A pair of youth bowlers from Sarnia will represent Ontario at the Youth Bowl Canada [YBC] National Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Great Lakes Highschool student Kennedy Keating, 15, and Lansdowne Public School student Kailey Milner, 13, qualified for the tournament after winning the YBC provincial championship in Mississauga in March.
Coach Tammy Ottonello said the girls have been bowling for several years at Marcin Bowl in Point Edward, and previously won silver together at the National Championship in Oshawa in 2019.
"Kennedy, I think this is her seventh year and Kailey, I think this might be her ninth year, [they've been bowling] since they were small," said Ottonello. "They take it seriously and they do enjoy practicing."
The group flies out Friday for the tournament that runs from Sunday, May 7, to Tuesday, May 9.
Ottonello said they're thankful for the community support they've received to make the trip possible.
"We did some fundraising and we were just blown away by how generous local businesses and organizations were. We got sponsorships and fundraising from the Point Edward Optimists, the Ex-Servicemens Club, Lambton Scientific where I work, and so many local businesses donated gift certificates or gift cards [for prizes at a fundraising event]," she said.
Ottonello said Marcin has run a YBC five-pin league every Saturday for over 50 years.
"We were shut down for a couple years because of COVID and then the sale of Marcin Bowl. This year we were finally able to bring the league back and try to rebuild it," she said.
"This is our sixth team that's made it to nationals over 50 years. So we've had a few, but it is a difficult task to get there, that's for sure," Ottonello added.