At age 10, Sierra Merry already has six years of bowling experience under her belt, has won a provincial title and is heading to her first national championship.
Merry, a Grade 5 student at Bastion Elementary, started bowling at age four, taught by her parents and grandparents. Merry’s mother works at Lakeside Bowling Centre, so Merry has access to a lot of practice time.
“I bowl almost every day,” she says. “Sometimes I bowl like 20 games in a row. My record is 31 games.”
Along with her partner Lily Fiset, the pair, who bowl in a five-pin league out of Lincoln Lanes in Vernon, won the provincial Youth Bowl Canada bantam event in Kamloops over the weekend to qualify for the National tournament in May in Calgary.
The pair bowled four games to win the provincial title, with Merry bowling a score of approximately 180 in most games, but the competition was tight and the girls had to wait for final confirmation of their win.
“My mom came up and said we were in first, and at first we didn’t believe it, but then we did and we were freaking out. Lily even fell on the floor,” says Merry.
