Cathy Davidson hit success by staying in her lane.
The Bradford resident was recently inducted into the York Simcoe 5 Pin Bowlers' Association Hall of Fame.
"To be recognized by your fellow competitors and peers for a lifetime of playing a sport one truly loves was incredible," Davidson said. "Sharing the evening with family and friends, reflecting and reminiscing of all of my achievements as a player was nothing shy of amazing. I am humbled, honoured and proud of my induction. However, I am not done. There is still so much more I can achieve in our sport as a builder."
Davidson, who was born in Sudbury in 1969, first picked up a ball at an early age. She followed in the footsteps of her parents, Gord and Pat, who were avid bowlers, and her sisters who were already participating in the Youth Bowling Council (YBC).
She captured the bantam girls singles provincial championship in 1978 and 1980. That latter year, Davidson won her first national championship bantam girls singles title.
During high school, she also excelled in softball and competitive diving.
Following her YBC run, Davidson moved to the adult division, capturing 14 provincial titles for northern Ontario — five as the provincial singles champion and nine on the ladies team. On the national scene, her team won gold in 2000 in Hamilton, silver in 1999 in Regina, Sask., and 1991 in Moose Jaw, Sask. She was also the ladies silver single medallist at the Canadian championships in Hamilton in 1990.
Davidson headed south from Sudbury in 2001. Once competing for York Simcoe, she qualified for the open championships 13 times. In her first year, she earned the ladies singles title and followed that up with another four appearances as a singles representative, four spots on the ladies team and four more on the mixed squad. As well, she has coached at the provincials three times.
In a stint in the Master Bowlers’ Association tournament division from 2002-04, Davidson won her Masters ring by winning an invitational doubles tournament with partner and fellow hall-of-famer Sid Morris. The following year she was a member of the ladies team that won the national championships.
In those years, Davidson bowled 124 games and averaged a score of 237.
Among her other accomplishments, she has appeared in the CBC 5 Pin Championships and the Hiram Walker Special Old TSN Pins Game.
Davidson is currently the program director for the YBC at Stellar Lanes in Newmarket and runs an annual invitational tournament.
The association recently relaunched its YBC league at Bradford Underground Bowl. For more details, visit b5pba.ca.
