A total of 18 bowlers from around the Nicola Valley converged on the Merritt Bowling Centre (MBC) on Sunday (Jan. 8) for the annual Interior qualifiers.

At stake were 12 spots on the MBC team that will compete at the 2017 Inter-City ‘A’ Championships in Kamloops in March.

After 10 long games lasting close to five hours, two six-person squads were chosen to represent Merritt. The men’s side will consist of Jordan Pinto, Bill Campbell, Harold Aljam, Jerrid Chandler, Phil McDougall and Mark Pattison, while the ladies’ team will be comprised of Helen Campbell, Doreen Nikkel, Crystal Chandler, Deb Tancsa, Janie Okino and Dianne Jackman.

Most of the qualifiers on Sunday are veterans of the Inter-City competition; however, there are a few new faces on this year’s team. McDougall and Okino are new arrivals in Merritt after living in Kamloops for many years and bowling out of the Falcon Lanes.

Jackman, 64, has bowled on and off for over 30 years, beginning in Maple Ridge and Mission. She moved to Merritt in 2006, and has returned to the sport in just the last couple of seasons, bowling on Thursday afternoons with the seniors. Sunday was her first kick at the Interior trials for the Inter-City event.

“I signed up to just get the extra practice,” she said with a laugh. “I never expected to qualify.”

There was some good results on Sunday. Campbell, Aljam and Cody Hostrawser all bowled 300-plus games on the men’s side, while Dorothy Clarke topped the ladies’ side with a scorching 276 in her tenth and final outing.

Ewan Turner, owner of the Merritt Bowling Centre, said that his facility will only be entering a team in the ‘A’ championships this year, due to the declining numbers of bowlers locally. He said the drop in participation is universal.

“It’s happening everywhere. Here in B.C. alone, there have been a couple of bowling operations completely shut down. Others have dropped out of the Inter-City competitions because of declining interest.