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Indoor tournament raises funds for youth lawn bowling

Close to 40 players take part in event at Timothy Eaton Gardens
The Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling club is hoping to see a ton of young faces picking up the game this summer at the local facility in Crescent Park.

How many is yet to be seen, but there’s little question the club is doing their best to make it happen – not only with former provincial champion and national-level competitor Kim Alexanderson act as coach for the squad, the club held a fundraiser event on Saturday to specifically help promote youth lawn bowling while also raise a few bucks for their road trips in the future.

Around 40 players from Moose Jaw and Regina took part in the indoor ‘mat’ bowling competition at Timothy Eaton Gardens, and according to organizer Daniel Morin, things couldn’t have gone better than they did.

“I’m tickled pink,” he said. “We’re maxed out with four people per team and hopefully if we get some good response from the youth bowlers we’ll make this kind of an annual thing.”

The indoor game looks similar to what one might see on the grass at any club, only instead of 120 feet of lawn to play with, bowlers only have a surface six feet wide and around 40 feet long. Complicating matters is a wooden chock put in the middle of the playing surface, forcing bowlers to curl shots into play.

“It’s like a miniature version of the outdoor game but there’s a lot more finesse,” Morin said. “You’re limited to six feet, so the difference between being in the ditch or off the ditch is so fine. So I find it really helps regular lawn bowlers because it makes them think about where they have to lay the ball down.”

Other than that, it’s still the same sport, one that has seen it’s share of success in the city with the likes of former national champion and worlds competitor Ernie Meid and perennial Canadian title contender Charlie Taylor among the many luminaries to shine on local lawns. Whatever level players are looking to reach, though, the Moose Jaw club will be more than happy to help

“I took it up because I had a hip replaced, and I used it for therapy,” Morin said. “It’s a super fun game, it’s like curling but there’s a few more dimensions to it – the ‘button’ can move and you can move the ‘hack’, things like that.

“Anybody can play it any time, and there are so many variable that it’s impossible to get bored with it. Which is why you have people playing it from age eight to 80.”

With the weather and frozen ground still a touch too inclement for the outdoor game, the club is looking towards the warmer months – they’ll be holding an open house on June 1, with anyone interested in trying out the sport more than welcome.

“That’ll be a good chance for people to try it out and see if it’s for them,” Morin said. “Hopefully we get a lot of people and they have a lot of fun.”

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