by PAUL RAYNER

For Helen Nantais and Kerrie Lynn Lamb, the long route to national bowling championships came with the proper reward.

The two Boissevain bowlers were part of the Manitoba team that won the championship at the Canadian Five Pin Bowlers Association Interprovincial Tournament last weekend in Regina. Paired with Kris Kotyk and Tom Gibson of Brandon and coached by Gary Ezerard, they were one of two teams to compete from the province. According to Nantais, the win was not expected.

“Personally, myself, It didn’t know what to expect,” Nantais stated. “I went with the idea to get my average or above every game. That was my goal. All of the bowlers went with that idea. We did not expect to win.”

The route began earlier in January, when the zone finals were held in Boissevain. Nantais finished fifth and Lamb sixth in the women’s competition. That allowed them to be a part of three teams from the zone to go from Westman to Provincials in Winnipeg. As the teams were set up as 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, it ended up that the two Boissevain women were paired, and also paired with their male counterparts based on finish.

“It was totally individual. It was just the way we finished in the competition in Boissevain.”

From there, the team finished second at Provincials in Winnipeg in February. That gave them the right to be one of the two teams to represent Manitoba in Regina.

The five-pin tournament in Regina was a round robin, with teams playing 14 games against one or two teams representing most provinces. As those games were spread over two days – seven on Friday, April 24 and seven on Saturday, April 25 – it was a rather tiring competition.

“It was a long day,” Nantais said, “from 8 in the morning to five at night.”

The tournament was scored as pins over average, meaning that the bowlers’ average was used as a sort of baseline. There were so many points awarded for individuals for bowling over their average, as well as for teams doing the same. This is a balancer of sorts between different bowlers. Members of teams are paired against one another, but bowling a higher score does not necessarily mean they come out on top. It is based on bowling above one’s average.

Nantais bowled first, while Lamb went fourth. Some teams, she said, tried to match bowler to bowler, but they stayed the same for the entire tournament.

At the end of the round robin, their team finished on top with a total of 63 points out of a possible 98. Overall, the team was able to bowl 746 pins above average.

Individually, Lamb was able to make 71 above average. Nantais bowled a very impressive 539 pins above average, making the tournament all star team. She said she was able to beat her average every game but one, where she was five points under.

The finish was an impressive one, says Henry Timmer, the president of the Westman 5-Pin Association.

“They bowled terrific, just fantastic,” Timmer stated. “It’s big news when someone bowls 500 pins over average. Now they’re the national champion, with the gold medals.”

Timmer said the tournament started several years ago strictly as a Saskatchewan thing, and grew from year to year. It reached the point where it was taken over by the Canadian 5-Pin Association, and has become a major national event.

Nantais said the team did get together to practice a few times before Regina, and she and Lamb did a few more on their own. But bowling is a very individual competition.

“It is a team thing,” she explained, “but it is not like basketball, where you play as a team.”

Although this was Nantais’ first trip to this level, Timmer said Lamb had been to the Nationals in Thunder Bay just last year. Their success is impressive for themselves and their local organization.

“For us in Boissevain, this is big news. It is absolutely good for everyone, a really big plus for us.”

The five-team members split $2600 in winnings, which Nantais said she did not know about going in. She is obviously pleased with the success.

“I’m happy we won, ecstatic,” she said. “It was not something I expected.”