Grade 12 Student, Alex Jesmer, one of Canada’s best bowlers
By Kate H.
Fredericton High School Senior Alex Jesmer began bowling when he was only seven years old, and is now one of the top ranked youth bowlers in the country.
Alex’s fascination with bowling began early in the fall of 2000, when his father, who was an avid bowler at the time, introduced him to the sport. He was entered in Youth Bowling Canada (YBC) as a peewee member. His bowling career began in his hometown of Cornwall Ontario, where, he says, bowling was much more popular.
“When I was playing in Ontario, there were 200 kids at the alley, and there were four 5-pin bowling alleys in a city the same size as Fredericton,” said Alex. “When I moved to Fredericton, I discovered that there was only one 5-pin bowling alley in the whole province.”
Despite this setback, Alex found a home in which to hone his skills at the CFB Gagetown bowling alley. The 5-pin variation of this popular sport is the one which Alex plays, and is actually only played in Canada.
It’s simple enough to understand. Each pin is assigned a different point value. The center pin is worth five points, the two flanking it are worth three points, and the two pins on the end are worth two points, giving a total of 15 possible points per frame. Each frame allows the player three attempts to knock all the pins over, using a heavy rubber ball without finger holes. A game consists of 30 frames, and the only serious infraction is when you cross the foul line during the delivery of your ball, which is an automatic loss of 15 points.
Alex himself boasts a 210 average (450 being a perfect score), which is the seventh highest average for senior boys in Canada, according to the YBC website. He was a bronze medalist during the 2010 Nationals, an event which he has been able to attend a total of three times. Alex has often said that he has learned from bowling are truly priceless.
“Through bowling I’ve learned self-control,” related Alex, “Throughout life, you can’t always take things so seriously, it’s often just a game.”
Alex described the game of 5-pin bowling as a game of strategy that requires a lot of confidence. He explained that it’s very easy to get down on yourself when you’ve bowled poorly, but you need to look at each frame as its own entity, and keep thinking clearly.
The bowling community has offered this young athlete a chance to excel, and to meet many new people. He encourages people who may be interested in taking up this sport not to hesitate.
“Bowlers are an accepting community of people, it’s not an expensive sport to take up, and it’s a great way to make new friends.”
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