Manitoba’s Lawn Bowling stars
known world wide
By Scott Taylor, Photos credit Brant Fenske
The names Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong, John Bjornson, Nathan
Jacobucci and Rob Law are not household names in Winnipeg.
However, in lawn bowling circles throughout Canada and
the world, they are among the best athletes Manitoba has ever
produced.
Just check out their resumes.
Fitzpatrick-Wong started bowling in 1989 after being
introduced to the sport by her mother. She has competed
countless times at the National championships and has won
the National title on five separate occasions.
A member of Team Canada, Fitzpatrick-Wong has not
only competed in Canada but also in Australia, England,
India, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. At the
Commonwealth Games she won a silver medal as skip of Team
Canada’s Fours and in a World championship she earned a
bronze medal – alongside her mom – in pairs competition. As
a member of Team Canada, Shirley will either be competing in
the North American Challenge in Vancouver, or hopefully, in
this year’s World Championship in New Zealand.
Bjornson only started bowling in 2008 and has already
competed in our National Championships 18 times. He has
won six medals – two gold, two silver
and two bronze. It’s quite a remarkable
haul. He has also won a US Open singles
championship and finished second in
the pairs. In 2015 he won the National
Indoor Singles Championship and
then represented Canada at the World
Championship in Australia. After that,
he went on to win the Canadian outdoor
singles crown and will return to Australia
in November to play in the World
Championship.
Jacobucci is Manitoba’s Junior
champion. He started bowling in 2009
after being introduced to the game by his
grandfather. He has played in six National
championships and has twice won silver medals in the Junior
championships. He’s also won a silver in U-25 competition and
will be competing again in the Junior category this year as an
invite to the National youth team training program.
And Rob Law started bowling at age 10 and is still only 19. He
has been to the Nationals eight times – five as a junior and in
three Major events. As a Junior he has won two bronze medals
at National level. Law recently returned from Vancouver where
he’s been in the youth development squad training with senior
members of Team Canada, and hopes to be named to the team
competing in the North American Challenge.
Sure, even casual Manitoba sports fans know of Elaine Jones,
who is by far the province’s most accomplished bowler. She
was a member of Team Canada for 10 years and played at
World Championships in Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.
Also competed in the Commonwealth Games in Scotland and
New Zealand, the Pacific Games in Hong Kong and the Atlantic
Games in the USA. Jones is a member of the Manitoba Sports
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