2024 Canadian Championship winners from Youth to Para and Majors are Crowned
The 2024 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships took place this past week (from August 17th to 24th) across Ontario. The events were hosted at multiple clubs: Lawn Bowls Milton (Milton, ON) and Heritage Greens Lawn Bowling Club (Kitchener, ON) co-hosted the Majors, James Gardens Lawn Bowling Club (Etobicoke, ON) hosted the Under-21 Youth Championships, and Brampton Lawn Bowling Club (Brampton, ON) welcomed the Para Championships. Across all events and disciplines, approximately 100 athletes from across the country competed and the 2024 champions were crowned.
Para Championships
This year, Bowls Canada added an open para discipline to allow bowlers with impairments that do not classify within the B1 to B8 classes outlined by the International Bowls for the Disabled (IBD) Classification. Three athletes, two hailing from Ontario and one from Alberta, competed against each other in 6 rounds. Carolyn Grace (ON) came in third place based on the round robin standings, leaving Dan Piper (AB) and Jeff Cheah (ON) to play in the gold medal round. These two athletes played a passionate and fierce game ending in a tie-break. However, Ontario bowler Jeff Cheah was able to maintain his momentum and won the gold medal (final score of 0-9, 7-5, 1-0).
There were four bowlers with visual impairments, two classified as B2 and the other as B3, in attendance at this year’s para championships. During round robin games, all four athletes played each other, but medals were awarded by classification classes. For the B2 classification, BCB Para Squad athlete Louis McLean (ON) had a perfect score (6-0) going into the medal rounds by that did not intimidate Joyce Wayling (ON) who continued to fight with each bowl rolled. In the end, reigning champion Louise McLean won the game (6-0 and 9-4) and Joyce Wayling brought home a silver medal in this year’s national championship. B3 classified bowlers, Barbara MacIsaac (BC) and Elizabeth Mayo (PEI), played well throughout the round robin and had one final chance for title of B3 Champion on August 22nd. Elizabeth Mayo was able to beat her BC opponent in both sets (8-3, 10-5) awarding her with the gold medal and Barbara MacIsaac taking home the silver medal.
There were six bowlers with physical impairments, four classified as B6 and two classified as B7. After a full round robin, Andy Caldwell (ON) and Jean Stairs (NB) sat atop the leaderboard with records of 4-1. However, bowlers may choose to play up a classification level if they wish, which is what Jean Stairs did to offer a better chance at a medal for competitors. This meant in the B6 playoffs, Chelsea Robertson (ON) bested Jack Smart (AB) to advance to the gold medal match against Andy Caldwell. Caldwell ultimately proved victorious in a tiebreak (3-5, 10-2, 1-0) to reclaim his title for the third consecutive year. In the B7 playoffs, Alan Dean (ON) defeated Anne Hibberd (AB) in a tiebreak before besting Jean Stairs in straight sets in the gold medal match (4-4, 9-3).
Youth Championships
With the 2023 men’s junior champion not in attendance, this left an opening for a new victor. There was passionate game play all week long during the round robin against the six competitors. The gold medal game was between Ontario players Jack Fowler and Siu Hei Hui who are both experienced players. With a 5-0 record for Jack and a 4-1 record for Siu, the medal round was expected to be a fierce game, which did not disappoint. After the first set was won by Jack with a score of 8-3, Siu kept fighting. Jack maintained his momentum and won the second set 6-4, naming him the Men’s Junior gold medalist. Siu Hei Hui was awarded a well-deserved silver medal, and the bronze medal was won by Cayden Carter of Ontario.
On the women’s side, reigning 2023 champion Kiera Schaelow (AB) was in attendance and ready to defend her title. The women’s field was stacked with five bowlers representing Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The bronze medal game was played between Ontario bowler Rebecca Coon and Madeline Mohr of Saskatchewan. Both players had a record of three wins and two losses. After two sets won by Rebecca Coon (10-1 and 6-2), the Ontario player advanced to the gold medal game to play last year’s champion and awarding Madeline Mohr third place. After hard-fought round robin matches, Schaelow was coming into the gold medal match with a 4-1 record. Kiera Schaelow and Rebecca Coon’s match was filled with great game play and skill; however, Kiera was able to gain the upper hand and won both sets for a final score of 10-2 and 8-2. Kiera has been able to successfully defend her title and Rebecca Coon was awarded a merited silver medal.
The Youth Championships also crowned the Forster-Lang Trophy to a mixed pairs team made up of the bowlers playing for the singles title. Six teams played in round robin games through the week in hopes of reaching the podium. The team with the highest points were awarded a bye to the gold medal game, while the next two teams battled it out in the bronze medal match. Quinten Stanyer and Kiera Schaelow (AB) played against Siu Hei Hui (ON) and Bridget Masterson (ON) in a nail-biting match ending in a tiebreaker. The team from Ontario lost the first set 1-9, but then came back from behind to win the next set 10-0. In the end, the tiebreaker set was won by the players from Alberta, awarding Siu Hei Hui and Bridget Masterson with bronze. Stanyer and Schaelow advanced to play Jack Fowler and Rebecca Coon of Ontario the next day in the gold medal match. Once again, these players did not disappoint the crowd with a fierce game as it also ended in a tie-breaking game. Fowler and Coon won the first set 4-1, but coming from behind Stanyer and Schaelow took set 2 with a final score of 5-2. It was still anyone’s game – but the team from Ontario took the title leaving the team from Alberta with a well-fought silver medal.
Major Championships
In the first ever 5-a-side championship, 80 athletes from across the country came to Milton, Ontario and Kitchener, Ontario to battle it out in fours, triples, pairs, and singles. With a torrential downpour to start the week, the round robin finished with Alberta A atop the leaderboard in men’s fours and triples, while Ontario B sat in first for men’s pairs and singles. On the women’s side, Nova Scotia finished first in women’s fours, Quebec for women’s triples, Alberta for women’s pairs, and Saskatchewan for women’s singles.
The playoff format featured the top ranked team getting a bye to the gold medal match, while teams #2 and #3 duked it out on the greens to see who had a shot at the trophy. With 7 of the 8 playoff games going to a tie-break, the matches were exciting and came down to the final bowl in most cases.
In women’s pairs and triples, Alberta defeated Manitoba and Quebec respectively to earn two golds. In women’s fours, Nova Scotia defeated Quebec in straight sets, while the women’s singles saw Manitoba defeat Saskatchewan in straight sets.
In men’s fours and triples, Alberta A defeated Ontario A and Saskatchewan respectively to claim two gold medals. In men’s pairs and singles, Ontario B defeated Ontario A to claim their golds.
The coveted Cy English (top men’s team) and Lady Alexander (top women’s team) were won by Ontario B for the men and Alberta for the women.
As the official awards and recognition supplier for BCB, Nothers The Award Store will provide all medals and awards for the event.
Bowls Canada would also like thank all host clubs, Lawn Bowls Milton, Heritage Green Lawn Bowling Club, Brampton Lawn Bowling Club, and James Garden Lawn Bowling Club, as well as the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario for their financial support.
For more information, please contact Jake Schuknecht at jschuknecht@bowlscanada.com.
About Bowls Canada Boulingrin
Bowls Canada Boulingrin (BCB) is the governing body responsible for lawn bowls in Canada. The BCB mission is to advance the sport of bowls in Canada. For more details on Bowls Canada Boulingrin and the sport of lawn bowls, visit www.bowlscanada.com.
About Nothers The Award Store
For more than 50 years, Nothers The Award Store has been a supplier of awards and recognition products to Sport Associations, Schools, Professional Associations, Corporate Markets and Service Clubs. Servicing the likes of Western University, Volleyball Canada and Pet Valu to name a few, Nothers has the capacity to service everything from National Championships to local leagues with custom medals and awards, signage and promotional products. The company is Ontario-based and services Canada-wide.