Local ten-year-old Peyton Robertson is heading to Regina, Saskatchewan in May for the YBC nationals bowling tournament for fivepin bowling after winning gold at a provincial tournament in Ottawa on December 4th, 2022. She is representing all Southern Ontario for the Bantam division.
“I am excited. She is the first person in both sides of her family and her stepfather’s side to go to nationals,” said Peyton’s mom, Kerri, “My stepsons used to bowl, and we’ve been to quite a few provincials, her sister has been to provincials, she’s been to provincials, but this is the first time somebody has moved past provincials.”
Peyton attends St. Peter’s Catholic School in grade 5. Both her parents and her stepfather grew up bowling. This is only Peyton’s third year in a league and due to covid, two of those years were cut short.
“Her first four games were all in the 100s. She was 7th place going into her last game and we were like, ‘Ok, you know what, just have fun. Don’t even worry about anything else’ – because at this point she had no chance of winning – then she went and bowled a 294. She got five strikes in a row and went from 7th to 1st in one game. So, I guess, never give up because you don’t know what’s going to happen!” Kerri explained.
When asked how it felt bowling a 294, Peyton told Seaway News she surprised herself, “I almost screamed,” she said.
Peyton shared that she is excited (and a little nervous) to go to nationals, and that she enjoys competing in tournaments because she gets to travel to different places.
Chloe Russell, 17, will also be headed to Saskatchewan in May for nationals representing the Senior division. The St. Joes student has bowled since she was about five and has participated in leagues for over 10 years. Russell went to bowling nationals in 2013 and qualified in 2020, but COVID-19 prevented those from happening.
Chloe told Seaway News that her entire family has bowled, including her mom, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
“I just fell in love with it too,” she said, sharing that her favorite part of playing in a league is, “making a bunch of friends and just having fun with it.”
Congratulations to both and good luck in May!
