I play crown green bowls, which always takes place outside in a season which runs from March to October.
I first became interested in bowls when I was eight years old and spent hours watching my father and brothers play. I became a member of the Llanrwst Bowling Club and I soon had trials for the Wales under 18s team and in 1996 I became the first ever to play for both the junior and senior teams. I won the Junior Waterloo and narrowly lost the Welsh Senior Championships.
I also take part in the inter-county tournament, in which 17 counties from throughout the UK compete against each other. Then every September, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man play against each other. As not many other countries play bowls, these are effectively the world championships I suppose.
After winning the British Waterloo for the first time in 1995 - which was televised on Sky - I decided to give up my part-time job and turn professional. You could be competing seven days a week, but you need the financial backing and I've found it quite difficult to get sponsorship. They're getting much better at sponsoring the events, but you've really got to be lucky, be in the right place at the right time to get individual support.
I have been competing about five days a week in the local league or national tournaments but in 2008, I've decided it's time to get a full-time job and fit in my bowling around that.
Over the past five years bowls has become a younger man's game. Some people used to laugh and say it's an old man's game, but there is a bit of money in it now and lots of youngsters are coming through.
To anyone, of any age, thinking of taking up bowls seriously, I'd say you've got to be committed - practice makes perfect. It takes a lot of concentration; that's the key. If you don't concentrate, you'll never make it to the top. You won't become a great bowler overnight, it takes years. But I really enjoy it.
John Bailey won the 2007 Crown Green Bowls Champion of Champions event at the Waterloo Bowling Green, Blackpool. As this is the most prestigious competition in the UK, this makes John effectively the British bowls champion.
