for me, but for Foxley BC, and what we have achieved in such a short space of time. We aren’t finished yet though. There is so much more to do to get more and more disabled people playing bowls. I’d like to thank my Club President, Ian Duff, for nominating me."
Huge congratulations to Andy and Foxley BC on behalf of everyone at Bowls Scotland for receiving this thoroughly deserved National Volunteer Award! With an exciting Summer of bowls ahead for Glasgow with the return of the Commonwealth Games, we look forward to seeing how Foxley and the West of Scotland Para Bowling Hub continue to engage with their communities to promote bowls as an accessible and inclusive sport for all.
Applications for our next round of nominations close on Friday 27th February. For more information or to nominate someone, please visit: https://www.bowlsscotland.com/club-development/volunteering