Two local lawn bowlers had a bronze medal finish during the 2017 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships in Colwood last week.
Greater VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Annie Mathie and Anne Van Bastelaere, alongside Mary Wright and Belle Chan from the Lower Mainland, represented Team B.C. and defeated Nova Scotia 23-12 in womenB次元官网网址檚 fours to bring home bronze on Saturday.
Mathie and Van Bastelaere were two of the roughly 180 lawn bowlers who descended on the region for the championships. Hosted by the Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling Club located behind The Q Centre, the tournament kicked off with opening ceremonies on Monday, followed by round-robin play Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and finals on Saturday.
Local bowlers David Mathie, David Gardner, William Whitelaw and Auzzie Chambers, also represented Team B.C. against nine other teams from as many provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Excitement has been building at the Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling Club since it was announced last fall that it had been selected to host the annual championships. In recent months, the clubB次元官网网址檚 planning committee has had roughly a dozen meetings in preparation for the tournament.
Seeing the clubB次元官网网址檚 hard work come to fruition and welcoming some of the best bowlers from across the country was an exciting moment for club secretary John Stonehouse.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 exciting,B次元官网网址� he said, adding there were competitors of all ages ranging from 16 to 70 year olds. B次元官网网址淭here was some fantastic bowling out here.B次元官网网址�
David Calam, president of Bowls Canada, said Colwood was the ideal place to host the tournament as it home to the green in the province, with four.
B次元官网网址淭his is an extremely good facility. ThereB次元官网网址檚 four greens here, thatB次元官网网址檚 unique in British Columbia. Most have two or three. ItB次元官网网址檚 good for the competitors here because you donB次元官网网址檛 have to travel between locations,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he greens themselves, the degree to which itB次元官网网址檚 level and the speed and pace of the greens is good.B次元官网网址�
Next yearB次元官网网址檚 championships take place in Regina. For the full medal results visit bowlscanada.com.
kendra.wong@goldstreamgazette.com
