Seventy athletes are expected to take part in carpet bowling as a part of the B.C. Seniors Games in August.
Sport chair Bud Gregory said 12 carpets will be set up in the Stanley Humphries Secondary School (SHSS) gym for three days of bowling action.
Gregory, who is also the vice-principal at SHSS, is familiar with carpet bowling as his aunt and uncle are avid in the sport.
The game, he said, is closer to bocce than bowling.
“The balls aren’t round,” he explained, “they’re oblong.”
The goal of the game is to score the larger balls (bowls) as close to the jack (smaller white ball) as you can.
Games will be played in a round robin format, and they will have the final numbers by the end of the month in order to set up the tournament.
Any combination of men and women are allowed for teams of three and four for each zone (four-person and three-person teams are separate events).
For the pairs competition, players can be made up of two women, two men or a man and a woman.
Each event will be awarded gold, silver and bronze by the end of the tournament.
This is the only event happening at SHSS. Some equipment will be purchased and some will be borrowed from other zones around the province.
Until the games start, local seniors will be practising at the seniors centre in Castlegar, Gregory said. The concession and cafeteria will be open for players and spectators too.
“Some students from the school are going to be helping out,” Gregory said, but volunteers are still needed for jobs like greeting, directing, scorekeeping, umpiring and tracking and relaying results.
For more information, visit bcseniorsgames.org.