Larry and Stephanie Vezina

Everybody has a different journey to lawn bowls. One of the most intriguing and unlikely journeys is that of Larry and Stephanie Vezina. How come, you may have wondered, these two friendly souls with an unfamiliar accent appear every summer on our greens and then they’re gone for another 8 or 9 months?  How did they come to lawn bowls? Where do they bowl in Canada?

Well here is their story …

Larry comes from Thunder Bay in Ontario, Stephanie from Minnesota, USA. They loved their sports growing up, Stephanie played softball among other sports and was a cheer leader while Larry played ice hockey, baseball, football and ten-pin bowls as well as some more unusual sports like boot hockey and cricket.

What? Cricket? Yes that’s right. Cricket and lawn bowls followed the development of the railway network in Canada, presumably through the involvement of English engineers and project managers. Lawn bowls seems to have survived better than cricket. So you’ll find lawn bowls clubs popping up here and there along the main rail routes all the way to Vancouver. But there was no bowling club in Thunder Bay where they lived.  It was their memories of Canberra that got them into lawn bowls.

They had been coming to Canberra off and on since 1999 because Stephanie’s sister has been a long time resident here. They became familiar with the nearby South Canberra Bowling Club through going for meals and playing the pokies.

After Larry finished his doctorate they moved to New Westminster (part of greater Vancouver) in British Columbia where Larry took up a new job. They knew very few of the locals.  Driving past the New Westminster Bowling Club one day in April 2010 triggered memories of South Canberra so they made enquiries and soon fronted up for club’s open day.  It changed their lives.

They loved it. “It was a drug - like a needle in the arm” says Larry. The bowls community became their life and they made many friends. They started entering tournaments, initially as beginners but as their proficiency improved they were asked to play with some of the club’s leading bowlers. One of them was Josephine Lee who became one of Canada’s best bowlers.  She has played in Australia and represented Canada at the Commonwealth Games.

Among their proudest personal achievements were representing British Columbia in the nationals in 2017. They won the BC provincial fours and ended up playing off for third place at national level.

They weren’t just active on the bowling green either. After a few years at New West Larry was elected President and served for a couple of years.  His successor was Stephanie! Between them they made many improvements to the way bowls was run so that more people got involved and they mixed better.  And they broke down some of those old gender barriers that long time bowlers in Australia would be familiar with.  They have some great ideas we could tap into. Larry also negotiated an improved leasing arrangement with the City of New Westminster which owns the facilities.  He also saw off a move to convert one of their two greens to a car park.  The club is now thriving.

After seven and a half years Larry retired from work (for keeps this time) and they moved back to Thunder Bay.  One big problem … there is no bowls club in Thunder Bay.  Not even close. The nearest clubs are in Winnipeg (Manitoba) and Minneapolis (Minnesota).  They are both about seven and a half hours drive.  The nearest club in Ontario is 12 hours drive!

Stephanie and Larry had to get creative.  They tried bowling at the local bocce club but that was on crushed shells.  They tried the local running track but that had a slope for drainage.  Eventually they had to give up as it was just too challenging.

However retirement also brought the opportunity to visit Canberra more often.  So in 2016 Larry and Stephanie started bowling here at Canberra BC (Souths had closed by then). They have been coming back every summer since then except during the pandemic and plan to keep doing it as long as they can.  Their return is a welcome sight each year.

A little bit about bowls in Canada (and the USA):

• There are over 70,000 bowlers in Canada (one online source says 110,000).  Only a few thousand registered bowlers in the USA.
• Between 200 and 300 bowling clubs in Canada and reportedly 88 clubs in the USA.
• Canada doesn’t play pennant as we know it.  Instead their inter-club competition is “Super 10” where 10 players form a side and fours, triples, pairs and singles are played concurrently.  There is also a lower level triples competition which is more for beginners.
• Many clubs run their own all-comers tournaments just as clubs in Australia do.  However you need a clearance just to go and play in another province, even at social bowls level!
• Due to the cold winters most clubs close for six months of the year, playing only from April through to October. Vancouver is a notable exception. It is able to keep going all year due to its milder climate.  It also has a six-rink indoor facility, the only one in Canada.
• The two bowls facilities in Minneapolis are a bit quirky.  One is pretty much dedicated to “barefoot bowls” (no serious competition).  The other is a rooftop green on an Irish Pub.  Sounds great doesn’t it?  Unfortunately only members can bowl there and there’s a years-long waiting list to join!
• There is a bowls facility at Sun City, a retirement town near Phoenix, Arizona.  It was started by Walt Disney who was a bowler – who would have known? Many Canadians go to Sun City to bowl in the northern winter.

Larry and Stephanie regaled me with many humorous anecdotes and floated quite a few ideas that the club could try.  Space doesn’t permit me to include everything here but maybe next time you see them on the green or in the bar you could ask them to recount a few tales. I’m sure they’d oblige. 

One last thing, let’s clear up how their name is pronounced. Most (including me) say it as “Vez-ee-ner” but I gather it’s more like “Vezz-na” with the accent on the first syllable. 

However you say it I’m sure they’ll be happy to have a yarn. Their passion for bowls and the camaraderie of the club environment still runs deep!

Cliff Gilbert