July 29th An article by Ray Yurkowski from the Belleville EMC News at the end of this posting.
Gold
Jeff Harding
Marg Lepere
Silver
Jurgen Fessler
Kelly McKerihen
Bronze
Mike Wagner
Laura Hawryszko
Thanks to Anna Panton and Elaine Stevenson for their photo work at the Men's and Women's Championships respectively. Ray Yurkowski of EMC News has taken the time to send along some shots from Sunday after Jim Milne, President of C.L.B.C. took up the hunt.
Great work by this extended staff. We all appreciate.
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Elaine Houtby, Convenor; Jeff Harding, Gold;Ryan Stadnyk, OLBA Awards; Andy Caldwell, Convenor |
Jurgen Fessler Silver
Chris Pingle with Silver Medalist Kelly McKerihen
Mike Wagner Bronze
Laura Hawryszko Bronze
Martin Henly with his 'bowls arm' vs. Peter Wong
MP Barry Devolin & Son
'Political Support'
Ray Yurkowski of EMC News
Marg Lepere's Golden Delivery
Laura Hawryszko , Marg Lepere for Gold
'Political Support'
Ray Yurkowski of EMC News
A golden weekend at the Campbellford Lawn Bowling Club
EMC Sports - The province came to town last weekend to crown the best in ladies singles lawn bowlers.
Even with two representatives competing, there was no gold for District 15. The district is home to clubs in Campbellford, Madoc, Kingston, Belleville, Trenton and Brighton. Stephanie Miller of Brighton and Sylvia Poulain of Campbellford were both forced onto the 'B' grid with losses in the first round. Miller dropped a 21 - 14 decision to Chris Pringle of District 13 while Poulain played the match of her life, a seesaw marathon against Gloria Cheung of District 12. There is no clock. In this game, the winner is the first player to achieve 21 points. And it could take a long time. After more than three hours of play, in the longest match of the tournament, Cheung won the contest 21 - 17.
"The competition is very tough," said Poulain. "You've got the best of the best here and everyone is playing very, very well. You work for every shot.
"It's really a matter of concentration and focusing on what you're doing."
The gold medal went to District Six representative, Marg Lepere of the Niagara Falls Lawn Bowling Club who won her final match 21 - 9.
"Stamina is a big thing in singles play," she said. "Because you can keep going and going and going. The idea is not to give up any big ends."
This is Lepere's third trip in as many years to a Canadian championship. Last year, she lost her first match in the provincial singles championship but rebounded with consecutive wins to win silver. The year before, she won a trip to the Canadian doubles competition.
"It's hard to get there once, let alone again and again," she said. "I feel very privileged."
And this is serious stuff. The runner-up in the gold medal match isn't awarded automatic silver like they do in the Olympics, she's got to fight for it, along with the rest of the survivors in the double knockout tournament.
District Nine rep. Kelly McKerihen of the Milton Lawn Bowling Club won silver while gold medal finalist, District 14's Laura Hawryszko of the Cobourg Club mined bronze.
Gold and silver medallists at the Campbellford tournament are eligible to compete at the 2010 Canadian National Championships at Edmonton, Alberta, from August 14 to 22.
Notably, the youngest competitor at the championship event was 13-year-old District Eight bowler Christine Schuknecht of the Chesley Club. In first-round action, she managed a dramatic win after watching Lynne Newton of District One whittle away her 16 - 3 lead. At the final end of the match, the score was tied at 20.
Christine was defeated on the second day of competition, 21 - 18 in the quarter-final of the silver medal round. Earlier this year, she competed in a provincial junior doubles championship and narrowly missed a bronze medal. Her dad Steve, a ten-year veteran at the game, says the best advice he can give his daughter is to "play your own game" and "enjoy the moment."
As the story has it, when Ontario Lawn Bowling Association (OLBA) officials visited the Campbellford site, they couldn't refuse.
"It's a beautiful setting here," said OLBA director Deb Hare. And she should know. She has visited lawn bowling clubs province-wide.
"That's something I enjoy doing, getting around to all the different clubs," she said. "If I can't win, I'll go and convene or umpire, I'm always available."
"My husband says I'm never home," she added with a laugh.
Even with two representatives competing, there was no gold for District 15. The district is home to clubs in Campbellford, Madoc, Kingston, Belleville, Trenton and Brighton. Stephanie Miller of Brighton and Sylvia Poulain of Campbellford were both forced onto the 'B' grid with losses in the first round. Miller dropped a 21 - 14 decision to Chris Pringle of District 13 while Poulain played the match of her life, a seesaw marathon against Gloria Cheung of District 12. There is no clock. In this game, the winner is the first player to achieve 21 points. And it could take a long time. After more than three hours of play, in the longest match of the tournament, Cheung won the contest 21 - 17.
"The competition is very tough," said Poulain. "You've got the best of the best here and everyone is playing very, very well. You work for every shot.
"It's really a matter of concentration and focusing on what you're doing."
The gold medal went to District Six representative, Marg Lepere of the Niagara Falls Lawn Bowling Club who won her final match 21 - 9.
"Stamina is a big thing in singles play," she said. "Because you can keep going and going and going. The idea is not to give up any big ends."
This is Lepere's third trip in as many years to a Canadian championship. Last year, she lost her first match in the provincial singles championship but rebounded with consecutive wins to win silver. The year before, she won a trip to the Canadian doubles competition.
"It's hard to get there once, let alone again and again," she said. "I feel very privileged."
And this is serious stuff. The runner-up in the gold medal match isn't awarded automatic silver like they do in the Olympics, she's got to fight for it, along with the rest of the survivors in the double knockout tournament.
District Nine rep. Kelly McKerihen of the Milton Lawn Bowling Club won silver while gold medal finalist, District 14's Laura Hawryszko of the Cobourg Club mined bronze.
Gold and silver medallists at the Campbellford tournament are eligible to compete at the 2010 Canadian National Championships at Edmonton, Alberta, from August 14 to 22.
Notably, the youngest competitor at the championship event was 13-year-old District Eight bowler Christine Schuknecht of the Chesley Club. In first-round action, she managed a dramatic win after watching Lynne Newton of District One whittle away her 16 - 3 lead. At the final end of the match, the score was tied at 20.
Christine was defeated on the second day of competition, 21 - 18 in the quarter-final of the silver medal round. Earlier this year, she competed in a provincial junior doubles championship and narrowly missed a bronze medal. Her dad Steve, a ten-year veteran at the game, says the best advice he can give his daughter is to "play your own game" and "enjoy the moment."
As the story has it, when Ontario Lawn Bowling Association (OLBA) officials visited the Campbellford site, they couldn't refuse.
"It's a beautiful setting here," said OLBA director Deb Hare. And she should know. She has visited lawn bowling clubs province-wide.
"That's something I enjoy doing, getting around to all the different clubs," she said. "If I can't win, I'll go and convene or umpire, I'm always available."
"My husband says I'm never home," she added with a laugh.
