There will be more strikes at the Oz Tenpin bowling centre in Shepparton than you would see in a lightning storm this long weekend, with the sport’s regional showpiece event coming to town.
Shepparton will host the 43rd edition of the Victorian Country Tenpin Bowling Association’s Country Cup, welcoming the best bowlers from across the state to its lanes.
Ten teams from Shepparton, Ballarat, Warrnambool, La Trobe Valley, Mildura, Colac, Bendigo, Horsham, Geelong and Wodonga will compete at the three-day event, with more than 140 bowlers going head-to-head.
“For regional centres, this is our main cup for all our open bowlers, so it is the best bowlers in country Victoria,” Oz Tenpin Shepparton manager Liss Thompson said.
A bowler herself, Thompson will be bowling for Shepaprton in what will be her 26th Country Cup.
“It’s the one you want to win because it means you are the best regional centre with the strongest teams,” she said.
“We have had a lot of success over the years in both the ladies and the men’s in Shepparton.
“It is the ultimate, it is the best. It is an honour just to bowl and to win tops it off, there is no greater feeling.”
The 10 teams will play each other twice in a round-robin format, with 18 games overall.
The teams compete in a men’s and women’s division, with the two scores combined to crown an overall champion as well.
Shepparton recently won the men’s title in 2021, winning the women’s event and overall association crown in 2015.
While a casual bowler might be happy to score more than 100, these bowlers will be gunning for a figure much higher than that.
Thompson said those playing at the Country Cup generally scored around the 200 mark, averaging five or six strikes a game.
The Country Cup will be played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with the action starting at 7am each day.
Thompson said members of the public were more than welcome to come along and watch the bowling action.
“We have some grandstands that the City of Greater Shepparton have lent us, which is great. We are grateful for that,” she said.
“People can come down and watch and have a drink and something to eat and enjoy the action.
“We have limited lanes all weekend, so people need to book if they want to come in and have a game.”
Having bowled for decades, Thompson said tenpin bowling was a great sport for the entire family to get involved in.
“Tenpin bowling is for everybody, it is all inclusive. We have the little kids bowling in our bumper leagues to our seniors to our all abilities bowlers,” she said.
“It is a family-orientated sport. If anyone wants to get into a sport that everyone can do, it is ideal for everybody.”