Couple of champions

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This article was published 29/06/2024 (789 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a running joke in the bowling community that bowlers marry other bowlers, because of how frequently it happens.

It’s rare for both spouses to be at the top of the game, however.

Dwayne and Alyssa Gelardi are just that as they prepare for the Master Bowlers Association of Canada five-pin national championship next week on home turf.

The tournament, which begins Monday, Canada Day, and concludes Friday at Polo Park Bowling Centre, Rossmere Lanes and St. James Lanes, will welcome 320 of the country’s most elite players. Each province will field a singles representative and two teams in the male and female divisions, and a co-ed seniors squad.

The Gelardis, Manitoba’s individual male and female champions, are just the second married couple to share the stage in the singles division since 1977, and the first since Karen and Geoff Born represented Manitoba in 1993.

“I think it’s pretty special, especially because generally when a couple plays competitive sport you don’t get to play in the same field, it’s very separated,” said Alyssa, who will play in her third national championship.

“The way that the singles is formatted, you do get to bowl with the other singles from your province, which means that we get to bowl together, which is a really cool thing.”

Alyssa, 29, is Manitoba’s top female bowler for the second time in her career. In 2022, she rode that momentum to a silver medal at nationals.

Dwayne, 36, is the reigning men’s national champ and returns for an eighth time.

The couple met at the Regina Classic, a cash event on the Western Canadian Bowling Tour, in 2017. Their relationship grew over the next few years and in 2020 Alyssa, originally from Edmonton, joined Dwayne in Winnipeg where the couple bowls up to three times a week together.

Alyssa has bowled since she was four, while Dwayne began shortly after his junior hockey career ended. It’s been in recent years that they’ve seen the most growth in their game, however, and agree that it’s been a direct reflection of their personal growth.

“Our glue is our communication, and then bowling is just another thing for us to communicate about,” said Dwayne. “Our problems, we’re very positively critical of each other, like it’s very constructive and we’re always trying to work. I call her out on her stuff and she calls me out on mine and we never fight about it, we never argue, we work through how to be better after, when we reflect on all our tournaments.

“It’s a really good opportunity for us to continue praising our communication for other issues in life.”

The Gelardis have played with each other at countless tournaments, but have never played together on the grand stage. They’ll need to walk a fine line between offering each other too much support and focusing on their own game.

“I think it’ll be an interesting experience to try to find the balance of what that looks like,” said Alyssa. “Not being completely consumed by the other person because we do care so much about the other, but also being able to provide that sense of security when it’s needed.”

Dwayne added: “I don’t think we’ll have many issues if we’re playing good.”

Bowlers will play each province three times across the three-day triple round-robin at the national champions. The top three players will qualify for the playoffs based on record, with the No. 1 seed advancing straight to the championship.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam