As an only child, Elizabeth’s parents, Gloria and Robert, felt it was important that their young daughter try a wide variety of sports and activities.

In this process, 5 pin bowling and competitive swimming were her choices. This latter activity covered 18 years from 1974-1992. Elizabeth trained at the Lakeshore Swim Club under the watchful eye of coaches, Fred Sheffield and Kim Lumsden. Kim is the daughter of Cliff Lumsden who, along with club founder, the legendary coach, Gus Ryder, trained Canadian icon, Marilyn Bell.

On the bowling lanes, Elizabeth began at Sportmen’s Bowlerama on Islington Avenue in southwest Toronto. The Youth Bowling Council (YBC) was run by Gerry and Joyce Turner. One of her coaches was Joe Erskine, and the master bowlers were Hall of Famer, Greg Peteraitis, and Mike Wood.

In 1984, at the age of 14, Elizabeth won the provincial singles in the junior division of the YBC, while bowling in Scarborough. The national finals were bowled in St. John’s Newfoundland, and there, she captured the gold medal.

In the adult ranks, Elizabeth has been a dominant bowler in both the Open and the Master Bowlers’ Association (MBA). In the Open, from 1990 to this year, she has qualified 33 times with 20 appearances in the ladies’ singles, 29 times on the ladies’ team, and four times on the mixed team.

Elizabeth has won the Ontario Open singles title three times, the ladies’ team title on seven occasions, and the mixed team three times. Nationally, she has one gold (2016), four silver medals, and two bronze medals. As well, she has been named to the national all star team on three occasions. Finally, in this Open participation, she has represented zones from Metro Toronto, York West, Central Ontario, Tri-County, and Grand River.

In the MBA, Elizabeth has won seven tournaments, beginning with the 1994 year-end event, the 1995 Mixed Doubles with Richard Poitras, and that year she was also the aggregate champion in Ontario. Overall, she has won three team gold medals in the Masters nationals and one silver medal. Her Masters record is a 255.24 average for 492 games. As well, on the Top 90 list, Elizabeth was ranked 38th.

Elizabeth is a fully committed bowler in both league and tournament play. While bowling at this very high level, she also attended the University of Toronto beginning in 1988. She graduated in 1992 with a degree in biology and environmental science and physical geography. In her adult years, she has studied in various fields, such as Human Resources and Project Management, and Elizabeth also learned French. She also obtained her designation in Customer Experience, and has participated in many volunteer activities with the human resources governing body. Elizabeth has also been a section author for one of their publications. She was also a Project Manager for such large companies as Bell Canada and Rogers Communications. Elizabeth ended her successful career as Vice President at a technology company and, with pride, almost broke through the imaginary glass ceiling.

After her overall success at all levels, Elizabeth has enjoyed giving back to her chosen sport. She was the bantam YBC Program Director at Rexdale Bowlerama, and eventually moved on to be the YBC Program Director at Bowlerama West. Just this past year, she was asked to come out of her coaching retirement to work with a young bantam girl, Teresa. Elizabeth enjoys watching her progression and is also a huge cheerleader for both Raven Hamacher and Eric Berg.

With some smart investing, Elizabeth was able to retire at 51, and today she enjoys reading, pickleball and a variety of new learning possibilities. She currently lives in Sauble Beach, which offers both winter and summer activities, including bowling at Sunset Lanes.