Lucas Punkari
While their final placing wasn’t quite what they had hoped for, the Plaza Lanes trio of Evelyn Barker, Betty Robinson, and Sylvia Beadle had an experience they won’t soon forget at the recent Club 55+ Triples Team National Championships in Kelowna, B.C.
The local trio, who had captured the provincial title in Sudbury back in April, finished fifth out of the six squads during the two-day event held June 27-28, in what was their first appearance at any national championship.
“It was a great experience and we had a great time,” Beadle enthused.
“On the last day, we didn’t quite bowl our best and that was kind of a letdown,” she admitted.
“But if we are ever lucky to go again, we’ve learned a few things that will help us out.
“However, one of the highlights for us was when Betty received an award for shooting the highest individual game [a 274 in Game 3 on the Wednesday], so that was a plus,” added Beadle.
Unlike the provincials, where the standings were determined by an accumulated pins-over-average score, the national showdown featured a match play format where the winning team in each head-to-head game received a single point.
After dropping their first match to Southern Ontario, the Plaza Lanes trio rattled off three-straight wins to move into a tie for second place.
Then a break in the action proved to be their undoing.
“We had thought we would have five games each day going into the tournament,” Beadle noted.
“But as it turned out, after our first four games that morning, we had a break on our hands for the rest of the day, so some of the teams took a shuttle bus to go out while we ended up wandering around town to see things.
“That proved to be our undoing, I think, as we were all pretty stiff and sore when we played our next six games on the Thursday,” she reasoned.
While they were unable to score any more points during the tournament, all three bowled over their respective averages for the weekend.
Barker’s 144.90 average for the tournament proved to be the highest improvement one the team, besting her average score by 17 pins.
“We really have to give a big thank you to Rick Stamarski with our overall play,” Beadle stressed.
“He spent a lot of time with us before we left for the tournament as we would go to the alley once a week to stay in shape.
“That was very good for us,” she added.
The national title ended up going to Saskatchewan, represented by Olga Affleck, Mary Waddell, and Jean Orenchuk of Regina, who defeated defending champion B.C.
While Beadle and the rest of her team learned many different things during their 10 games, there was one valuable lesson they will take to heart if they make it back to the nationals.
“If we find ourselves with free time again, we will be taking it easier and not go wandering around town for miles,” she joked.
