鈥淓veryone thinks this sport is just for retired, grey-haired people, but that is so wrong,鈥� insisted the enthusiastic Gordon Head Bowling Club member during the聽Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships.
As if to prove her point, young Auzzie Chambers turned heads with his prowess as lead on Team sa国际传媒 during round-robin tour play under sunny skies.
鈥淢y mom is a seniors鈥� care worker and a lot of her clients played the sport and invited me out,鈥� said Chambers, 15, explaining how he became a junior champion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of fun, and you meet a lot of people. It鈥檚 a physical game, but it鈥檚 also basically mental.鈥�
Although Forster, who was volunteering as a scoreboard flipper, was dressed in white, she emphasized that 鈥測ou no longer need to just wear white. It鈥檚 become a much more colourful thing.鈥�
Indeed, it was, judging by the sights and sounds of the action on four pristine bowling greens as dozens of the 180 top lawn bowlers from across sa国际传媒 demonstrated their grace, agility and camaraderie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely brilliant, and of course Mother Nature is cooperating,鈥� declared Dave Mathie in his thick Scottish brogue after completing game six.
鈥淭he faster the greens are, the better,鈥� said the Team sa国际传媒 bowler and host club president, tipping his blue-and-yellow ballcap to Westshore Parks and Recreation for grooming the greens to perfection.
鈥淟awn bowling is a sport for life,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o me it鈥檚 better than curling, and one of the best sports going because you can move the mat up, and the jack moves. In curling, it鈥檚 a fixed target.鈥�
David Calam, Regina-based president of Bowls sa国际传媒, said one of the most appealing aspects of the game is that almost anyone can play.
鈥淲e have a lot of players under 30 on our Saskatchewan team. It鈥檚 having a resurgence among young people, and it鈥檚 a wonderful game for retired seniors because it takes a little longer than most sports,鈥� he said.
The purpose of the six-day championships, which ran Aug. 13 to 19, twofold, he said 鈥� to have top-level players spread the word about Bowls sa国际传媒鈥檚 mission, and to ensure teams are as competitive as possible.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to the Commonwealth Games in 2018,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sending 14 men and women to the Gold Coast in Australia.鈥�
Calam personally likes lawn bowling鈥檚 strategic elements 鈥� that in addition to the physical and social activity there is such a strong mental component.
鈥淚 had a demanding job as an engineer when I started playing,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t was therapeutic playing a game that fully absorbed you mentally, particularly if you鈥檙e in the office all day.鈥�
For Woodstock, Ont.-based Jim Roth, 60, and his Chatham, Ont.-based brother Tom, 62, lawn bowling gives them a chance to enjoy a common passion.
鈥淲e鈥檝e played together for a number of years at the national level and the club level,鈥� said Jim, who didn鈥檛 start playing the game their parents had played for years until he retired.
鈥淚t鈥檚 harder than it looks,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen I started playing competitive bowls, my golf game went by the wayside and I was only playing [golf] five or six times a year.鈥�
As challenging as it can be, however, Tom says you don鈥檛 necessarily have to be athletic.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen people who are not athletes be very good at this game,鈥� he said.
Their Ontario B team鈥檚 skip, Wayne Wright, says there鈥檚 a good reason he has been lawn bowling for 55 years.
鈥淚 was fortunate, as these guys were, to have played with my parents because I was raised in a small town in Ontario,鈥� said Wright, who hails from Grand Bend.
鈥淭here were no babysitters, so when my parents went to the bowls club, my brother and I went with them and hung out and watched everybody playing,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here are many examples of four generations of bowlers playing together, great-grandma and all the way down. It really is a sport for life.鈥�