Seniors bowling "just like a big happy family"

BY SABRINA BYRNES

Laces are being tied and laughter and chatter fill the air as familiar faces are seen and new ones are welcomed.

The sounds of balls being thrown down the lane and pins being knocked over means one thing: bowling season has returned, and in particular, seniors bowling has returned.

Denise Gross, Golden Age Co-ordinator at Plaza Bowl, said the bowlers in the seniors league, which starts up the first week of September, look forward to the beginning of the sport all summer. The bowlers were coming out to practise before the league even started up again.

"That's how anxious they are," said Gross.

The seniors league runs four days a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, at 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

Gross said the league is very popular - and mostly because of the exercise and the friendships that are made.

"It's something that everybody can do. It's not restricting in any way. It's a form of entertainment that can be done by all ages," she said.

Gross added that one doesn't have to be a good bowler to join the league. She encourages people to come out and give it a try, even if they've never bowled before.

Denise Lapointe, who is the secretary of Club Amical, a French-speaking seniors league that plays Monday afternoons, has the same sentiments. Lapointe said no matter what a person's skill level may be, he or she can come out and play.

"If you're not a good bowler, it doesn't matter," she said.

The teams are made up with a variety of skill levels - from more experienced players to beginners - so that everyone is on an equal playing field.

Lapointe says she has been playing in the league since 1990 after her husband retired and they both were interested in being active. She too agrees that it's the exercise and meeting new friends that is most enjoyable about the league.
"I like to be around other people," she said.

Lapointe said she is looking forward to the return of the season.

"We're off all summer. We hardly see anybody. Everybody goes their own way in the summer," she said. When the players reunite, "it's just like a big happy family."

Club Amical president Peter Philipow agrees the friendships are the driving force behind the league.

"Everybody likes that they have the one day a week to put aside to get together like this," he said, adding that everyone has a lot of fun and joke around with each other.

Germaine Winch, who has been bowling for 48 years and plays in a Wednesday night league, is new to the seniors league this year. She joined the Club Amical because she said she just wanted to be a part of it. And besides, bowling is in her blood.

"I just can't give it up," she said chuckling. "It's just part of me."

Club Amical is a French league that plays on Mondays, but there is a different league that plays the other days of the week. Gross encourages new bowlers to come out, and said that no bowler is ever turned away. She says she will find a team to place them on.

The league starts first week of September and ends in April.
For more information, phone Plaza Bowl at 566-0201.