Rose skips team at lawn bowling nationals

Local lawn bowler Rod Rose is bound for Vancouver to represent Manitoba at the 2026 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championship. This will be the fifth consecutive year that Rose has attended the tournament.

“What I’m expecting is to come home with a medal for Manitoba, Wheat City Lawn Bowling and Brandon,” said Rose. “I haven’t been fortunate enough yet to win — we’ve been close a couple of times — but I think this is our year. I have a great team assembled in the fours to accomplish that.

This year, Rose is the skip for the Manitoba men’s fours team, which includes Wayne Trindall, Sam Forrest and veteran bowler John Bjornson.

This isn’t the first time Rose and Bjornson have worked together on a men’s fours team. At the 2023 and 2024 championships, the pair competed together on teams skipped by Brian Kullman.

Forrest brings a youthful element to the team. He’s currently competing at the Canadian Youth & Junior Championships in Hanover, Ont. At the end of the round-robin, he leads the under-18 boys division with seven wins and one loss.

Later today, he will play in the gold-medal match against the winner of the semifinal between Isaac Kerr and Cayden Carter.

In the past, Rose has been part of pairs, triples and fours teams at the national level, but it will be his first year as skip.

“Well it is a different look because the lead, the second and the third put the balls out. It’s my job to figure that out and make the difference,” said Rose. “I’m hoping that when it comes to my shots, the ends already been taken care of … but I’m prepared to step up and do what I can to make a contribution to the team and come out with a win.”

Like in curling, the skip is the leader of the team. They often establish team strategy, and they bowl last in the order which often puts them in high pressure positions. They have the job of cleaning up the position and making the difference in the end if necessary.

Growing the game in Brandon

When he isn’t competing at the national level, Rose is an active member of the Wheat City Lawn Bowling Club in Brandon. He enjoys teaching others what he knows and giving back to the game he enjoys so much.

“I haven’t been bowling that long, only 25 years,” said Rose. “Some people say I started late. Some say I started early, but I wish I would have started back when I was 18 or 19.

Many people believe that lawn bowling is a sport you can only get into when you are in your 60s. Rose and the rest of the Wheat City Lawn Bowling Club adamantly deny this.

“Somehow, we have this mindset that (lawn bowling) is for older people but it’s not,” said What City Lawn Bowling president Kathy Foley. “It’s for every age, it’s very much and inter-generational sport.”

In an effort to expand the club and reach younger athletes, Rose and Foley started the young athlete lawn bowling league earlier this year. They started with a handful of attendees which has since expanded to include eight to 10 young athletes who come out on a regular basis.

Rose — who has his national coaching certificate in lawn bowling and coaches hockey in his free time — instructs the members of the youth league, giving them pointers and showing them how to improve their game.

“I love to see the kids come out,” said Rose. “They have fun and a lot of them are really good. Kids as young as 10 years old are doing really well.”

During the summer, the Wheat City Lawn Bowling club also offers opportunities for people to compete recreationally or as part of leagues. A big draw is its Tripple B league — otherwise known as the Bowls, BBQ and Beverages league— which runs on Thursdays from the beginning of July until the end of August.

Last night, the club combined its regular triple-B league event with a special barbecue send off for Rose.

“My club members support me here 110 per cent,” said Rose. “Without them backing me it would be a little bit harder, but in the back of my mind I think I have the support of everybody and I’ve made a lot of food friends in Winnipeg and here.”

Foley has attended national championships on three occasions. She said going to the national tournament is amazing because you get to meet incredible bowlers from all over the country. Her advice to Rose is to relax and have fun.

“He’ll bowl well. He bowls well all the time,” said Foley. “I’m sure he will do well., and he will represent Manitoba and our club well.”

Rose and his team will play their first match of the tournament against team Ontario A on Monday 9 a.m. Later that day, they face team Saskatchewan at 12:30 p.m., and British Columbia at 3:15.

On Tuesday, Rose and his team take on B.C. B at 9 a.m., Ontario B at 12:30 p.m., and finally team Alberta at 3:15.

Manitoba closes the round-robin on Wednesday against Atlantic at 9 a.m.

Seven games in three days is no easy task, but Rose is confident his team will make the best of it. He’s excited to once again represent Brandon and Manitoba at the national level.

“Representing Brandon at the nationals is my goal every time I go to Winnipeg or into a championship,” said Rose.

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com