Young bowlers and their families gathered to celebrate their achievements and the fun they’ve had over the past bowling season on April 22, at the Parellel Lanes bowling alley in St. Paual.
The party featured supper, prizes, and celebratory rounds of bowling to mark the end of the 2013-14 season.
“We usually have this in the Elks Hall, but we have a smaller group this year, and had the wind-up here at the alley. We decided to have a smaller family function here, with parents,” said Laura Langevin, a proprietor of Parellel Lanes.
The party was meant to also celebrate accomplishments of the girls’ and boys’ combo teams, as well as two singles bowlers, who all participated in provincials this year.
While none of the teams made it to the national competition, the girls’ combo team earned second place, and the boys’ combo team earned sixth place at the provincial competition held at Bronx Bowl in Edmonton, April 13.
The girls’ combo team included bantam bowler Deliah Skoffelen, junior bowler Therese Petrie, and senior bowler Larissa Barlad. The boys’ combo team included bantam bowler Dorian Tomlinson, junior bowler James Girard, and senior bowler Ryan Zalasky.
“It was fun, but at the same time it was a little scary and nerve-racking to me,” said Girard of the provincial event.
Tomlinson described his experience at provincials as fun and educational, also saying, “I was hanging out with some of my best friends and favourite coach there. I was kind of nervous, but that’s because it was the first time I was there.”
Petrie described one of the challenges of provincials as being the acrylic flooring on the lanes that didn’t allow her to slide. She and the other bowlers weren’t used to the higher friction floor.
“When we were downstairs during two games, we got used to it, because we used special powder to help us slide,” said Petrie. “We didn’t use it upstairs, and those games were more difficult.”
Singles bowlers Natalya Langevin and Matthew Benson, both made it to provincials on March 3 at Bronx Bowl, earning second place, and sixth place respectively.
“When I got there, I was nervous. I’ve never been there, and I didn’t know what to do at first. By the second day though, I started bowling better, and more like myself,” said Natalya, a bantam-level bowler.
Donna Goddard, coach for the girls’ combo team, had high praise for the young bowlers saying, “They rocked, they did an awesome job. When they bowled at the provincials they bowled 60 to 80 pins above average.”
She added, “Being in a new building with no slide, they compensated for that. Their sportsmanship to their team and others was astounding, and they cheered on each other and competitors they bowled against.”
