Eight athletes from Olds will be going to the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Vancouver next year.
Eight athletes from Olds will be going to the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Vancouver next year.
Mike Dougan, Aaron Johnson, and Barry Robb qualified for 10-pin bowling, while Dalton Cote, Steven Hamelin, Kevin McBride, Mark Mengersen, and Darryl Siemens qualified for five-pin bowling.
The Olds bowlers qualified for the national games by having the most points over their average during the provincial games, held in Red Deer in April.
The games will feature more than 2,000 athletes from across Canada competing in 11 sports from July 8 to 12, 2014. The bowlers from Olds will be among 160 athletes and coaches representing Alberta in the 11 sports. Karen Mengersen, chairwoman of Olds Special Olympics and a bowling coach, will also be attending the games as a coach.
The eight bowlers that qualified for the national games were among 14 bowlers from Olds that competed in Red Deer.
The Olds group brought home 23 medals from Red Deer.
"The five-pin team (from Olds) was in the highest average bracket and they came out with the most pins over average," Mengersen said.
The national competition will be a good chance for the bowlers from Olds to get to know athletes from around the country and to improve their overall health in preparation for the games, Mengersen said.
"As much as your body is ready for a competition, then your mind tends to be ready for it," she said.
Dougan and Robb went to the national games in 2010 in London, Ont.
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