Best 5-pin bowlers in southern Ontario compete in Brantford
The best 5-pin bowlers in southern Ontario are competing in the Open Provincial Championships this week.
The four-day championship started on Wednesday with just over 309 participants in mens, ladies and mixed divisions. Bowlers are competing at Echo Bowl in Brantford and C&D Lanes in Woodstock. The event features singles and team competitors.
A senior’s event is also happening at Mike’s Bowling Lanes in Stratford. On Saturday, all the teams will go to Echo Bowl in Brantford, where the championship round will be completed.
"First year back and back in the open. So I'm just really excited to be here," Megan Russell, a bowler on the Middlesex-Elgin Women’s Team said.
"Motivation is the big thing for them. They all know what to do. You've just got to point it out sometimes," Kristin Thompson, coach of the Middlesex-Elgin Men’s Team said.
This year’s event, also celebrated some milestones. It marks the 30th time both Linda MacLean and Connie Ward have qualified for the championship.
“It's just nice to be able to compete, see the new talent coming out and still be a part of it," Ward, a bowler for the Hamilton Women’s Team said.
"Just as nervous as I was the first year," MacLean, a bowler for the Ontario Durham Women’s Team said.
According to Ward, when she started competing at the 5 pin championship there were 24 zones of competitors across Southern Ontario. Now, many have merged, and only 13 remain.
"It's still nice to see that this can still go on. Even though it is a dying sport, you still get the people out and playing. So that's a good thing," Ward said.
The sport of 5-pin bowling has been around since 1904 and is a Canadian sport.
“We wish it was everywhere in the world, but it seems that the small ball we use is unique to the Canadian environment, “ John Cresswell, president of the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association said.
The winners of the open divisions on Saturday will move on to represent Southern Ontario at the National Championships in Ottawa at the end of May.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Zendaya tennis movie ‘Challengers’ scores at weekend box office
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
BREAKING Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
Key mediator Qatar urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Murder charge laid after man falls to death from Toronto apartment balcony
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.