Four local carpet bowlers have rolled their way to a berth at the 2013 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games in February.
Eunice Jensen, Shirley Thomas, Teresa Rolvink and Denise Niegum won the Zone 4 championship held at the legion in Red Deer on Nov. 6, earning their spot at the Games in Calgary.
While the team had only one opponent to beat – a carpet bowling squad from Pine Lake – they did win both games.
“One game we beat them by one,” said Rolvink. The other game they defeated the team by four points.
“We thought we were playing against more teams,” said Jensen of the team's surprise at only having to bowl against one other team.
Carpet bowling is a game similar to curling played with weighted balls. The team with their coloured ball closest to a target white ball gets to count their points in each end.
Even the positions are similar to curling, with Thomas skipping, Niegum playing lead, Rolvink second and Jensen third.
Some of the ladies, like Rolvink and Thomas, have been playing for years, while Niegum only started two years ago.
Thomas has even gone to the Summer Games for carpet bowling before.
“I was in the Summer Games in 1999,” she said.
The team will be playing in the 55 plus category. At the event there's also a 75 plus category.
Currently the team doesn't practise as a unit, instead attending the carpet bowling sessions at the Seniors' Drop-In Centre on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“We're here twice a week. In January we'll start practising as a team,” Thomas said.
The 2013 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games run from Feb. 13-16 in Calgary.
