By CHAT News Today

VIDEO: Local bowlers heading to national championships

Apr 28, 2017 | 4:43 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Watch Mike Christmann throw a few bowling balls, and you’d never guess he spent nine years away from the sport.

The 44-year-old is putting up some of the best numbers of his career, and in his first year back with Panorama lanes, he’s going to take on the rest of the country next month.

Christmann is heading to Sudbury, Ont. for the Canadian Open Five Pin Championship, his first time on the national stage. The tournament runs from May 31 to June 3.

He says his near-decade away from bowling may be contributing to his strong play.

“It could possibly be that break,” he said. “The time away from the game, (I) came back refreshed, refocused, older, possibly more mature, and maybe just taking a different approach to the game, both from a physical perspective as well as a mental one.”

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Christmann is not the only Medicine Hat bowler competing among the country’s best.

Zander Young, 20, is the top-ranked senior bowler in the province, earning him a spot at the Canadian Youth Bowling Championships. This is the fourth time Young has represented Alberta at the tournament.

“I just want to go and win for myself and obviously for Alberta,” he said.

Young adds his previous experience at the tournament could come in handy.

“Especially qualifying in more of the adult leagues and adult events,” he said. “It just mentally gets me prepared for nationals.”

The Youth Bowling Championship runs next week in Quebec.