Born into a bowling family, Sue Wanklin began to bowl at the age of five and, literally, she grew up in the bowling centre. Sue was not only influenced by her mother, Bette Morrison, who not only coordinated the first youth bowling programs in Woodstock but also contributed to the publicity side of the sport with numerous newspaper articles. Moreover, Sue’s uncles, Bud, Ken, and Bob Rohrer were all prominent bowlers. In 1995, Ken was inducted to the Players’ Division of the 5 Pin Bowling Hall of Fame.

Beginning as early as 1957, Sue was part of the current youth bowling forerunner, the Canadian Junior Bowling Congress, and also set pins and worked the snack bar at Woodstock’s first bowling centres, The Recreation and also Ace Recreation.

Sue was a natural talent and following the advice of her uncle, Ken, she reached the major leagues in 1966 when she replaced her uncle, Bud, on a local adult team. That same year, Sue joined the Major Intercity league, which traveled from London to Guelph and was the showcase for the best bowlers in Western Ontario. Sue was a dominant force in this league and won several high average titles while competing against many bowlers who preceded her to Hall of Fame induction.

Sue bowled in her first Provincial Open, as conducted by the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association, in 1970 and has qualified to represent Tri County for thirty-three consecutive years. This streak is the longest in the history of our sport and, of these thirty-three appearances, twenty-nine are in the singles and only one is on the mixed team. Their greatest success was in 1973 when the Tri County ladies’ team defeated nineteen other zones with an eight game score of 9850 and Sue’s individual score was a team leading 2110. Unfortunately the ladies were not victorious in the national finals, which were played in Winnipeg.

Sue did win a national gold medal with the Master Bowlers’ Association, as she was a member of the Ontario ladies’ team that won the Canadian championships in 1979. Overall Sue won five Master Bowlers’ Association tournaments beginning with the 1975 Bowlerama Classic and culminating with the 1987 Brunswick Rose Festival and this final was televised on CHCH television. In the Master Bowlers’ Association, Sue is in elite company, as only seventeen women have bowled 1000 career games. Of this group, Sue ranks fifth with a 240 average for her 1060 games.

Locally, Sue has developed into Woodstock’s top bowler. On the lanes, she followed in the footsteps of the late Vi Broome and Joan Clark, a lady she credits with developing her positive attitude toward the sport. Sue dominated local Woodstock tournaments and also captured the Tri County Classic, an event run by the local zone association, on several occasions.

While starring on the lanes, Sue did not ignore the coaching and administrative side of the game. While still a senior in Youth Bowling Council at Ace Recreation, Sue coached the younger bantams and took several teams to the World Bantam Tournament, which was held annually in Guelph. While Sue coached in Woodstock for several years, she also instructed and coached at Echo Bowl in Brantford for eight years during the latter part of her career, finishing when daughter, Amy, graduated from the YBC. Administratively, Sue was President of the decentralized Woodstock Association and, for many years, has been Secretary of the Tri County zone association.

Sue and her husband, Les, are celebrating thirty years of marriage this year and two daughters, Becky and Amy, have both enjoyed YBC careers and Sue’s coaching. Sue still bowls in two leagues and, while she will attempt to continue her streak at the Provincial Open, she has otherwise left the tournament side of the game.

As a hobby, Sue, along with Becky and Amy, travel to a variety of auctions in the area and Sue enjoys purchasing pieces of old furniture and refinishing them to their former glory.