The bowling team from Kobau Lanes in Osoyoos recently competed in the 55 Plus B.C. Games in North Vancouver and did themselves proud coming home with a silver medal. Pat Krieger also claimed a gold medal in singles play, while Gladys Baryla took home a silver medal and Murray Naugler won a bronze. Team members (from left) are Murray and Joyce Naugler (from Oliver), Gladys Baryla (Osoyoos) and Pat and Hal Krieger (Osoyoos). (Keith Lacey photo)
A crew of veteran bowlers from Osoyoos and Oliver returned with a nice haul of medals at the recent Over 55 B.C. Games in North Vancouver.
The team made up of Hal and Pat Krieger from Osoyoos, Gladys Baryla from Osoyoos and Murray and Joyce Naugler from Oliver returned home with the team silver medal in the competition at the provincial senior games.
Ernie Shats from Osoyoos was a member of the team that qualified at the regional competition in Vernon several weeks ago, but he couldn’t make the trip to provincials, so Pat Krieger, who is team manager and a spare, was put into action and she ended up returning home with a gold medal recording the best score in the singles “high six” competition, which counted the scores from her first six games of the tournament.
Murray Naugler captured a bronze medal for high single game, while Baryla captured a silver medal in the high six competition.
There are a lot of talented over 55 bowlers at the provincial games, so winning the team silver medal is something to be very proud of, said Hal Krieger.
“We were in third place and looking at a bronze medal until the final frame of the final game,” he said. “We were playing the team in second place in our final game and we managed to beat them, so we climbed to second and grabbed the silver medal, which we’re pretty proud of.”
None of the team members could recall if an Osoyoos team has captured a medal at the provincial senior games.
“I know this is the first time a team from Osoyoos has won a medal in at least the last five years,” said Pat Krieger. “It was a fun tournament and it’s nice to represent the town and come home with a silver medal.”
Winning her own individual gold medal was unexpected, she said.
“I had no intention of bowling until Ernie informed the team that he couldn’t make the trip to Vancouver,” she said. “I just wanted to step in and help, but I managed to bowl really well and things went my way and I won the gold.”
With the recent fire in July destroying Kobau Lanes in Osoyoos, several team members are going to start the new bowling season in September making the trip to Penticton.
“We like bowling too much to just stop, so we’ll be making the trip to Penticton a couple times a week until the alley in Osoyoos is ready to go again,” he said.
Being part of the provincial senior games is always exciting, said Baryla.
There are more than 2,500 athletes competing in more than a dozen sports and the camaraderie amongst all the competitors is a great thing to be a part of, she said.
“It’s always a great time and I hope we can all go back again,” she said.
Being part of a team that not only bowled well together, but also had a lot of fun and laughs before, during and after competing was very satisfying, said Hal Krieger.
“We had so much fun,” he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
