Mick Banks said their was no magic formula to his convincing win in the Vancouver Island provincial lawn bowling qualifying tournament Sunday at Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club.
Just plenty of practice.
“I don’t know; just pure cussedness,” Banks said after sweeping Qualicum Beach clubmate David Childs in two sets in Sunday’s indoor men’s singles final. “That, and 25 years of trying.”
Banks rolled to an 11-3 win in the first set, then forced handshakes six ends into the scheduled nine-end second set after crafting a 9-1 lead.
The two-day tournament drew nine Island bowlers, from Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanaimo, Duncan and Victoria. When the totals were tallied up, the top three positions were all held by Qualicum bowlers as Childs took home silver and Ken Davies claimed bronze.
The win earns Banks a trip to the 2017 B.C. men’s singles indoor championship April 7-9 at the Pacific Indoor Bowling Centre in Vancouver. The championship is open to any player who wishes to enter, but Sunday’s victory earned Banks sponsorship by Bowls B.C.
It was the second Island-wide qualifier sponsored by Bowls B.C. in Qualicum Beach, which has the Island’s only indoor green.
“It was started as an incentive to get more bowlers from the Island to travel to provincials, by offsetting the cost,” said Banks.
The veteran bowler, who can usually be found behind the scenes as organizer and referee at club tournaments throughout the year, has been to provincial championships in triple and fours events, but in his career had managed just one previous victory in a singles tournament, a small club event several years ago.
“It always seemed to elude me, for some reason,” he said.
Above, David Childs bowls during the finals of the provincial men’s singles championship at Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club Sunday, March 12, 2017. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/PQB NEWS
