Carpet Bowling

In third semester, for documentary class, we were given an assignment called ‘Sense of Belonging’, the Canadians– where we were to produce fully captioned photos of 6 people belonging to a ‘group’ (this could be 6 people who literally belong to a group, such as a club, or 6 people who simply have something in common, but maybe for different reasons.) From the work I did at Bridging the Gap the year before, I knew that members of the Quinte Immigration Services met in the same building, and thought it would be interesting to shoot around the concept of ‘New Canadians.’ This... didn’t pan out. Even though the coordinator was willing to work with me, there was so much planning, the need for permission given, on top of renovations and group cancellations, that it just didn’t work out in the time I had to complete the project. ‘Sense of Belonging’ became a serious ‘turn around’ assignment for me, and I ended up doing it in an afternoon. By googling events and clubs in Belleville, I discovered the Carpet Bowlers of Belleville! Here’s a few shots from the assignment.

Belleville, ON (5/10/10)- Jean Colwill, 77, is an active participant in Belleville’s Carpet Bowling club for seniors and has been playing for 16 years. Though Colwill prefers Lawn Bowling because of the time spent outdoors, she also enjoy Carpet Bowling. Participants gather at the Wally Dever Arena in Belleville on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Colwill is fond of the people she plays with and the atmosphere of the club. Photo by Leah Myers.

Belleville, ON (5/10/10)- Erna Fricke, 78, is an active participant in Belleville’s Carpet Bowling club for seniors and has been Carpet Bowling in Belleville for 5 years. Participants gather at the Wally Dever Arena in Belleville on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Fricke lives in Belleville and enjoys coming to the club for a good time and to have fun with friends. Photo by Leah Myers.

Belleville, ON (5/10/10)- Ruth Reid, 81, is an active participant in Belleville’s Carpet Bowling club for seniors and has been bowling in Belleville for 20 years. Participants gather at the Wally Dever Arena in Belleville on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Reid enjoys meeting new people and socializing with old and new players. Photo by Leah Myers.