Canadian Juniors Set to Take on World Championships

Ottawa, Ontario | April 7th, 2016

Cameron Lefresne (Enfield, NS), Jaymee Sidel (Victoria, BC),Pricilla Westlake (Delta, BC), Grant Wilkie (Saskatoon, SK) and Stirling Wood (Midland, ON) have arrived in Queensland, Australia for the 2016 World Junior Championships.  The competition will take place from April 9th- 15th at the Broadbeach Bowls Club. 

The World Junior Championships are an annual outdoor championships that feature Men’s and Women’s Singles and a Mixed Pairs events.  In order to be eligible athletes must have reached their 18th birthday but not reached their 25th birthday by the start of the event. Lefresne and Wood have been paired together for the Mixed Pairs event, as are Westlake and Wilkie. Sidel has been partnered with Scott Jess of Ireland for the Mixed Pairs event. 

This is the largest team that Bowls Canada Boulingrin has ever sent to the Junior World Championships.  For Westlake, Wilkie and Wood, 2016 represents their second appearance at this international event whereas, Lefresne and Sidel will be making their debut. While Lefresne, Wood, and Sidel have been using the last weeks to prepare at home, Wilkie and Westlake have been busy on the international competition scene. 

Wilkie recently competed at the 2016 Tiger Bowls and the China Open with his Saskatchewan fours team. He is counting on his previous experience at Broadbeach to help him quickly adapt to the faster playing surfaces found in the Southern Hemisphere. Fresh off a bronze medal win at the at the recent 2016 World Cup in Warilla, Westlake is looking to share her momentum with her Canadian team mates as they prepare to take on the best Juniors in the World.

Darryl Fitzgerald (Waterloo, Ontario) will be providing his coaching expertise and management support for the team of five Canadian athletes prior to and during the World Junior Championships. “Darryl continues to demonstrate his ability to develop young athletes,” said Don Caswell, Chair of the Bowls Canada High Performance Committee. “These athletes represent Canada’s future on the international bowling scene and we are excited to see how they will perform with Darryl’s support”. 

Round-robin play will commence on Saturday April 9th and conclude on Wednesday April 13th.  The Men’s and Women’s Singles and Mixed Pairs playoffs are set for Thursday April 14th with the finals on Friday April 15th, 2016.

Good luck to the five Canadian athletes!

For a full list of competitors, the complete draw and results please visit:
http://www.worldbowls.com/event/world-junior-cup/

For more information, please contact:
Katie Gardner, Technical Coordinator, Bowls Canada Boulingrin
kgardner@bowlscanada.com 

About World Junior Championships
The World Junior Championships are an annual outdoor championships that feature Men’s and Women’s Singles and Mixed Pairs events.  Eligible athletes must have reached their 18th birthday but not reached their 25th birthday the start of the event.  The 2016 event will be hosted at Broadbeach Bowls Club in Queensland Australia from April 9th-15th.

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.