North American Challenge
A Bowls USA-Sponsored Tournament
Click here for a website dedicated to the 2010 North American Challenge..
Schedule
In recent years this event has been held in even-numbered years. The 2012 competition was held in Victoria, British Columbia, September 19-22.
2012 Results - Canada defeated the U.S. 63-33
Download all results (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format - courtesy of John Stewart).
Players
Team USA women and men who represented the U.S. are included in Folkins or Jarvis teams:
Folkins |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Janice Bell (NW) |
Triples-Skip; Fours-Third |
Charlie Herbert | (SW) |
| Eva Lee (SW) |
Pairs-Skip; Fours-Skip |
Phil Dunn | (SW) |
| Dee McSparran (SW) |
Singles; Triples-Lead |
Jim Olson | (SW) |
| Marita Nierth (SE) |
Triples-Second; Fours-Second |
Bob Schneider | (CE) |
| Anne Nunes (SW) | Pairs-Lead; Fours-Lead |
Aaron Zangl | (SW) |
Jarvis |
|||
| Carrie Fossati (SW) |
Pairs-Lead; Fours-Lead |
Richard Broad | (NW) |
| Kim Heiser (SW) |
Singles; Pairs-Skip |
Neil Furman | (SW) |
| Margi Rambo (SW) |
Triples-Lead; Fours-Second |
Scott Roberts | (SW) |
| Anna Witt (CE) |
Triples-Second; Fours-Third |
Earl Shaner | (SE) |
| Melanie Vizenor (SW) |
Triples-Skip; Fours-Skip |
Todd Wagers | (NW) |
| alternates: Bobbi Elwell, Jan Hargraves, Linda Roberts, Myra Wood: |
Background
In 1989, Lyall Adams of Canada and USA Secretary-Treasurer Ed Quo discussed the possibility of a series of Canada vs. USA International bowls events. Further correspondence between Ed and Canadian counterparts Gord Law, and then Margaret Fettes, led to the North American Challenge, first played in 1995 at Sun City, AZ.
The initial North American Challenge was comprised of teams of five men and five women, evolving later into two teams of ten men and ten women from each country. The ten-player teams are divided into two five-member squads designated Folkins and Jarvis, in honor of two great bowlers, Dick Folkins (USA) and Graham Jarvis (Canada).
The first NAC Procedures Manual was initiated by Adele Patterson (USA) for the 1998 NAC staged at her club at Santa Rosa, CA. Subsequently, John Stewart (USA) expanded and systematized the Manual, which was approved by Bowls Canada and the (then) USLBA. The NAC was played annually until 2008 when a biennial format was adopted at the suggestion of Laura Dewald (Canada). Games alternate between locations in the USA and Canada.
The first event in 1995 was co-chaired by Charlotte O'Keefe and Gil Stephan, who is now the USA NAC Chair, overseeing the event when staged in the USA. The players for Team USA are selected by the men's and women's National Team Selection Committees. For Canada the NAC is overseen by Bowls Canada Boulingrin's High Performance Program.
Format of Play
Each country fields teams of 10 women and 10 men. Each team is designated into 2 squads of 5 women and 5 men, one Folkins and one Jarvis for each gender, a total of 4 squads per country. Each gender specific squad plays the 2 squads from the opposing country. The better finishing squads of each country then play in the 3rd round of their discipline, and the other squads face each other.
The order of play is the International standard, with each 5 player squad playing 3 matches of Pairs and Triples in the first disciplines, followed by the second disciplines of 3 matches of Singles and Fours. In the 1st round the US Folkins teams play the Canadian Folkins teams and the US Jarvis teams play the Canadian Jarvis teams. In the 2nd round the US Folkins teams play the Canadian Jarvis teams and the US Jarvis teams play the Canadian Folkins teams. The 3rd round is described above, where high squad plays high, and low plays low.
At the end of the NAC, each individual player has played 6 matches. Overall there are 48 matches over 3 days of play. There are 7 trophies, all determined by most wins, with plus points as the tiebreaker. There are Folkins and Jarvis trophies for both the men and the women, Folkins and Jarvis trophies for the combined genders, and an overall NAC trophy.