Darci Shelke was throwing against veterans of the game, folks who had been piling up strikes and spares for decades.
As a member of the Zone 8 women's team at the Coastal Insurance Provincial Open five-pin bowling championships, the 19-year-old Shelke should have been a little jittery. But really, she wasn't. She finished the weekend tournament with an average of 222 and helped her squad claim the B.C. title.
"I just took every game as it was," said Shelke, who is still classed as a youth player and was competing in her first adult provincials. "Getting down to the wire was pretty stressful, counting every ball. But I just made sure I kept that extra breath I needed and just stayed relaxed. I made sure it didn't go to my head or anything."
In the championship match, played Sunday at Black Diamond Lanes, Shelke and her Zone 8 teammates beat the Lower Mainland 1,272-1,034 and qualified for nationals, June 1-5 in Surrey and Langley. The Zone 8 crew is rounded out by Kim Thompson, Kelsy Hogh, Leighanne Paull, Mary Ann Sanders and Kayla Clark.
Shelke was thrilled with the team's victory, which came on her home turf.
"Winning was a pretty big thing for us and it was nice to celebrate it with all of them," she said.
Ed Stepski, the Zone 8 coach, was impressed with how cool Shelke was in the heat of the moment.
"She's got the experience from going through YBC," Stepski said.
"For the lack of experience bowling at a provincial event at this level, for adults, she handled it really well. She bowled so well. An average like that in her first big tournament, it says a lot for her character. She's good, and she's going to be good in years to come if she stays with it."
