JUNIORS IMPRESSIVE AT ONTARIO FINALS

Gold Minor Champs to Winnipeg August 5 to 10
Open entry for Juniors (World Junior Qualifier ) Winnipeg August 5 to 10

Ontario Junior Ladies Champion
Gold -Erin Roth
[ This is a gold 3-peat for Erin in Ontario. In fact Erin has to work out all winter just to carry all the medals she has won over the years in the Junior program. Two Canadian Gold ( U25 and 18 and Under) and 4 bronze medals at the National level. ]

Silver - Katie Patenaude

Ontario Junior Men Champion
Gold -Kevin Cheung
Silver - Steve Miller
Bronze - Andrew McDevitt


Ontario Minor Bowls Champions - Girls - The Henry Lang Trophy
Gold - Stephanie Miller
[ Stephanie defended her 2007 title with some timely draws winning a close 21-18 match against Kaitlin Ryan. Kaitlin forced the deciding game by roaring to a 21-10 win in the first game against Stephanie in the double knockout format.]

Silver - Kaitlin Ryan
[ An up and coming 15 year old. Her backhand draw is beauty in motion. Lee Ryan's niece. Didn't see Lee's drive but the smooooth draw was there.]

Bronze - Cassandra Trudel
[ Any one of the top three could have won this title. Cassandra was nipped by Kaitlin in the semi-final game.
Earl and Janet Mayer, long time staunch supporters of Junior bowlers, still maintain an active presence with the game. Good coaching was evident with Cassandra's technique. ]

Ontario Minor Bowls Champion - Boys - The Irene Forster Trophy
Gold - Jacob Schuknecht
[ A basketball player who played a consistent game on the green court. Jacob was down 10-12 when the rain came. He didn't notice as he finished with a 21-13 victory.]

Silver - Dylan Jacobs
[ A tall guy with a deft touch. He will win a lot in the future. ]

Bronze - Paul Trevor
[ Defending 2007 champion. Edged by Dylan in the semi-final. Like the girls any one of the top three could have exchanged places. ]

Fourth - Lucas Caldwell
[ Another young bowler with a good delivery. ]

I travelled to Woodstock on Sunday to see the quality of our young bowlers.
I missed the older bowlers - the former Under 25s now known as the Junior Men and Ladies.
But that wasn't a concern since I see many in adult tournaments and have for some time been delighted with their high level of skill, enthusiasm, developmental interest and downright good nature.

We took a trip to PEI last year and had the pleasure to see the most congenial, thoughtful, caring group of young bowlers - yes competing against each other full bore - and did it with skill and class. They played hard and hugged and laughed longer. It was a collection of Under25s from sea to sea at the Canadian Championships. From Ontario it was the Roth girls, Michelle and Erin, the Whyte boys , Malcolm and Trevor and Greg Wilson. The prize was high level - a trip to the World Championships. The sportsmanship was of the same caliber.

Why do I care? Because the survival of any sport is dependent on the development of a new core of participants that keeps the wheel rolling.
It has to have appeal, be socially enjoyable and provide success, hence the interest in the technical aspects of the game. If you can't put the bowl where you want to on a regular basis, you will walk away not on.
I personally would not be bowling, nor watching, if I didn't like my bowling community and be able to compete. I'm not a golfer because I am not very good even though I do well at the 19th hole.

So I wanted to see their delivery and their game composure when things didn't go well. That's all.
This was the Ontario Minor Bowls Championships or former 18 and under.
Some of the competitors had been eliminated but there remained 3 girls and 5 boys.
All put the bowl down smoothly. Focus during the long day was evident, concentration sometimes waned. They all tried, some cried. They had a good grasp of the game and in the main handled the highs and lows.
Sandy and I were ending a three day bowls swing and thought we might leave before the end.
I don't stay if ability isn't evident.
We got home at 8:30 PM.