Tag Archives: Stouffville

More sports travel

(Richmond Hill, Stouffville, and Kingston)

I thought this post would be about my rapidly approaching “bucket list” adventure in November. However, I’m going to defer that again, in order to report on some recent sports-related travel.

The opening ceremony for the women’s event in Richmond Hill

I recently participated in the provincial lawn bowling championships in the men’s novice (less than 5 years of experience) singles category. As only 16 bowlers qualified, and there are well over 100 lawn bowling clubs in Ontario, it was an honour just to attend.  Even better, my wife also qualified in the concurrent women’s competition!

The opening procession in the men’s event at Stouffville

This year’s event was held in Stouffville (see photo at top of this post) and Richmond Hill, just over 3 hours west of Kingston. We drove up on Friday to check out the facilities and get some practice on the greens where our sporting fates would be decided over the following two days. I knew quite a few of the competitors, so it was nice to catch up with them before the competition started.

Awaiting the start of the first game in Stouffville

The opening ceremonies on Saturday were very early.  We were piped onto the greens by a bagpiper, and were welcomed by provincial and federal politicians. The early start is out of necessity, as we would have to play three games (plus any necessary tiebreakers) that day and each singles game can take 2-3 hours. Singles bowling really is a test of mental and physical stamina.

Delivering a bowl on Saturday morning

My Saturday in Stouffville went well, so I qualified to play in the playoff rounds in Richmond Hill on Sunday. Both clubs are located in the respective “downtown” cores: each one is a peaceful oasis in the middle of a rapidly growing urban area. Decades ago, I used to travel to Richmond Hill occasionally to play hockey, but the population has increased by a factor of nearly ten since then!

The umpires are called in to make a measurement

Of course, playing sports outdoors all day will work up an appetite, so we enjoyed a bountiful Hungarian meal at the Rhapsody restaurant near the Richmond Hill Club.  There were also appealing Persian and Trinidadian options nearby.

Preparing for a critical bowl on Sunday afternoon in Richmond Hill

Sunday was an even greater test of endurance, especially when the heat cranked up in the afternoon. I played three further matches, with the second one lasting an incredible 3 hours and 20 minutes.  With perhaps 30 minutes between matches, it was a very long day indeed.  While curling is the sport that employs skills most similar to lawn bowling, I think the conditioning provided by soccer and hockey also came in handy during the heat of the tournament.

On our way to Stouffville, we found this great Dutch deli in Whitby, Ontario!

By the time the tournament was finally over, it was 7:00 p.m. and we still had to drive back to Kingston and get ready for work the next day. Going out for dinner would have made us even later. Fortunately, the incredibly kind tournament hosts set us up with some food for the long drive home. This is the sort of goodwill that is found so often in the sport: though we all do our best to win, there is also a strong sense that we are “all in this together”.  We are both looking forward to visiting Richmond Hill and Stouffville again some day, and to seeing our fellow competitors at future events around the province.

Russ Howard gives some technical instruction at the Royal Kingston Curling Club

The very next weekend, I attended a curling clinic. It was hosted by Canadian curling legend Russ Howard. I learned all kinds of cool things about the game…as well as how incredibly skilled the national-level athletes must be in order to succeed.  It was a nice way to transition from summer to winter sports.

Practicing our skills at the Russ Howard curling clinic

 I will be staying close to home for the next month or so.  I promise that the next post really will be about my upcoming trip!

(Special thanks to the tournament organizers, who graciously allowed me to use some photographs for this blog)