Goodbye 2013. Hello 2014.

It's the last day of 2013 - Been a while since I posted so thought I'd fill you in. Just under 4 months since I came home from Vegas and so much has happened during that time.

As you know from my last post I found Vegas tough, both mentally & physically. When I came home I struggled to return back to 'reality' I couldn't seem to figure out what reality was. I hated myself, I hated work, I hated people & I hated bowling. I was struggling to face going out in public and found myself having a long talk with my GP. 

I bowled for England in the Triple Crown 2 weeks after returning home and it was a very successful trip for England but I still wasn't comfortable being out, having people watch me. I constantly felt like I was being judged.

I was kinda ashamed and didn't want to admit that I was depressed and struggling with anxiety. I saw my GP a few times and she helped me come to terms with what she called performance related depression. I quickly realised, with the help of family & friends, that it was nothing to be ashamed of and started to fight to get my life back. 

After much debate with myself, I decided to bowl the 3 remaining tournaments of the year, I'd already agreed to play with someone in the 2 doubles events and the other was the English Open, which I feel should be supported by the top players in the sport to help get bowling the recognition it deserves. 

The tournaments went OK and by the time I played the English Open in November, I was feeling the fight & passion return. 

Bowling wise I've had a break since then. It's been kinda nice to have some time off and really give myself time to think about what I want from the game and my life in general. 

It's also given me time to set up work through Every Name Counts. I started creating Scrabble Art for friends last Christmas and took on a few more commissions throughout the year. After Vegas I decided life was too short to work doing something you didn't enjoy and so decided to quit my job with Aviva & set up properly with Every Name Counts. 

It's been tough but I have built up a very lovely & loyal customer base. I get to work at the studio with my Mum and be as creative as I like. If you don't already - go & 'like' my page on Facebook www.facebook.com/ENCframes :) thank you muchly! 

Here's a peek of some of the little beauties I get to create :) 

So what's the plan for 2014?!

Bowling: Practice - ALOT! Team England will be selecting the teams for the European Championships very soon and the qualifying structure has changed for this year. We'll now be playing trials over 3 weekend throughout the year. It'll be tough and no room for errors so really need to be at the top of my game. Luckily I have access to & support from Powerplay ProShop plus I'll be having some lessons with Jon Zadel. 

I want to bowl again, I want to win. It's nice to feel like that and I'm looking forward to working hard for it in 2014! 

Life: Really work hard to turn Every Name Counts into the success I know it can be. 

Spend every spare minute with my loved ones. Life really is too short and you never know when it's gonna be your last day. I'm gonna make sure I appreciate every single person that means something to me & enjoy each day as if it's my last. 

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas & I wish every single one of you a fabulous 2014! 

If you want it, go get it. 

Much Love,

J xXx

Far from a queen....

And s USBC Queens 2013 is over, almost as quick as it started. 10 games qualifying, 2 blocks of 5 passed so quick and I never really got going to look like a threat. 

I'm not sure if it was too close to the World Championships for me, but mentally I found it so hard. I'm usually really good at shaking off bad shots but I didn't allow myself to forget the bad shots and I got upset & tight after an unlucky leave.

The field over here in America is really strong and you have to be at the top of your game to compete, it's really frustrating because I know deep down I am more than capable. Last year I went through 2 rounds of Matchplay, I was expecting to do at least the same this year but it was obviously just not meant to be. 

3 of my good friends from Europe made the Matchplay! Roomie Lisanne, Sandra from Sweden & Pat from Germany/Finland so fingers crossed for good shots & carry for all of those. I'm not sure if there has ever been an international winner of this tournament but with all the internationals that are here this year - it could happen!!! 

All the scores can be found at www.bowl.com/Queens The live scoring has been great & also the live streaming with Bowl Tv!! 

Here's Sandra & I yesterday in our Loudmouth shorts :-) 

I was absolutely heartbroken yesterday - knowing the bowling part of my trip was over. Months of training and preparation and it's over just like that. It's been a really strange trip, I feel like I've been here a lifetime yet it only seems a few days since we checked in on the first day. 

There really isn't much to do here, we're about 20-30 minutes from the strip which by taxi costs anything from $30-$50. Or hotel complex has a lot of stuff, 5 or so restaurants, cinema, pool, huuuuuge casino. But once you've been there and done it - it seems boring. There are a number of shops within 10 minutes walking distance, but when the temperature is 40 degrees, that's not so appealing either. Feel like I'm living in some fantasy land, a big bubble!! 

Lisanne's parents are here with a car, so last night they drove us to the outlets - perfect therapy :) bought myself a new bag & 2 pairs of new shoes, also some shoes & gifts for me boys :-) Happier Jo.

Gonna try my best to get an earlier flight home, fingers crossed I can leave tomorrow so I'm back in England on Thursday! I've loved my time here but I've missed home and the trip has been so mentally tough. Looking forward to getting home for a bit of normality and start training again for the next tournaments!! 

Huge thanks to everyone who believed in me, I'm sorry it was painful to watch at times and wasn't as exciting to watch as you may have hoped, I do genuinely appreciate every supportive message I have received. It won't knock me down forever and I will come back stronger! 

Until next time, 

J xXx

USBC Queens 2013

Today was emotional when it was time to say goodbye to my team mates as they left for home. The farewell banquet last night was not as good as we hoped, but it did give us the chance to get dressed up - which was nice! 

Today the USBC Queens started! It's a long running women only tournament, that has had some amazing winners over the years. This year we'll be bowling for the title, $20k and a beautiful tiara! 

I'm rooming with Lisanne for the rest of my trip, packing up my stuff this morning was not fun - especially after a late night!!  By the time I had said my goodbyes to the team I had just enough time to shower and get ready for practice, which is on the chosen tournament pattern. The pattern which has been chosen is 39ft and should be significantly more playable than the 2 patterns we played on for the World Championships. 

The balls I have with me are all Storm or RotoGrip. I have the Disturbed. Defiant Soul. Deranged. Crossroad. Hyroad Pearl. IQ Tour. Tropical Heat Solid. Tropical Breeze & Polar Ice.

Practice went OK and I managed to find a few options to start with tomorrow. The balls I'm liking the look of initially are the Disturbed, Defiant Soul & Crossroad, but that may well change in the actual squad.

After practice Lisanne & I went for tea over at Red Robin, which dangerously is in the Galleria Shopping Mall. We were almost falling asleep whilst eating, as we were both exhausted from yesterday, but we managed to find some energy to do a little bit of shopping. After a visit to one of  my favourite shops, Bath & Body Works, we decided to buy some things to help us relax in the room! Eucalyptus & Mint candle & stress relief body lotion! 

Early night for the 2 of us, ready for our 9am start tomorrow (5pm UK Time) We will play 5 games tomorrow and 5 games on Monday then the next cut will be announced! 

You can follow the tournament at www.bowl.com/Queens

Keep your fingers crossed for us :) 

xXx

The Championships are over......

And so the World Championships are over.... It's been a long, challenging, emotional but very rewarding trip. 

My bowling got better day by day but I still didn't really settle in and play to my best until the final 3 games in the 5 man team event. 

Trios I played with Hayley W & Nicki... We did OK, but never really got going enough to make a threat to the other teams. I struggled on the fresh on the short pattern then missed the transition in the final game on the medium pattern. 

Our other team of Autum, Hayley R & Lisa were amazing though and qualified for the finals in 3rd place guaranteeing them a medal and giving them the opportunity to bowl for gold. 

The semi finals are 1 v 4 2 v 3 with the highest seed selecting which oil pattern to play on. Canada chose the short oil which was not our strongest. The girls gave it a go but unfortunately Canada were the better team and had a lot of strikes. The girls did get a bronze medal though, which at world level is amazing and I couldn't be happier for them! 

Next up was the 5 man team event - I played in the make up team for the short oil then Hayley W played in the make up for the medium.  We really gave it a good go for a team medal - fought right till the end but the other teams around us didn't stop fighting either. We finished the team event in 9th place and it was gutting for all of us. 

On the flip side we did finish the team event on a high because Hayley finished 22nd in the all events meaning she qualified for the top 24 masters event. Also John Wells from the men's team qualified too!! 

Both of them gave it a good go but both missed the next cut which was top 8, was a great achievement by both though on a world class level. 

So looking back and reflecting on my own Championships is hard - it's really frustrating when you work so hard to prepare for something like this then come away and don't perform to the level you know you can. I wish I had some excuses to use, I wish I could blame my equipment, the lanes or something else but I can't. I just didn't bowl good enough - simple. 

Today is the last day with the team here, we have the banquet/farewell party tonight and then my next challenge starts. Time to take the few positives I have from the championships and leave the negatives behind. It's a new tournament, new format, new oil pattern & new challenge. 

Huge thanks from myself & the whole team for everyone's support at home. The trip hasn't been as successful as a lot of us would have hoped, we will all come home with certain things to work on but as a team we are extremely proud of the girls getting a world medal :-)

Right now I'm gonna enjoy some sun & pool time with the girls before getting ready to let our hair down tonight! 

Bye for now, J xx

The Strip, Doubles & Days Off!!

Tuesday night we went to the strip, my first time & I loved it! I can't wait to go back and see a bit more as we didn't have much time and it was so hot! The Bellagio fountains were AMAZING, I definitely wanna see them again! 

Here are a few of my favourite pics.....

So Wednesday was a day off, I spent most of the day in the bowl watching the men's doubles before getting an hour or so out by the pool - which was nice obviously!! Wednesday evening we did plan to go to the Outback grill for tea but after a mishap with taxi's we ended up staying in the complex and going to one of the restaurants here. 

Thursday was doubles day on the medium. I was paired with Hayley W and on the first squad along with Nicki & Lisa. Autum & Hayley R would play in the second squad. 

Doubles started off better for me, I seemed to find a couple of options on the fresh and started off well in the first few frames before my ball reaction changed drastically and I got tight trying to make it work. 

I had the same sort of thing for the first 3 games, the reaction looked good for 3-4 frames and then quickly changed, I then threw loose shots and didn't take advantage of the good shots I'd made before hand. Game 4 I decided to stop playing safe and go 'fish' for something. Yes it meant I ended with a 143 but I didn't manage to see the reactions of all the balls in my bag and figure something out for games 5 & 6. This time it paid off and with the help of Mike Quarry we found a really good ball reaction which stayed, using my Roto Grip Defiant Soul with 2000 surface playing further right. Bounced back with 244 & 208 to boost confidence and feel a bit more positive about my next block on the medium.  

Thursday afternoon I seemed to pick up a bug from somewhere and spent all afternoon in bed sick, which was not fun at all. Managed to feel a little better in the evening so went for a walk across the way to Walmart, we stopped in at a pet shop to play with the puppies. We almost lost Autum as she fell in love with a golden retriever/cocker spaniel cross! So cute....

Friday was another day off.... It doesn't feel like we've bowled much since we've been here but I am extremely grateful for the downtime, especially when I ain't been feeling great. Friday we had a super chill out day by the pool, tried to escape the bowl for a bit, forget bowling for a little while & relax. We still all ended up talking bowling around the pool, but it was nice to get some fresh air & sunshine! 

The girls finally went to Outback last night and it was definitely worth the wait :) my ribeye was beaut, shame I couldn't eat much before I was being sick again but hey at least I got to enjoy a bit of it!!!

Today we start the trios. Autum, Hayley R & Lisa are playing early today & afternoon on Monday so Me, Nic & Hayley W play afternoon today and morning on Monday! Back on the brutal short pattern, time to figure out a plan, make good shots and hope for a bit of luck our way too! 

I'll leave you with a picture of my Outback steak.... Mmmmmmmmmm!!! 

J xx

The tournament begins....

So the tournament officially started with official practice. Practice went OK for me, I got to throw all the balls I brought with me in different areas to see which reactions I liked the look of the best. 

After practice I had to drop 3 balls and choose my final 6 for tournament play. The balls I chose were Rotogrip Disturbed, Rotogrip Defiant Soul, Storm IQ Tour, Storm Crossroad, Storm Tropical Heat Solid & my Polar Ice which I use as a spare ball. 

Didn't really get up to much on Sunday night, ate tea (dinner), wasted some dollars on the slots then went to bed. 

Monday was game day for the men. The short pattern really played tough for all the men and scores were a lot lower than any of the team would have wished for. There were 2 300's in the tournament which was nice to watch, when all you seem to see around is people struggling. 

The girls spent most of the day in the bowl watching so by the time the finals were over we were all shattered, both mentally & physically. Watching bowling really does take it out of you. We decided against eating out and chose to get Panda Express - its a Chinese fast food restaurant which I absolutely love, especially when you're tucked up in bed having a chill out night with the girls!!! 

And so we come to Tuesday..... Game day for the girls. For the first time since arriving I got a decent nights sleep. Jet lag has really got to me and I kept waking up between 3-4:30am then struggling to get back to sleep. Last night seemed to be better so fingers crossed that rubbish is outa my system!!

 Nicki & I were on the first squad along with Hayley R & Autum

I really didn't start good today, I took too long to settle into the sticky approaches and threw a lot of bad shots. I was like this for the first 2 games before giving myself a mental kick up the ass, then I started to throw the ball better and had something to work from. Games 3,4 & 5 were better but game 6 just stumped me. I read the lanes based on a couple of shots and made a decision to move my whole shot to the right, in hindsight I think I should have maybe moved everything left a little but hey, you learn from your mistakes. 

Here are the scores from today... 153. 134. 167. 219. 201. 146 = 1020. They're not so fun to look at after months of hard work but I have to out that event behind me, I gotta forget the negatives of the first couple of games and keep the positives, I didn't give up and it proves that if you keep fighting for it then the results get better. The next event is doubles on the medium pattern so I won't have to play on the short pattern until the trios later in the week. I'll have some time before then to sit & talk to Jon & work out a new game plan before then. 

Tonight we're going to the strip. We're all having tea at the MGM grand with all the families & supporters that are here with the team. Although I'm shattered it'll be really nice to escape the hotel complex for a few hours. As this is my first time in Vegas I've never seen the strip in real life either so that's gonna be fun! 

I'll take loads a photos to post next time :-) 

Until then, Much Love. 

J xXx

Friday & Saturday

Friday & Saturday brought a fair amount of down time and also unofficial practice. Unofficial practice sessions gives us chances get used to the surroundings and familiarise ourselves with the centre. The lanes are dressed with medium & short patterns but not the official patterns. Those are chosen after unofficial practice has ended. 

Friday we practiced in the morning for 2 hours, it felt good to be able to bowl after a long day of travelling. I personally found the approaches quite tight but after an hour or so I had settled. Nicki & I went for a much needed deep tissue massage in the afternoon, deep is an understatement and although we left feeling tender, we both felt much more at ease. 

The opening ceremony was Friday evening, we all got taken to the Henderson Pavilion which is an outdoor amphitheatre, the heat was almost unbearable so we didn't stay around there long. 

Here's the girls at the opening ceremony..... 

Saturday we had practice time in the evening so we managed together some chill out time by the pool..... Which was nice. The temperature was HOT so we spent most of the afternoon in & out of the pool to keep cool. Practice went well again and we were all starting to feel more relaxed on the lanes. 

The managers meeting was held last night and the official patterns were announced. We will play on WTBA Sydney which is 33ft and WTBA Seoul which is 39ft. 

http://www.worldtenpinbowling.com/pdf/WTBASydney33-12.pdf

http://www.worldtenpinbowling.com/pdf/WTBASeoul39-12.pdf

Today we have official practice, which will be on the tournament patterns. It's a scheduled practice where you practice for 15 minutes and then move lanes so you get to bowl across the whole centre. After official practice today we have to choose which 6 balls we will keep for tournament play. 

I'll write again soon after practice!! 

J xx