Jean Roney doesn’t disagree with the well-worn analogy that lawn bowling is to the rest of the Commonwealth what curling is to Canada.
That’s why the Roneys of Regina, wife Jean and husband Keith, are probably more well known in England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa than in Canada.
Keith Roney was world champion in men’s pairs with Canadian playing partner Ryan Bester in 2004 at Ayr, Scotland, and world championship bronze-medallist with the Canadian men’s triples rink in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2008.
He won four medals in the Asia Pacific championships, including at Victoria in 1993, and 27 national championship medals and was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 2013.
Jean Roney is an 11-time national champion who represented Canada in the 1994 Victoria and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and twice medalled in the Asia Pacific championships in 1993 in Victoria and 1995 in Dunedin, N.Z.
“We pushed each other,” said Jean Roney. “I am a competitive person by nature.”
And whether it was in Canadian red internationally, or Saskatchewan green nationally, the Roneys always fit in, even if it meant leaving hometown but wintery Regina for training stretches in Arizona.
Jean, at 77, is competing in the 2023 Canadian championships, which began last weekend and conclude today at the Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling Club, a competition that has brought her back to the venue where she competed in the 1994 Commonwealth Games and medalled the year before in the Asia Pacific championships.
“There’s lots of memories and old friends, and new friends made, which is what this sport is all about,” said Jean Roney, rolling this week at nationals in women’s pairs for Saskatchewan.
With the careers of the likes of Cathy Freeman and Kieren Perkins in the far past, Roney may very well be the last athlete from the 1994 Commonwealth Games still competing at the top level of her sport.
“I’ve been blessed with health, especially the elbows and shoulders, which are so important in our sport,” said Roney.
She was also blessed with an interesting career off the greens. She is a retired forensic scientist for the RCMP and was once featured on the true-crime documentary TV show Forensic Files.
It is on the greens, from Victoria, Australia, to Victoria, B.C., where the other part of her life flourished. “Everything comes down to the moment, and you always wish you had won more medals, but it’s been such a great and wonderful experience that very few players get to have,” said Roney.
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Games green from nearly three decades ago is still considered world class at Juan de Fuca.
“I really like everything about it. It’s one of the best, and fast like a carpet,” said Lisa Cheung of Richmond, a member of the B.C. women’s fours rink at nationals.
A total of 168 participants, all champions from their provincial playdowns, took part in the national championships from last Saturday to today.
This was the third time for Juan de Fuca hosting the national championships after also doing so in 2009 and 2017.
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