2026 Provincial Fours Championships

A Tale of Two Greens: Provincial Fours Championships

The first three major outdoor provincial tournaments will be hosted on Vancouver Island in 2026, in part because Island bowlers are due and in part because the Lower Mainland is overrun with FIFA fever.

The first championship, the Provincial Fours, was held June 19-21 between Lake Hill and Gordon Head Lawn Bowling Clubs. The two clubs are within 10 minutes of each other east of Victoria, so it made sense for them to share the hosting duties. The 8 women’s teams went to Lake Hill while the 14 men’s teams competed at Gordon Head.

Conditions could not have been more perfect: sunny with temperatures in the high teens to low twenties. The greens were prepared accordingly: the greenskeepers at both clubs are the be commended for delivering fast, clean greens that optimized the bowling experience. Both kitchen crews produced tasty, nourishing and plentiful food that kept everyone coming back for more; they set the standard for all other kitchens this year. And, as usual, the umpires did stellar work keeping everyone on the straight and narrow.

The women’s tournament was a classic come-from-behind story with the ultimate gold medalists sitting 7th after day one and 4th after day two. They then breezed thru their semi final and took a closely contested final for the gold. The results were:

• Gold: Josephine Lee, Zoe Chan, Sarina Mak and Gigi Chan
• Silver: Sharon Baldwin, Lynn Chwartacki, Kathy Harms and Gina Guszowaty
• Bronze: Annie Mathie, Cherlynn McArthur, Jill Foster and Wendy Leamen

GOLD: TEAM LEE	SILVER: TEAM BALDWIN	BRONZE: TEAM MATHIE

On the men’s side, the story was all about experience coming out on top. The Gold medal team were top of the leader board from day one through to the final, winning every game except for 1 tie. They did not have it easy, however. The competition was fierce with lots of close games including at least 4 tied matches. The results were:

• Gold: Brent Jansen, Davie Mathie, George Cubiss and Steve Foster
• Silver: Kevin Schubert, Harry Harrison, Keith Terlson and Don Terlson
• Bronze: Yu Hang Hui, Siu Hei Hui, George Sit and Hirendra Bhartu

GOLD: TEAM JANSEN	SILVER: TEAM SCHUBERT	BRONZE: TEAM HUI

Thanks to the Host clubs and their Convenors who did such a great job organizing efficient, enjoyable and competitive tournaments.

Finally, one last note on dedication to our sport: the Mathies spent the Saturday competing even though it was their wedding anniversary. Congratulations! An example of dedication we can all aspire to.