May 23rd, 2005…probably not the most significant date in history, but it was the day that both Katie Dickinson and Rhys Day were born at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest.

Nothing particularly significant about that either, but who could ever have imagined, as they lay in their cots in the same hospital ward, that 17 years later they would again be side by side representing their country in an international bowls championship.

Hard to believe? Perhaps it is, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend when the two talented Tenby teenagers, both members at Heatherton IBC, St. Florence, donned the red shirt of Wales to play in the mixed Under 18 indoor series at Solihull, Birmingham.

Rhys, who has only been playing bowls for four years, was making his debut for his country, while Katie, who took up the game when she was just seven, is something of a ‘veteran’ on the international scene, having previously represented the Wales Under 25 indoor ladies on two occasions and is due to do so again next month. This was her first appearance for the mixed Under 18s indoor team, though.

In fact, Katie is a dual international, having also played outdoors for both the Ladies Under 25s and mixed Under 18s team and is a current Welsh Under 25s pairs champion along with her partner, Katie Thomas, of Whitland.

Katie (Dickinson) herself is a member at Whitland Bowling Club these days, having started her career on the Sutton Street green at Tenby, where Rhys also plays outdoors during the summer months.

Now regular players with their county sides, both first picked up a wood when they had a roll-up with their respective fathers, Neil Dickinson and Peter Day, who themselves are long-standing members of the Tenby club.

The two proud dads also travelled with the team to lend their support from the bank and to say they were impressed with the quality of bowls on display on the blue carpet at Solihull would be an understatement.

The standard from the youngsters of all nations (some as young as 11) was exceptionally high, with both Katie and Rhys being a credit to their clubs and country with their performances over the weekend.

In fact, Rhys was delighted to return home with a silver medal to his name after his Wales quartet finished as runners-up in the tournament’s fours discipline.

He also featured in the triples, while Katie played in the pairs and was unlucky to just miss out on a place in the play-offs for medals after some excellent displays in the singles, defeating Irish and English representatives and only losing out on a tie-break to one of the rising Scottish stars and her own Welsh teammate Jack Mounty.

Unfortunately, even though this was their first caps at this level, by the time the next Under 18 indoor championships come round, Katie and Rhys will be too old to compete, but they will still be eligible for the outdoor internationals later this year, so who knows, they could be back playing together again then. Watch this space!