Sport at the highest level is nothing new for Jacky Hudson’s family. Her grandson, Zac Laybutt, plays in the NRL for the North Queensland Cowboys, while her son, Stephen Laybutt, represented Australia as an Olyroo at the Sydney Olympics. Now Hudson is about to step into that arena herself.
At 75, Hudson will represent Australia in lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this month, taking her place in the green and gold as a member of the national squad. A grandmother of five and great-grandmother of two, she said the opportunity still feels surreal.
“I’m probably still in shock a little but absolutely delighted and really proud that all the hard work has paid off,” she said.
“It’s a privilege as well. I’m looking at it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity unless I still want to hang around until the next Comm Games or world championships,” she laughed.
Hudson was born in Papua New Guinea and, growing up, never imagined sport could become part of her life. Vision-impaired, she said she was “no good at sport” as a child and did not see athletics as a realistic path. After moving to a boarding school in Sydney, she took part in community activities, but not as a competitor.
Everything changed about 50 years later when she and her husband, Rob, moved to Port Stephens in New South Wales. Rob began playing bowls socially and encouraged her to give it a try. What started casually soon developed into something much bigger. Hudson progressed into competitive bowls with other vision-impaired athletes and four years ago secured a place in Bowls Australia’s high-performance squad.
Her rise has already included major success. In 2023, she and teammate Jake Fehlberg won gold at the 2023 World Bowls Championships.
Although Hudson is among Australia’s oldest Commonwealth Games debutants this year, the country’s lawn bowls team, the Jackaroos, is far younger than many people assume. In fact, the squad’s average age is lower than that of the Australian cricket team, something Hudson finds amusing.
“People think it [lawn bowls] is all old people, retirees and they’re in long white clothes, but these young ones make a real living out of the game,” she said.
“There’s good prizemoney and you get to travel, I don’t think a lot of people realise that.”
Challenging those old assumptions is also familiar territory for Dawn Hayman. At 29, she is one of the youngest players in the Jackaroos squad and has built an outstanding record, including winning the 2025 trans-Tasman women’s championship and taking gold at the 2023 world bowls championships.
Hayman first encountered lawn bowls at Fairy Meadows Bowls Club in NSW when she was nine, though she admits she was not won over straight away.
“My parents wanted me to try bowls and I said, ‘No way I’m never gonna play that game because it’s for old people’,” she laughed.
“They eventually got me out there and I haven’t stopped since.”
For both Hayman and Hudson, part of lawn bowls’ appeal is how open it is to everyone. Hayman said that inclusiveness is one of the sport’s greatest strengths.
“The sport is so diverse, you can play with a disability in a wheelchair, whether you’re male or female, it doesn’t matter,” Hayman said.
As a vision-impaired competitor, Hudson can sometimes find it difficult to see down the far end of the green during matches. Depending on the venue, she uses a director to help judge the distance she needs to throw.
Despite her achievements, Hudson prefers to keep the focus away from herself and instead talk about what her children and grandchildren have done. Her own medals are not something she puts on show.
“People always ask where my medals are, but I tend to put them away in a box,” she joked.
A Commonwealth Games gold medal, though, would be different.
“That’s what we all aim for, and not everybody’s going to get one … all you can do is put in your best effort, and hope for the hope for the results.
“As long as you know you’ve done your best, that’s all you can do.”
