Young bowler awarded for her dedication

A broken bone can cause challenges for anyone.
But for Tylyn Silander of Fort Frances, a broken wrist threatened to eliminate her entire junior girls’ bowling team from competing at the zone round of the “Four Steps to Stardom” earlier this year.
The squad was preparing for the competition that took place Feb. 19 in Dryden when 13-year-old Silander, the team captain, went curling. She fell and hit her right wrist on the ice, breaking it.
This should have prevented her from being able to bowl, but Silander didn’t want to forfeit the competition.
“I just didn’t want to let my team down, so I started practising with my left hand,” she recounted. “I wasn’t too good, but if it helped our team out, I wanted to do it.”
Silander said she didn’t care about her broken wrist—or how difficult it was to bowl with the wrong hand. Rather, she was most concerned about the fact she was suppose to be the leader of her team at the zone round.
Her team was told that they would not be able to bowl for a medal—and a chance to advance to the provincials—because there was no replacement for Silander.
They still would be able to bowl, but only as a pacer team.
So the day before the competition, Silander decided to compete despite her broken wrist.
Silander said it was very difficult and that she definitely did not bowl her best. But she decided it was better to bowl badly than not be able to compete at all.
As it turned out, her team finished third—earning the bronze medal. Silander feels they might have had a chance at first place if she had been able to bowl with her right hand.
Silander hopes she will be able to lead the team again next year and finish first.
In order to qualify for the team, Silander had the best score out of six games, which made her the captain of the four-person squad.
For Silander, the best part of the experience was during the YBC awards ceremony back on May 27 when she was honoured with the most dedicated bowler award.
“I felt kind of emotional,” Silander said about receiving the award. “They wrote up this really big speech and it got to me because of the words that they put about how I was feeling.
“They knew exactly how I was feeling.”
She said how much she enjoyed the awards banquet, where she received her plaque in front of everyone, got to have her photo taken, and received a gift of appreciation.
Silander has been bowling competitively for three years. She said she plays other sports in competition, but that bowling was more for the fun of it.
“This is more to make friends and to have fun,” she remarked. Still, she said when it’s competition time, she takes it seriously.
Bowling also is a family affair for her.
“My grandparents have bowled for 45 years or something,” she said. “They convinced me to start and I ended up liking it.
“My whole family from my grandparents down to even to my uncles, everybody has bowled, so I guess it just runs in the family,” she added.
And no matter what, she vowed she will continue bowling—even if it’s just with her family.
Silander will have one more year at the junior level. If she decides to continue competing, she will move on to try out for the senior girls’ squad.