The 2018 Special Olympics Canada Bowling Championships have been full of excitement, achievement, and fun for Special Olympics Team BC 2018 5- and 10-pin bowlers! All their hard work and preparation paid off, with many athletes performing exceptionally well and reaching new personal bests.
Team BC will travel across the country tomorrow with a haul of hardware as they bring back nine gold medals, eight silver medals, and 14 bronze medals!
Athletes will also bring home wonderful memories of their time on the East Coast, where they experienced music, art, and culture from Prince Edward Island, and met new people from across Canada.
Ten-pin bowler and SOBC – Prince George athlete Linda Renner says she has enjoyed her time in P.E.I. and making new friends from different parts of Canada. “I think I met someone from almost every single province!” she said.
Team BC photos from the Bowling Championships
5-pin bowling
After three days of intense match play, two B.C. teams, the Quesnel Alley Cats and the Mission Strikers R Us, made it into the final medal round! In the final heat the Quesnel Alley Cats won a bronze medal and the Mission Strikers R Us team are going home with gold.
Team BC was well represented in the individual medals table, with one of the team’s three individual gold medals going to SOBC – Castlegar athlete Michael Cook. Cook says the experience was “extraordinary!” and he is still in shock that he got a gold medal.
Pictured at right: SOBC – Castlegar athlete Michael Cook.
This was Cook’s first time at a national competition, and Cook says he is so proud of himself for coming this far and he “enjoyed every moment.” Cook also thanked his coach Debbie McCooey who he said was “an amazing coach. We wouldn’t have been able to make it without her!”
10-pin bowling
Team BC 10-pin bowlers rocked the lanes at the Bowling Championships, bringing home at least one medal in every single one of their events! The team have been in great spirits throughout the whole competition, and have been a wonderful source of support to each other and the other athletes.
This is Gabe Young’s first time at a national competition, and the SOBC – Campbell River athlete is “pretty proud” to be bringing home a silver medal alongside teammates Michael Harris, Rachel Peers, and Dale Ramsden for their performance in Tuesday’s team competition. Young says he has enjoyed “everything” about his Bowling Championships experience, including “making friends, seeing new places, meeting new people, and all around fun!”
SOBC – Burnaby athlete Amanda Littlejohn said it felt “really good” to receive her two bronze medals at the ceremony this morning. For Littlejohn the best part of the trip was getting to know people from all over and “making a few extra friends.”
Linda Renner is going home to Prince George with two gold medals, one for the singles event and one for her overall performance. Renner says she was very proud to get a gold medal, and “when they called my name for the second time I was shocked, but it was a great surprise!”
Renner says she has had a great time in P.E.I. “Thank you to all the coaches that are here with Team BC, including the mission staff and [Chef de Mission] Leslie," she said. “Without their help, I don’t think we would have made it this far!”
Congratulations to the athletes, coaches, and mission staff on a memorable and successful Bowling Championships!