She’s bowling over the competition

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This article was published 02/09/2010 (5757 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a scorching Thursday afternoon at Tuxedo Lawn Bowling Club, where much of the sport’s local community is gathered for a day of fun in the sun.

Clarice Fitzpatrick is trying to recount her most recent triumph on the greens, but can’t get more than a couple sentences in without someone interrupting her to offer their congratulations.

“Way to go!” says one woman.

“We’re extremely proud,” says another, who offers a hug.

A man comes up and greets her as “champ.”

That’s because the Southdale resident has recently returned from the national championships in Edmonton, where she won the women’s singles competition on Aug. 22.

After losing her opening round-robin game to Ontario’s Marg Lepere, Fitzpatrick ran the table, eventually beating Lepere in a rematch for the gold medal.

“I didn’t feel that I was having an outstanding season so far before I went,” said the member of the Norwood and Sargent Park lawn bowling clubs. “Maybe losing the first game was a kick-start to the week. I’m always hoping to be respectable for Manitoba and for myself.”

The gold medal was Fitzpatrick’s ninth in a major national event. It marked the fifth straight year that she won a national gold medal — she has also won twice in pairs and twice in fours over that span — and her second time as the best female singles bowler in the country.

Not bad for a 64-year-old who took up lawn bowling in 1984 after nearly choosing golf as her summer pastime.
“It worked out well in many respects,” she said.

Coming to lawn bowling with a background in five-pin bowling and curling, it didn’t take long for Fitzpatrick to make a mark in the sport. She went to her first Canadian championship in 1986, and has been a fixture ever since.

“It was easy to understand and learn,” she said. “It’s a sport for life. The great thing about it is if your health hangs in there and you keep fit you can be a contender out there.”

Lawn bowling has taken Fitzpatrick to every corner of the globe. Her most recent win qualified her for the 2011 Champion of Champions event in Hong Kong, where she represented Canada in the 1991 Pacific Games.

She was also a member of Canada’s 1990 Commonwealth Games team in New Zealand, and played in the 2003 Champion of Champions in Australia.

Fitzpatrick’s greatest satisfaction, however, has come from some of her team victories that came while playing alongside her daughter, Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong, and sister, Marilyn Baron.

The mother and daughter teamed up for Canada, winning a bronze medal in pairs at the 2004 World Bowls, and a silver in pairs and bronze in fours at the 2007 Atlantic Rim Championship.

“Playing for Canada with Shirley was a dream come true,” Fitzpatrick said, admitting that she wasn’t completely thrilled when her daughter edged her to win a spot on this year’s Commonwealth Games team.

Fitzpatrick and Baron were gold medal teammates in pairs at the 2007 Canadian Championship, and joined with Fitzpatrick-Wong to form three-quarters of the winning fours team in 2008.

“My sister was with me in Edmonton,” Fitzpatrick said. “We roomed together all week and had a great time.”

The Manitoba women had the best showing of any province in round-robin play in Edmonton, winning the Lady Alexander Team Trophy.

avi.saper@canstarnews.com