Hard to believe that it’s been more than 25 years since Northern Ontario last captured the Men’s title at the Canadian Open 5 Pin Bowling Championships.
From Thunder Bay to Sudbury and at a great many points in between, excellence on the lanes has been a hallmark of countless northern communities for years.
That said, the sextet of Tom Williams, Pete Blanchard, Lyle Dolph, Kyle Beaulieu, Thomas Williams and Azrik Paquette captured the Northern Ontario berth by just a single point in their final game at provincials – and the top four teams at nationals were separated by just a point and a half after completing a rigorous 18-game double round-robin schedule.
Perhaps the extended Northern Ontario break between titles is simply a bi-product of just how closely matched the elite in the country truly are. “Personally, I thought we had a great shot at it,” said Beaulieu, a 23 year-old who has spent much of his life working on his game at Whitewater Lanes in Azilda.
“We all trusted each other and had fun and tried not to think too much about it.”
Truth be told, this might not have been quite the standard prescribed roster for a Northern Ontario team worthy of a run at gold when the 10 best provincial teams in the country are gathered together. There were makings of super-stacked teams in the past, several from Thunder Bay, who likely would have garnered better odds of winning it all.
“My thoughts were that we had three veteran bowlers that are amazing bowlers (Blanchard, Dolph and Tom Williams) and three rookie bowlers (at national men’s open) that are great bowlers (Beaulieu, Thomas Williams and Paquette),” said local bowling legend and coach Arnie Rollins, a man who will soon celebrate his 80th birthday and who last coached an open team to a Canadian championship in 1982, part of a Northern Ontario mixed team that won gold.
“With the team we had, we thought we should make it to stepladder (playoffs). The big thing there is to be a team – and that’s exactly what they were.”
The format of the 5 pin national tournament is that teams of five compete against each other, with one point awarded for each of the individual head to head matchups (#1 on team A vs #1 on team B, etc..) and an additional three points awarded for the team with the overall highest total pinfall in that game.
With eight points up for grabs in each of their 18 matches (max of 144 points in all), Northern Ontario ended the preliminary round of competition at 85 points, with Saskatchewan and Alberta both at 84.5 and Ontario at 83.5. Newfoundland, who was sitting first entering day three, lost six straight games to close out the event at 79.5 points – and outside of the playoffs.
It was that close.
“We were pretty well shocked to finish first,” said Rollins. “I’m not taking anything away from our team, but there were some amazing teams out there.”
That was obvious to one and all, but even more so to the likes of Kyle Beaulieu, a product of the Cambrian North / Nickel District youth bowling system and a young man who had made six trips to youth nationals before aging out to the men’s open game.
“Compared to YBC (Youth Bowl Canada), this was way more competitive,” he said. “It was loud, with all of these crazy bowlers that you’ve seen on tours and in big tournaments.”
Not that overcoming that environment is fundamentally that much different than when you’re bowling with the biggest of stakes on the line as a teen. “A lot of it is zoning out, don’t let anything bug you. You just put the blinders on. You’re really dialed in – and you have to stay dialed in, no matter what.”
One might have expected that from those who have been there before. Pete Blanchard showed the way all week, leading Northern Ontario with a 272 average, followed by Lyle Dolph (263) and Tom Williams (254). But in the one game showdown* with Alberta, with a chance to claim gold on the line, youth would be served.
(*the stepladder playoff format utilized in bowling means that playoffs start with third playing fourth, the winner of that playing second, and the winner of that playing the team that finished first in round robin, needing to beat them twice to claim the banner)
Thomas Williams reeled off six straight strikes to open the 19th and final game for the NOBA six as Northern Ontario bounced Alberta 6-2 in the final, taking the total pinfall 1309 to 1103. “They (Alberta) were a great team but when a rookie that they don’t even know starts with six in a row (Williams finished the game at 359), that puts a little extra pressure on them,” said coach Rollins.
With five bowlers eligible for each game, teams are allowed to make one in-game switch. In the case of Northern Ontario, it was the three younger bowlers, those who were making their first appearance at a Men’s Open Canadian playdown, who were subbed in and out. And for as much as no athlete wants to be on the sideline while his team competes, maintaining a positive mindset to be ready when your number is called is critical.
“Honestly, I don’t think it was me; I think it was the boys,” said Beaulieu, who bowled 14 complete games and parts of five others. “They really kept everyone fired up all weekend. If you let it get to you, you’re stuck with that all week. Go with the flow and let the coaches make the decisions.”
Valued direction from the top is key.
“I just try and keep them up all the time,” said Rollins, when asked about his role. “I wasn’t teaching them to bowl, that’s for sure. Look: if you go to Newfoundland and you don’t enjoy yourself, there’s something wrong.”
And for the first time in a quarter century, there was very little wrong and a whole lot of right for the Northern Ontario Men’s entry at the Canadian Open 5 Pin Bowling Championships.
