THUNDER BAY — Many young bowlers from Thunder Bay and surrounding areas have been looking forward to this weekend for months.
Several youths from northern Ontario will be competing at the Youth Bowl Canada national championships in Edmonton from May 5 to 7.
Adam Lehoux, Lucas Keeler, Novalee Meo, Sophie Kushnier, Sarah Meservia, Kayleen Kajorinne, Alex Geravelis and Robby Gregoire will be competing in 5-pin doubles.
In 5-pin singles, Zach Meier and Jonny Power will be competing.
Tegan Martyn, Matteo Smith-Zimmerman and Jordan Beardy will be in the 10-pin category.
Five youth will also be attending the Canadian Tenpin Federation national championships from May 15 to 18 in Quebec City, including Tegan Martyn, Matteo Smith-Zimmerman, Avery Wilson, Austin Wilson and Andrew Stewart.
Andrew Stewart has participated in nationals when he first started playing 10-pin.
“I think I've learned to be more consistent. I was pretty lucky in which I started bowling and I was pretty good at throwing the ball, so learning a lot of the specifics and trying to be more consistent in my own shot and my own routine is just in general what I need to do to continue doing better at the next level,” he said.
Stewart said bowling is a unique sport that people should give a shot.
“It's a sport that you get to be competitive with yourself as much as you get to be competitive with other people. It's a very unique thing compared to any of the other sports I've played in my life.”
Alex Geravelis has competed at the nationals about nine years ago, he said.
“I’m little bit nervous, but I've been there before and I'm used to the environment.
“We've kind of been the underdogs in the first two rounds, so it's nothing we're not used to,” he said.
Adam Lehoux said he just stared bowling for fun and he learned he really enjoyed it, and began playing competitively while Novalee Meo has been bowling since she has been four years old.
“I'm pretty excited and I think it'll be a lot of fun to go out there with my teammates and my coach,” Meo said.
Another long-time bowler, Sarah Meservia, has been bowling for 12 years but has never competed in nationals.
“I’ve been working for this for a while. I feel pretty ready,” she said.
Another youth bowler, Jordan Beardy, is encouraging youth to come out and try bowling.
“Come out and just play. You'll see if you like it or not. That’s how I started. I came out one time and then I just started bowling regularly,” he said.
About five or six years ago, a dedicated bowler, Jonny Power, got a buckle fracture on his left arm while being a left-handed bowler.
“I started bowling with my right hand the following day because that's the day that we had our next bowling night, and I ended up getting among the highest scores that I've ever gotten.”
Power said bowling has and probably always will be fun to him, and the joy that comes along with the game has never stopped.
The general manager of Mario’s Bowl, Bill Graham, said he is excited and proud of the young athletes.
“I wear a lot of hats here. I'm also the 10-pin program director, and my daughter bowls in the 5-pin youth program and my other daughter bowls in the 10-pin youth program. I'm very much involved in both sides of it.
“Every year this is kind of the pinnacle for the kids and I'm always excited, especially for the first timers. I even have a couple of first-time coaches going this year.
Graham wishes all of the athletes attending both national’s good luck.
