Campbell River 10 Pin Youth bowlers brought Gold and Silver medals home from the BC Tenpin Federation Provincial Tournament held in the lower mainland on March 9 and 10.
Male and female winners in four different age categories compete for the opportunity to be a member of the BC Provincial team. The two-day tournament’s format consisted of moving lanes every two games, with total pin fall deciding the winners. For day one, six games were bowled and the top five athletes in each division would then go on to day two for the finals. The finals were eight games, and the total pin fall would decide the medalists.
Campbell River sent five bowlers, one Bantam Boy – Aiden Robertson, two Junior Boys – Ethan Belanko and Jordan Riopka, and two Senior Girls – Brooke Rodgers and Devon Rodgers.
In the Semi Final round, Robertson bowled very well and beat his own average over all six games. Riopka started very strong bowling 197 in the first game, his highest score to date, and continued to beat his average every game. Both did great but just came up short of qualifying for the finals the next day. Belanko bowled very well and made it into second place, which got him into the finals. Devon Rodgers started strong and had the only 200 game of the Senior Girls, 214. Brooke Rodgers struggled against the difficult lane conditions and still both girls qualified for the finals.
When all of the pins had settled and the machines quieted down, the finals saw Seniors Girl Brooke Rodgers had averaged 189 each game to bring home the gold medal with a 1516 total while her sister Devon averaged 180 each game to take the silver medal with a 1431 total. In the Junior Boys division, Ethan Belanko also averaged 180 each game for a 1441 total for his silver medal.
The first place win qualifies Brooke to be part of the British Columbia team at the Canadian National Championships to be held in Edmonton, Alberta in May.