{"id":43995,"date":"2017-03-09T14:49:25","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T19:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=43995"},"modified":"2017-03-09T14:49:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T19:49:25","slug":"brock-bowler-eyes-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/03\/brock-bowler-eyes-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock bowler eyes world championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>Miranda Panas has little time to spare.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fourth-year Kinesiology student splits her time between hitting the books at Brock University and perfecting her throw at a local bowling alley.<\/span><\/p>\n

Panas has bowled her way onto Team Canada annually for the past six years and is vying to again join the national team in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 21-year-old St. Catharines resident is busy preparing for spring trials that will determine whether she\u2019s earned a coveted spot on next year\u2019s roster.<\/span><\/p>\n

The coming months will also bring word from a selection committee that will determine whether Panas is one of two women who will represent Canada at the World Games in Wroclaw, Poland in July.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBowling has taken me all over the world,\u201d said Panas, who is also hoping to claim a spot at December\u2019s Mixed World Championships in Kuwait. Six men and six women from the Canadian teams will be chosen to compete.<\/span><\/p>\n

Panas began bowling when she was four years old and has been hitting the 10-pin lanes competitively since she turned 11.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her love for the sport, and a killer hook, has taken her to national tournaments across Canada, and to competitions in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. She has earned two silver and two bronze medals at various international events.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite her travels and demanding practice schedule, Panas has managed to maintain her schoolwork and is scheduled to walk across the stage at Spring Convocation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Balancing athletics and education is not always an easy task.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a lot of planning and dedication to both,\u201d Panas said, while admitting she encountered some challenges during her first year of post secondary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the most difficult year for me \u2014 the workload is so different from high school and you have to improve your study habits so much,\u201d she said. \u201cBut once I got into more of a routine and figured out how to make everything work, it got a lot easier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During competition season, Panas spends five to six nights a week at Fairview Bowling Lanes in St. Catharines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her schedule includes a delicate balance of on-lane practice and mental preparation, in addition to her study time and a part-time job at Shoppers Drug Mart.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSchool has always been something that\u2019s really important to me,\u201d Panas said, adding she has career ambitions that extend beyond the bowling lanes.<\/span><\/p>\n

She plans to compete on the Professional Women\u2019s Bowling Association summer tour but will then be heading to grad school for physiotherapy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCompeting with Team Canada gives me the best of both worlds. It\u2019s not as demanding as bowling professionally, but at the same time the competitive nature is still there,\u201d Panas said. \u201cI\u2019m bowling against the best competitors in the world.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>While she has several years of international competitions under her belt, Panas said it is still intimidating at times to face off against some of the female bowlers she grew up admiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI get nervous before going to tournaments,\u201d she said with a laugh, \u201cbut it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery experience I get to have bowling for Canada is pretty incredible. There\u2019s nothing quite like it, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Panas said the sport often flies under the radar.<\/span><\/p>\n

She hopes to encourage people of all ages to give bowling a try.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJoin a league. It\u2019s a really fun way to spend a few hours,\u201d she said, adding it can be a surprising way to learn more about yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has taught me a lot over the years.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock University student and avid bowler Miranda Panas is vying for a spot on Team Canada’s roster for the seventh consecutive year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":43997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,3319,1,4],"tags":[5029,15,5030,407],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43998,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43995\/revisions\/43998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}