The Westport Lions Strike Up Support for Youth Bowling

Westport Lion Dave Blair presents a cheque to coach Dane Sonstenes for youth bowling.

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bob Reddick

The Westport Lions Club is happy to financially support the youth bowling in Elgin and area. The money goes towards membership and tournament entry fees for National Youth Bowling Canada.

The Elgin team currently has 12 bowlers, the youth bowlers can range in age from four to nineteen years of age. High school age bowlers practice every Tuesday from 2:30 until 4:30. Younger bowlers meet on Wednesdays. The cost for the youth to bowl is $12.00 per week, which includes bowling, shoes and a snack. Older youth can join the adult league at $15.00 per week to work on their game.

Coach Sonstenes who is a qualified provincial and national level coach teaches the bowlers the rules of the game, the dress code, and personal conduct code. He works with individual bowlers to improve their game by teaching them to adjust their delivery and aim depending on the situation to maximize their score. Dane says each bowler varies in his or her approach. Some aim for the pins and some aim for the arrows 16 feet down the lane.

Another part of Dane’s job as a coach is to coordinate teams at various tournaments. At the recent zone tournament with 12 teams from Cornwall, Kingston and Chesterville competing, Elgin’s Clara Sonstenes and Ameliya Gorden won the Senior Girls Doubles Championship. They will now compete at the provincial level on March 1^st in Woodstock with 24 teams participating from across Ontario. The Westport Lions wish Clara and Ameliya success at the provincials.

Bowling is a great co-ed family sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. For more information on youth or adult bowling call 613-929-2695.