It’s been an exciting weekend of lawn bowls in the Valley as we hosted our final qualifier for the 2025 Atlantic Bowls Championship in Saint John as Bridgetown hosted our Nova Scotia Atlantic Pairs Trials. We had 8 outstanding teams make their way to the historic Valley club with their sights set on representing the province this September.

In the Men’s A Final, it was an elite battle of talent from two of our most historic venues in the province as the Wanderers based duo Ian MacDonald and Jim Granville clashed with Bridgetown’s Dave Veinot and Jeff Veinot. After dropping a 2 in the first end, the Wanderers based duo went on a 13 point run to open up a lead which would ultimately take them to a final 19-7 victory to book their spot on Team Nova Scotia in September.

In the Women’s A final. It was a battle of Dartmouth as Ann Marie Siteman and Vicki Balcom booked their ticket to the Atlantic Bowls with a 14-9 win over their clubmates Debby Purdy and Charmaine Cameron. The matchup was razor tight right to the last bowl, with the score being 10-9 going into the end of the allocated time limit before a score of 4 to close out the match in favour of the two time Provincial Pairs Champions. It was another strong performance for the duo building off of their success all season long leading into also representing Nova Scotia in Edmonton next month at the Canadian Championships and now to the Atlantic Bowls in Saint John.

In Sunday morning’s Men’s B Final, it was a battle of Bridgetown where Dave Veinot and Jeff Veinot faced off with their clubmmates Gerald Hackenschmidt and Tim Jackson. With all 4 men having competed at the Atlantic Bowls last year, both sides were eager to earn the final berth in Saint John. After a hotly contested battle, it was the duo of Hackenschmidt and Jackson who earned a 18-9 win in the final to book their spot into Saint John for Atlantic Bowls

In the Women’s B Final on Saturday afternoon it was a rematch of the morning session as Debby Purdy and Charmaine Cameron faced off against the Wanderers Based duo of Lindsay Lefresne and Patti Granville. With both teams finishing up on the podium winning Gold and Silver Medals respectively at the 2024 Atlantic Bowls Championship in Dartmouth, both teams were both determined to book their ticket to Saint John. After a 16-11 loss in the morning, it was the duo of LeFresne and Granville who booked their ticket to Saint John with a 18-8 win over Purdy and Cameron.

Thanks to the Bridgetown Lawn Bowls Club (specifically Match Chair Jackie Foster, Greens Chairs Stuart Lenthall-Ascott and Milledge Sheridan and all the other volunteers who helped both on and off the greens) for hosting a great event! Also special thanks to LBNS Chief Umpire Joan MacDonald for making her way to Bridgetown this weekend to officiate the tournament along with helping run assessments for some of our new umpire candidates. Up next on the LBNS Schedule, we head from one historic club to another as we head to Downtown Halifax for the 2nd Annual Wanderers Open Pairs.

​It was an exciting weekend of lawn bowls on the carpet in Truro as the road to the 2025 Atlantic Bowls began with the Nova Scotia Atlantic Triples Trials. 12 top teams from across Nova Scotia descended in on the Cobequid Lawn Bowls Club eager to stake their claim to the first spots on Team Nova Scotia this September in Saint John.
In the Men’s A Final, it was a nail biting win for Doug McLearn, Steve Bezanson and Mike Stewart as they defeated the defending Atlantic Bowls Men’s Triples Champions Steve Ogden, Rick Fry and Grahame Usher 10-7. It was a super tight matchup the whole way- with 12 of 14 ends being single point ends and a 4-3 lead for Team Ogden at the halfway point in the game. The key moment of the matchup came in the 8th end with Team McLearn scoring a three to take the lead and a two to open a 3 point lead which made the difference by the final bowl.
In the Women’s A Final, it was a battle right to the final bowl as Cathy Mills, Mayumi Endo and Kelly Moore defeated Tammy Foster-Veinot, Jackie Foster and Lorraine Bezanson 17-13. Facing a possible extra end in the late stages of the match, the key moment came from Mayumi Endo as she played a beautiful delicate hit and stick to hold what would eventually be the winning point to send them to Atlantic Bowls. It was a big return for Kelly to the sport after a few years off from competition- after previously winning the right to represent Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Bowls in 2019 in Dartmouth alongside her mother Dot Graham.
In the Men’s B Final, it was a strong performance for the defending Atlantic Bowls Men’s Triples Champions Steve Ogden, Rick Fry and Grahame Usher as they defeated Charles Stock, Terry O’Neil and Mike Ritchie 16-2 to return to the main event in Saint John.
To close out the event, it was a dramatic Women’s B Final as Tammy Foster-Veinot, Jackie Foster and Lorraine Bezanson defeated Debby Purdy, Joyce Anderson and Charmaine Cameron 14-9 to book their spot at Atlantic Bowls. The game was back and forth the whole way through with the game tied at 8-8 after 10. That was when some excellent draw play from all three players led to a 5 point end which made the difference in getting the win and their spot on Team Nova Scotia.
Thanks to the Cobequid Lawn Bowls Club for hosting another great event! Special thanks goes out to Marlene Sears, umpires Kathy Myketyn, Nancy Latimer and Paul Knox, the greens crew, the registration and scoring volunteers and all the spectators who came to cheer on the teams. Up next on the LBNS Provincial Schedule, we head back to Bridgetown for the next half of the Atlantic Bowls Trials with the Pairs Trials July 19-20. If you haven’t gotten your entries in- get in touch with your club’s provincial match rep asap as entries close tonight!

It was an exciting competition today at the Wanderers Lawn Bowls Club as the 2025 Provincial 5-A-Side Championship took to the greens with spots in Edmonton at Nationals on the line. There were lots of great games and a wild atmosphere with Game 3 being during a sold out HFX Wanderers FC U21 Game against Wrexham AFC’s U21 squad.
In the Men’s Championship, the team of John Siteman, Raymond MacDonald, Terry O’Neil, Grahame Usher and Kevin Stewart won the inaugural Dennis Mullane Cup title with a 5 games to 1 series win over Greg Heatherington, Tyler Marshall, Curtis Cartmill, Mark Teeple and James Anderson.
In the Women’s Championship, it was the defending Deborah Foster Cup Champions Tammy Foster-Veinot, Jackie Foster, Ann Marie Siteman, Lorraine Bezanson and Vicki Balcom who took out this year’s title with a 4 games to 2 series win over Debby Purdy, Joyce Anderson, Carolyn Reeves, Betty MacAlpine and Charmaine Cameron.
Our 2025 Provincial Champions will advance on to represent Nova Scotia at the 2025 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. Thanks to the Wanderers Lawn Bowls Club, Provincial Match Chair Mark Robar, our umpiring crew (Joan MacDonald and Rick Fry), Kathy Myketyn for providing lots of treats for the players and all the volunteers who helped assist with ensuring the competition ran smoothly. Our next competition on the calendar will be the 2025 Atlantic Bowls Triples Trials next weekend at the Cobequid Lawn Bowls Club in Truro.

Full Results from the competition:

• Round 1 (Saturday 8:45am)
  • Men’s Singles: Greg Heatherington def. Terry O’Neil (6-4, 6-3)
    
  • Men’s Fours: John Siteman/Grahame Usher/Raymond MacDonald /Kevin Stewart def. Tyler Marshall/Curtis Cartmill/Mark Teeple/James Anderson (17-7)
    
  • Women’s Singles: Debby Purdy def. Vicki Balcom (8-3, 9-5)
    
  • Women’s Fours: Joyce Anderson/Carolyn Reeves/Betty MacAlpine/Charmaine Cameron def. Tammy Foster-Veinot/Jackie Foster/Ann Marie Siteman/Lorraine Bezanson (10-9)
• Round 2 (Saturday 11:45am)
  
  • Men’s Pairs: John Siteman/Raymond MacDonald def. Tyler Marshall/Curtis Cartmill (16-4)
    
  • Men’s Triples: Terry O’Neil/Grahame Usher/Kevin Stewart def. Greg Heatherington/James Anderson/Mark Teeple (14-6)
    
  • Women’s Pairs: Tammy Foster-Veinot/Jackie Foster def. Debby Purdy/Charmaine Cameron (15-8)
    
  • Women’s Triples: Vicki Balcom/Ann Marie Siteman/Lorraine Bezanson def. Joyce Anderson/Carolyn Reeves/Betty MacAlpine (18-2)
• Round 3 (Saturday 2:45pm)
  • Men’s Singles: Terry O’Neil def. Greg Heatherington (5-8, 5-3, 4-1)
    
  • Men’s Fours: John Siteman/Grahame Usher/Raymond MacDonald /Kevin Stewart def. Tyler Marshall/Curtis Cartmill/Mark Teeple/James Anderson (18-5)
    
  • Women’s Singles: Vicki Balcom def. Debby Purdy (3-10, 8-4, 5-1)
    
  • Women’s Fours: Tammy Foster-Veinot/Jackie Foster/Ann Marie Siteman/Lorraine Bezanson def. Joyce Anderson/Carolyn Reeves/Betty MacAlpine/Charmaine Cameron (19-4)

The Round 4 scheduled for Sunday Morning at 8:45am was not required.