Strikes are the object of the game in bowling.
Two weeks ago at the B.C. Open women's singles five-pin championship in Nanaimo Kim Chadwick struck an elusive target off her bucket list when she won the tournament, her first-ever provincial singles title.
"Of the high-end tournaments that's the one thing I never succeeded in, really since I was an adult, 35 years," said Chadwick. "I've made the stepladder several times but never made it through. It's kind of a crapshoot because it's one game and if you lose you're out."
She qualified first in the ladies singles division with a 10-game average of 275.6 and advanced directly to the final, which meant she had to be beaten twice to be eliminated. Chadwick, who came in with a 243 average, needed that extra lifeline when Morgan Theedom beat her in the first final 273-205. Chadwick won by 10 pins, 252-242, in the final game.
Theedom finished fifth in qualifying round and had to win three games just to get at shot at Chadwick. The 20-year-old from Nanaimo came into the final firecracker-hot, posting stepladder scores of 305, 308 and 343. In Theedom's second game against Chadwick she built a healthy lead after five frames.
"I was down 30 at the halfway point," said Chadwick. "My coach (Larry Johnson) said to me, 'This isn't looking real good, just do the best you can for the last half and see what happens,' and I ended up throwing well and forced her to get a strike or spare in 10 and she did not get it."
Chadwick, 55, first competed in the B.C. Open championships when she was 19 and the singles title has eluded her all that time. She finished third in the B.C. Open singles tournament in 2004 and 2009, and in 2017, when it was held in Prince George. That tournament renewed her interest in refining her game to compete at the top-level events and she planned to enter last year's provincial stream but suffered a fall on a slippery parking lot which kept her from entering the zone event. At one point she contemplated retiring from bowling. Now, as the provincial champion, she plans to try to defend her title next year.
Chadwick, inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, is the city's most accomplished bowler. She won the TSN Pins Game women's championship in 1988 and was second in 2004 and 2009. Chadwick was chosen for the Century of Excellence Top-100 list in 2009.
She was first introduced to the sport when she was 10, when her mom, who worked at Nechako Lanes and later became part-owner, signed her up for youth bowling. At age 13, her first year of competitive bowling, she won the senior girls zone, provincial and national YBC titles.
"I had never been to a competition before that and no question that got me hooked," she said.
In Nanaimo, Chadwick and the North women's team coached by Jason Kennedy finished third. The team also included Paige Meise and Tiana Tecson of Prince George, Morgan Burdock and Coralee Szilagyi of Fort St. John, and Michelle Hruby of Terrace.
"We started at seven in the morning on the first day on the team and had to do seven games and I thought there's no way someone old is going to win this thing because then you had do another five games in singles and we actually bowled 13 hours the first day," said Chadwick. "But because I'm a hairstylist and I'm on my feet 12 hours a day three days a week that maybe ended up being an advantage."
As singles champion, Chadwick will represent B.C. at the national championships in Surrey/Abbotsford, May 28-June 1. She's relieved she won't have to adjust her watch for a time zone change.
"It's a lot tougher when you go across the country and have to get on the clock, it takes a couple of days and then it's over," she said. "Both those centres (Surrey and Abbotsford) have always been good for me, so I'm feeling confident that way. Surrey especially has been a good house for me in the past."
The national finals will be live-streamed on the Canadian Five-Pin Bowlers Association website.
In other provincial results, the North men's team coached by Ed Stepski - Iain MacRitchie and Kyle Parker of Prince George, Larry Richet of 100 Mile House, and Williams Lake residents Brent Morrison, Morgan Mailhiot and Kevin McAlpine - also finished third. The North mixed team - Chris Arnett, Chris Conley and Lee Sheppard of Prince George, Tyler MacLean and Lisa McAlpine of Williams Lake, Lorraine Sharyk and coach Diane Francis of Terrace - placed fifth.
