Photo Courtesy Jen Nichol

By Tanner Smith

Bowling

Peace Region represented at the Bowling National Championship

Jun 27, 2024 | 7:05 AM

Some Peace Region representation is expected on Team Alberta at the Master Bowlers of Canada National Championship in Winnipeg from July 1 to July 5.

Jen Nichol will be attending the tournament as part of Alberta’s Teaching Women team, after claiming 5th place at provincial’s, which was hosted at HJ’s five-pin bowling earlier this year.

However, as Nichol explains, it takes a lot more than placing in the top five at one tournament to make the Masters;

“This tournament (Bowling Master’s) to qualify for it you have to bowl in four local tournaments, and you have to have a positive points-over-average at the end of three of them. If you’re still negative then you go into the fourth one (tournament) and as long as you’re positive then you go to the provincial level, and for me, there were 40 ladies (to compete against).”

This will be the first time Nichol competes in the National Master’s, as she only first started to bowl a few years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“This is my third year bowling and my first year doing the Masters, I just got my coaching last year, so I missed that last year. But I hadn’t bowled, I grew up in Kinuso which is just a little Hamlet outside of Slave Lake, so there was no bowling alley, no nothing. It wasn’t until actually Covid and my four kids were in hockey and when Covid hit, it shut everything down.”

Nichol credited HJ’s Five-Pin Bowling owners Gerald and Trish Hafner for her family’s love of the sport, as “we went into HJ’s one day and started bowling and the kids liked it. Trish and Gerald talked to us about the different leagues and stuff for the kids. Three years later we are still going.”

Now, Nichol’s children will have the opportunity to watch their Mom compete at the highest level in the country. Showing not only her own children what can happen when you push yourself in something but all youth in the region.”

“I bowl Thursday nights with my daughters and another girl, and she was there for the open when we hosted it here, so now she is practicing more and wants to get to this competitive level.”

Coming from a hockey background and being a coach for twelve years, along with having her own kids in the sport; Nichol, with help from Gerald and Trish Hafner and some other local bowlers, have begun the process of creating more youth tournaments, as before Nichol was involved she “never realized how big bowling was” in the region.

However, before the tournament starts Nichol will have one more hoop to jump through, as on Wednesday, June 26, she received an email from the Master Bowlers of Canada that all competitors should plan to drive to Winnipeg, if WestJet mechanics go on strike Friday, June 28.

Nichol was supposed to fly out of Grande Prairie at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and land in Calgary, but WestJet mechanics have issued a strike notice that would go into effect as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

One more peace region resident is also expected to represent Alberta at National’s, as David Bridges will compete on the Teaching Men’s team.

HJ’s Five-Pin Bowling does plan on live-streaming the tournament throughout the week, but anyone wanting more information can visit the Master Bowlers of Canada website.