The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING its national trials, the Bahamas Bowling Federation has selected its national team to represent the Bahamas at a number of tournaments, including the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games.

The CAC Games are scheduled for November 15-30 in Veracruz, Mexico and bowling is expected to be a part of the event that will include athletics, boxing, cycling, judo, swimming, rugby, sailing, swimming and taekwondo.

At the conclusion of the trials that wrapped up last week at Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Centre, the top six bowlers were selected to the team. They are the following:

Men’s team - David Slatter, Leonardo ‘Lee’ Davis, Byron McClain, Johann Pyfrom, Sonith Lockhart and Marion ‘Hawk’ Brown.

Ladies team - Driskell Rolle, Janice ‘Joy’ Lockhart, Camille Burnside, Xynea Johnson, Marina McClain and Joanne Woodside-Powell.

According to Clayton James Gardiner, the federation intends to select two more players each to bring the total on the two teams to eight players each.

But Gardiner noted that while the CAC Games is the major event for the federation this year, only the top five players in each division will get to travel to Veracruz.

“We had a meeting just yesterday (Saturday) where we will be looking at some other tournaments,” Gardiner said. “But by and large, the biggest tournament for us this year is CAC.”

Details are still being worked out on any other tournament that the federation will be sending teams to compete in.

In the meantime, the federation is gearing up for two tournaments this month.

The first will be the monthly Handicap Cash Pay-Out Tournament that starts on Saturday, March 15 at Mario’s, starting at 12:30pm. The entry fee is $40.00 per person and the cash payout will be determined by the amount of teams entered.

“The players are looking forward to this tournament because it’s an incentive for them to earn some cash while playing,” he said.

The highlight for the month, however, is the 2014 Bahamas Bowling National Championships where Sonith Lockhart and Driskell Rolle will be back to defend their titles.

The tournament is slated to begin on Monday, March 24 and will climax on Sunday, April 6 with the Championship Sunday when the live television broadcast will be held at Mario’s Bowling.

Application forms are now available for the tournament, which has an entry fee of $150.00 per person for competition in all of the categories, including A, B, C, D and E with a champion crowned.

“We don’t know where the World Cup will be this year, but I’m going to be trying to win the national title because as the champion in both the men and women divisions, you get to represent the Bahamas,” Gardiner said. “So we expect that the competition will be keenly contested again this year.”

In November, Lockhart and Rolle travelled to Krasnoyarsk, Russia where they participated in the Bowling World Cup. Lockhart finished 39th out of a field of 74 competitors with a high game of 279, a total pinfall of 5,212 and an average of 217.17 in 24 games bowled. Rolle was 45th out of a field of 64 competitors with her high game of 211, 4,400 pins and a 183.33 average in 24 games.