Special Olympics bowlers from Quesnel took to the lanes in Dawson Creek earlier this month for a regional qualifier and found success.
Eleven teams from Prince George, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek competed in a total pins competition. Each team bowled three games.
Quesnel teams finished in second and third place, only a few pins behind a team from Dawson Creek, who finished with a final score of 2009.
A team made up of Aaron Allinson, Cory Melnyuchuk, Haley Higdon, Jessica Colpitts and Tyler Kent, coached by Ellen Martz finished second, with a total pin count of 2006.
The third place team was made up of Robert Beiswanger, Dean Cake, Cherie Swaan, Amanda Garro, Trevor Roszmann and coach Doreen O’Brien. That team finished with a total pin count of 1996.
Participation numbers for Special Olympics have declined through the COVID-19 pandemic. The club has 26 bowlers, when before the pandemic around 40 people participated in bowling.
READ MORE: Quesnel Special Olympics team travels to Prince George
Martz said the athletes who went were “beyond excited,” to get back to competition.
“It was an amazing event, I was really happy with the way the event was handled,” Martz said.
“Everyone was accommodating, and it was really a pleasurable weekend… It was a win-win all the way around.”
Quesnel athletes didn’t just find team success. Beiswanger bowled the best single score of the men’s competitors, with 201. He also had the best triple with a score of 546.
For the women’s competitors, Colpitts took the best triple with a score of 530.
The competition shifted to a total pin count format because there wasn’t enough time in the season to set averages.
This was the first in-person bowling competition for Quesnel Special Olympic bowlers since the provincial winter games in 2019.
Quesnel Special Olympics plans on hosting their annual gold pan bowling tournament on Saturday, April 23.
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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com
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cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com
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