HANDOUT PHOTO
Three young bowlers, Cage (right) and Kallie Deering and Bree McGloin are heading to Edmonton over the weekend to represent Alberta at the Youth Bowl Canada National Championships that run from May 5-7.
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Three local bowlers are heading to Edmonton over the weekend to take part in the three-day Youth Bowl Canada Five-pin Nationals that kicks off at the Bonnie Doon Bowling Centre May 5.
Fourteen-year-old Cage Deering is set to represent Alberta in the Junior Boy Singles event, while 11-year-old Bree McGloin and Kallie Deering will face off in the Bantman Girls Doubles Team event for the province.
Cage says he has quickly developed a passion for the sport after his parents took ownership of the iconic Panorama Lanes Bowling and Family Fun Centre approximately two years ago.
“They’ve been bowling all their life, so that inspired me to pick up a bowling ball as well,” Cage said. “I love the competition and I love the atmosphere as well, and all the great people that you meet along the way.”
Cage will compete against 11 other junior boys from across Canada in a round-robin style format of 22 matches. Competitors will receive one point for each match victory, the competitor with the most points after the round robin ends, is determined national champion.
“I feel pretty ready and I’ve been practicing a lot, and I feel pretty confident in my abilities,” says Cage, who feels he is ready to face the country’s best. “I’m confident that I can beat anybody in the bowling alley at any given moment.”
Eleven-year-old Bree McGloin and Kallie Deering also started bowling two years ago and have since improved their skills significantly.
McGloin says she started taking the sport seriously once she was able to bowl with one hand.
“I started getting better and better, so then I wanted to compete,” McGloin said. “I enjoy meeting other people who are good at bowling and I enjoy competing with other people because I’m pretty competitive.”
Kallie says she was inspired to start competing after watching other bowlers as well as her brother Cage.
“I started watching really good bowlers and then I just found the confidence in myself to keep trying and going,” says Kallie who says she has formed a strong friendship with her teammate.
“We work together a lot, and we just cheer each other on. If somebody gets down on ourselves, we just pick each other up,” said Kallie.
McGloin and Kallie will be competing in a similar round robin format against seven other teams from provinces across the country.
This will be the first time in more than eight years Medicine Hat youth will represent the province at the annual national five-pin tournament.
The YBC National Champions run throughout the day from May 5-7 and will be streamed live on the youthbowlcanada YouTube channel.
