It's that time of year again! CNCs, or Canadian team trials, are upon us in 2 weeks time! I actually almost didn't "qualify" (aka get the $1000 scholarship) the first qualifying tournament at the beginning of the year. I came in 3rd despite averaging above 190. Then the second qualifying tourney (the more challenging one) I failed to make top 2 again. At this point of the year I was going through some health problems that HEAVILY affected my game, so after leading going into the last few games, I just couldn't hold on and missed the top 2.
A few weeks after this at provincials, I was told that someone dropped out and meant I was going. Normally I would have been really excited but for a few reasons I really wasn't. For one, I had already faced that fact that I would be missing out on it. Second, I was mad, because I knew the one girl that qualified in the first tournament wouldn't go, but she didn't drop out before the 2nd tourney so I had to pay for a second tourney, and I really didn't have the money to do it. Lastly, because of my health stuff I just couldn't get excited.
But things are a lot better now and I'm finally getting excited. More so just to get on a plane and get out of the city for a week I think, and also the possibility of visiting my friend in Ottawa afterwards. It also helps that, because the health issues are mostly resolved, my bowling is back to par so my confidence is up and I look forward to the challenge of a national tournament.
I went to practice yesterday, but the conditions were horrible since there was next to no oil on the lanes (aka SUPER DRY). Normally for league bowlers this is a pain in the butt and most would rather just not practice. But it's not a waste, if anything it helps your mental game, in my opinion. On these conditions, if you do something just teeny bit wrong, you'll notice. So if you can battle through that and focus, it for sure will help on more ideal conditions. It's also good to find what kind of lines work on dry conditions. We'll be bowling blocks of 6 games, and with the high levels of bowlers that will be out there, it could dry up fast, and that practice will come in use, though it won't be quite that dry.
Anyways, I found two different lines that could work depending on how dry the lanes get. One lane was drier than the other so I had to swing the ball in. Meaning I had to stand a few boards left of center (usually I'm about 10 boards on the right of center so this is a big move) but still throw at the same mark. I had to be careful to not let it get out further, or skid out to far, or else it wouldn't have enough time to get back into the pocket. This would be extreme and I doubt I'll ever use that line, but just in case, it was nice to work on getting comfortable with that shot.
The second line was on the less dry lane, going over the 2 board, so I was standing about 5 or so to the right of normal. This is a more realistic line, and really needs to be practiced because it's so close to the gutter. If I'm not used to it, then what would end up happening is that I won't trust the ball/myself and I'll pull it and will miss. Fortunately I've practiced this line (or something similar) in the past, so it wasn't too hard to get accustomed to it, but it was still good to get the repetition in, since with this line as well you can do one small wrong thing which could result in disaster.
Next step is to practice on fresh oil, hopefully something similar to what they will put down in Montreal. They are actually doing 3 patterns this year: short, medium and long. I should be fine on short I think, and medium should be good too, but it's the long that I need to practice on a lot. With long oil the ball is in oil for a longer time, so once it gets out, it has less time to grip the uncovered part of the lane to get to the pocket. So for me, someone with very little hook, it means I basically have to play straight in. What sucks about this approach is that you don't get quite the right angle for optimal carry, so I think I'll have to play straight from the outside to get a better angle. But even after 3 years of doing this I still always struggle once I get out there, so I really want to practice before I go this year and get some confidence going for it.
I'll be catching a flight out of Edmonton at 6:30am on the 16th (ughhh) so that I can make it there in time to practice, ladies practice in the afternoon. Then the next three days will be qualifying, and a cut will be made (top 12 for women). The 4th day of competition will be just those that made the cut and the team will be decided that day. I don't see myself making the cut; I'd have to be really on my game and for some others to be off their game for me to do it. But I hope to make top 20, which could mean averaging around 185. It seems like that should be easy enough, but on conditions like these a solid day for me is averaging at least 170... But if I'm focused enough and have my thinking cap on, I think I have a chance.
So leading up to and during the tourney I'll be posting on here, mostly to keep a record for myself, to help me remember things for the future, but also for anyone interested to follow along on my progress!
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