From left to right: Robert Gentil-Perret (left), Curtis Parenteau (insert), Bill Polischuk (right), and Yvonne Pearson (back). (Submitted photo/Stella Gentil-Perret)

By Ian Gustafson

Long time sport

P.A. blind bowling club inviting more to join after drop in numbers

Dec 11, 2021 | 8:00 AM

Some see bowling as a fun night out and some are in it for the competition.

For those involved in blind bowling in Prince Albert, not only do they put up big scores, but they also make playing with a visual impairment look easy.

Bill Polischuk has been a part of the blind bowling club for nine years in Prince Albert. With less than 10 per cent of his vision, Polischuk explained he’s been bowling for long enough it’s gotten easier for him.

“Basically, the aisles all have markers down the lanes, and you guide yourself off that. Instead of seeing the pin you use the marks you see towards the front,” he said.

He added he enjoys the sport because it’s a nice break, a great way to meet other people and have a day out.

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“My wife would say three times that, for her, she likes to have the day out a lot more than I do,” he laughed.

They meet up once a week and he said COVID-19 has decimated their numbers the last two years. Normally they’d have 10 to 12 players and, since the pandemic, they’ve had four sometimes five people take part. Blind bowling in P.A. has been around for over 25 years.

“Some people are just too afraid of [COVID-19] and I can’t say I blame them,” Polischuk said. “A lot of our people are older ones, and they finally just tire out.”

Due to the low numbers the club was put into a senior league at the Minto Bowl where they compete against other people.

Robert Gentil-Perret is also one of the few still involved in the club. He said he continues to take part because it’s an outing for him to meet people. He has bowled for seven years and when he first began, he admitted it wasn’t easy for him and he’s still trying to master the game.

With limited vision, when asked for his bowling strategy he said, “aim down the gutter and aim six inches to the left.”

There are a number of challenges when it comes to getting bowlers out, he said.

“There’s a lot of people out there who could bowl but they don’t know (about the league). And number two is the rides. People have to be able to get here,” Gentil-Perret said.

In fact, they know people who want to bowl but have no transportation.

Yvonne Pearson, who used to volunteer and help run the league before retiring and passing it off to the Minto Bowl, said they receive funding from Sask. Sport and the Prince Albert Lions Club.

“It varies in different communities and right now only Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert have blind bowling,” she said.

They are looking for more people and all ages are welcome and if the public has an interesting in joining, they can contact the Minto Bowl. However, to take part they must have a Canadian National Institute for the Blind card.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow