Lawn Bowls Nova Scotia is excited to announce that longtime provincial representative Val Bechard (Bedford LBC) has been named as one of this year's inductees into the Sackville Sports Heritage Hall of Fame.

Having started lawn bowling in 1998, Val has represented Nova Scotia on 22 occasions- including winning the 2012 Canadian Senior Triples Championship alongside Debbie Foster (Bridgetown LBC) and Anita Knox (St. Mary's LBC). Val's impact on the sport in Nova Scotia reaches far beyond just her on green achievements- having served in a wide range of capacities including as an umpire at the provincial and national levels and as an executive member of the Bedford Lawn Bowls Club and Lawn Bowls Nova Scotia.
Val's induction will be held alongside the 5 other inductees to this year's class at an event hosted by the Hall of Fame on Wednesday October 2nd at 7pm.

Congratulations Val!

Here is the full citation followed by a few pictures from Val's time in lawn bowls:

Valerie Bechard- 2024 -Athlete - Slo-Pitch, Lawn Bowling
Valerie grew up in a large family of eighteen, where her early years taught her important values—hard work, dedication, and an unstoppable competitive spirit. These values would guide her path in future years.

Valerie was in in mid-thirties when she joined her first competitive sports team in 1980. She played on Sackville’s famous “Electric Orange” women’s Slo-Pitch team and her skills on the field earned her 13 MVP awards during her career. She proudly represented Nova Scotia at the Slo-Pitch Nationals in 1985.

In 1998, Valerie switched to lawn bowling and within a brief time, she was competing at the international level. Representing Nova Scotia, Valerie took part in the national Lawn Bowls championships an amazing twenty-two times, winning one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. Her accuracy and focus made her a strong competitor on the greens.

As a member of the Canadian National Squad, she trained with fellow athletes in Arizona and played against Team USA in the North American Challenge. Her team also won the US Open Women’s Fours in 2016.

Valerie’s impact goes beyond her personal achievements. She has been a key player in promoting lawn bowling at various levels, serving on the executive of the Bedford Lawn Bowls Club and Lawn Bowls Nova Scotia. She obtained her umpire certification and has officiated at both provincial and national levels. Valerie has always been active and together with her late husband Cal, they’ve walked over 15,000 kilometers, hiking through every Canadian province, every state in the US, and several European countries. Their most impressive feat? Finishing the Coast to Coast Walk in 2007—a 300-kilometer journey through northern England. Valerie Bechard’s story is one of success, mentorship, and a love for life. Her legacy will forever inspire future generations of lawn bowlers, reminding them that the journey is as important as the destination.

​Congrats to Nova Scotian bowlers Tammy Foster-Veinot (Bridgetown), Jackie Foster (Bridgetown) and John Siteman (Dartmouth/Wanderers) who competed over the past week at the Regina Lawn Bowling Club in the 2024 Pile O' Bowls Open. Jackie and Tammy competed with teammates Anita Nivala of Saskatchewan and Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong of Manitoba. John competed with David Calam, Heather Hanoski, Janet Watson, Jake Ripplinger and Brian Askin. Both teams finished off the round robin with 5-4 records before being eliminated in the quarterfinals on Sunday. In an additional event connected to POBO, John also won their “One Bowl Showdown” event on the opening night of the event alongside Carter Watson of Saskatchewan. Thanks to Regina for hosting a great inaugural edition of the tournament and hopefully next year will be even better!

What an awesome weekend of lawn bowls action at the club as the Wanderers Lawn Bowls Club hosted their inaugural Wanderers Open Pairs! There was some amazing bowling all across the greens with a talented field of 14 teams from across Atlantic Canada battling it out for their share of the $1,400 prize pool. Congratulations to the first ever Wanderers Open Pairs Champions, Tammy Foster-Veinot and Jackie Foster, who defeated Steve Ogden and Grahame Usher 7-6 in a dramatic A Flight final to close out the event.
In the B Flight Final, it was Cameron Lefresne and Braeden Campbell with a 9-8 win over Lindsay LeFresne and Luke Guthro. In the C Flight Final, it was the New Brunswick based duo of Chad Trites and Mark Bieman from Moncton who took out the win with a 10-7 win over Ian MacDonald and Jim Granville. And finally, it was Terry O’Neil and Vicki Balcom who took out the win in the D Flight Final with a win over Mark Robar and Hal Jones.
Thanks to Cameron Lefresne and Mark Singer for organizing this event for the first time and to all those who helped volunteer to make this event a great success. Special thanks to Lindsay LeFresne who captured some awesome photos with her drone camera. Hope to see you all next year from wherever you may be bowling from as we hope to see this event become bigger and better in the years to come!

​It was an exciting day of lawn bowls at the Bridgetown Lawn Bowling Club as teams made their way to the Valley to battle it out for the final 4 spots on Team Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Bowls in the Nova Scotia Atlantic Triples Trials. With it down to the wire for the last opportunities to represent the province competing at home in the big event this September- the competition was fierce and in many cases- went right down to the last bowl!
Men's Triples
In the Men's A Final, it was an exciting all Bridgetown battle as Jeff Veinot, Stuart Lenthall-Ascott and Tim Jackson booked their spot in the Atlantic Bowls with a 16-10 win over their clubmates Dave Veinot, Jerry Publow and Gerald Hackenschmidt. After a strong 10-1 start by Team Jeff, Team Dave stormed back with a 9-1 run in the next 5 ends to get it to a one shot margin with 4 ends to play. In the end, it was some strong shotmaking in the final 4 ends that led Team Jeff over the line and booking their spot in the Atlantic Bowls. It was an exciting win for all three members of the side as they'll become Nova Scotia representatives for the first time!
In the Men's B Final, it was a great battle of experienced representatives at the National and Atlantic levels as the Dartmouth and Wanderers trio of Steve Ogden, Rick Fry and Grahame Usher defeated Bridgetown's Team Veinot 14-7. It was a tight game throughout as all six players used every bit of their experience at the National and Atlantic levels to get an edge in the tight contest. With Team Ogden up 6-2 after 6 ends, it was a big shot from Dave Veinot to score 4 and level the contest at 6-6 to the delight of the hometown crowd. In the second half, the high standard continued from both teams with tight heads right till the end. Some big shotmaking late in the match from Team Ogden led to two multi-point ends and booking their return to the Atlantic Bowls.
Women's Triples
In the Women's A Final, it was a nailbiter matchup with the Wanderers and Dartmouth trio of Meg Endo-Ritchie, Mayumi Endo and Heather Salmon who defeated Tammy Foster-Veinot, Jackie Foster and Lorraine Bezanson 13-12. With all six players in great form in recent weeks, it was a contest that lived up to expectations- with 8 of 14 ends being single point ends. In the second half, it was some big shotmaking from Meg Endo-Ritchie to skip her team to a comeback win and booking their spot at the Atlantic Bowls.
In the Women's B Final, Team Foster-Veinot rebounded strongly after the nailbiter loss in the previous session to defeat Lena Cameron, Debbie Tower and Carissa Lynch 16-5 to book their spot at another Atlantic Bowls. It was an extremely tight match throughout the afternoon session- with 9 single point ends. However, a three point end in the 10th end from Team Foster-Veinot was the key end late that led to the win by the Bridgetown based side to return to Dartmouth where Tammy and Jackie won the Atlantic Women's Triples 5 years ago.
Thanks to Bridgetown for hosting another great provincial playdown! From the kitchen volunteers who put on a great lunch for participants, to Stuart and his greens crew for getting the greens in tip top shape and the umpiring crew of Joan MacDonald and Paul Knox for their great work keeping games going smoothly. From a personal thanks- thanks to all the players for bearing with me as I jumped from playing in a provincial to the "organizing" side for the first time. Our next event on the LBNS Provincial Schedule brings us back next weekend to Halifax and the historic Wanderers Grounds for the inaugural edition of the Wanderers Open Pairs at the Wanderers Lawn Bowling Club. Based on what we were hearing from organizers at the club, it’s expected to be an exciting event with a marquee field battling it out for a great prize purse.

It was an exciting weekend in Dartmouth as the first spots were booked onto Team Nova Scotia for the 2024 Atlantic Bowls Championship in the 2024 Nova Scotia Atlantic Bowls Pairs Trials. With a great field of 16 teams that made their way onto the carpet this weekend- there were lots of great bowls from all.

Men’s Pairs
In the Men’s division, it was the Dartmouth based duo of John Siteman and Raymond MacDonald who won the Men’s Title with an undefeated 3-0 record and a finals win over clubmates Jim Byrne and John Driscoll 16-11 in the A Final. In the B Final, it was the Wanderers based duo of Mark Robar and Jim Granville who won the B Final with a 19-8 win over Jim Byrne and John Driscoll of Dartmouth.

Women’s Pairs
In the Women’s Division, it was also an all Dartmouth battle as Debby Purdy and Charmaine Cameron won the Women’s title with an undefeated 3-0 record and a 17-9 finals win over Joyce Anderson and Nancy Latimer. In the B final, it was the Wanderers LBC duo of Lindsay LeFresne and Patti Granville who won the B Final with a nailbiter 15-12 win over Anderson and Latimer.
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These 4 teams will represent Nova Scotia at the 2024 Atlantic Bowls Championship in Dartmouth (September 5-8) and will be joined by the 4 winners from the 2024 Nova Scotia Atlantic Bowls Triples Trials taking place next weekend at the Bridgetown Lawn Bowls Club. If you haven’t gotten your entry in yet- make sure to get in contact with your club’s Provincial Match representative as the deadline for entry is tonight!

​It was a great weekend this past Saturday in Dartmouth when 16 teams took to the greens of the Dartmouth Lawn Bowls Club for the Janet Merry Mixed Pairs as hosted by the Bedford Lawn Bowls Club. Bedford put on an excellent show once again for this long running club event on the LBNS calendar in a new venue this year. The event was a great success- with excellent weather, great shot-making all day long and lots of fun on and off the greens. The Janet Merry Mixed Pairs trophy was presented this year by the Bedford Lawn Bowls Club’s newest life member and longtime provincial representative Carolyn Ulch. Congratulations to Jim Byrne and Vivian Condran of Dartmouth who won this year’s championship. Thanks to everyone who took part and to Bedford for hosting another great event. Up next on the LBNS calendar is the Cobequid Open Pairs this Saturday in Truro.
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Janet Merry Mixed Pairs Full Results:
1st Place- Jim Byrne/Vivian Condran (Dartmouth)
2nd Place- Gordon Foster/Heather Salmon (Dartmouth)
3rd Place- Doug McLearn/Betty MacAlpine (Bedford)
4th Place- John Driscoll/Linda Deveau (Dartmouth/Bedford)
5th Place- Raymond MacDonald/Charmaine Cameron (Dartmouth)
6th Place- Joyce Anderson/Larry Anderson (Dartmouth)