By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

JONICE ‘Joy’ Lockhart, Marina McClain and Tara Johnson are scheduled to leave town on Thursday for Cali, Colombia, where they will be representing the Bahamas in the qualifying tournament for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Lockhart, who will head the Bahamas Amateur Bowling Federation’s team to the tournament, said they will have to finish in the top seven in order to qualify. The trip comes on the heels of another national team that competed in Mexico where they performed very well.

Should the women fail to qualify, Lockhart said they will have another opportunity when they compete with the men at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, in November. Unlike the women, the men will only have that opportunity to qualify for the Pan American Games.

At the last tournament in Mexico, Lockhart and Driskell Rolle, along with Sonith Lockhart and Byron McClain, participated.

“We are now in the top seven countries going into Cali,” Lockhart said. “But we don’t want to stay in the top seven. We want to rise up above the top seven. The Pan Am Games in Toronto will be the top two females and the top two males to go to Toronto, so we want to be right there.”

The qualifying tournament for the women in Colombia will start on Saturday and end on September 17. They will play singles, doubles and trios.

“I bowled very well in Mexico a couple weeks ago so I intend to take the same level of enthusiasm to the tournament,” Lockhart said. “I changed my style of bowling, so I hope to go there and accomplish the goal that is set before us and that is to qualify for the Pan American Games.

“With the help from Flo, my brother Sonthi and David Slatter, I’ve been taking tips from each one of them as they coach the team. So together, I’ve put it all together and that is why I found out that my bowling has improved tremendously.”

As for the other two members of the team, Lockhart said McClain is a veteran bowler who knows how to compete in big tournaments like this, so she anticipates that she will be on her game as well. Johnson, making her debut, will be tested because she has never competed in an international tournament.

“With me and Marina, we will probably lift each other up,” she said. “We will be motivating each other and looking out for whatever we are doing wrong because even though we will be competing individually, we still have to compete together as a team.”

McClain, who has been bowling for the past 36 years and has represented the Bahamas on numerous bowling teams, said she’s looking forward to making another trip.

“I know it’s going to be a challenge. We are bowling short with only three of the five bowlers travelling,” she said. “One of the bowlers is new, but she is very optimistic. She is very focused and I am sure with the help of me and Jonice, she will come through.”

As for her expectations, McClain said she “has to be focused and rely on my game from back in the day. There are seven spots left and they are only taking the top two. But the good thing is that, if we don’t qualify, we will have another chance at CAC. But we hope that we can qualify in this tournament.”

As for Johnson, she’s just thrilled to be a member of the team.

“I’m very excited to have been chosen as a member of the national team and also to represent the Bahamas at the PanCom Women’s Bowling Tournament,” she said. “I’m looking forward to making an impression and representing the Bahamas to the best of my ability.”

Originally, six bowlers were scheduled to travel, but Lockhart said the other three were unable to make it. “I think the three of us will do very well,” Lockhart said.

When they return on September 19, Lockhart said the focus will be placed on getting ready for the CAC Games. She will be travelling with McClain, Camille Burnside, Xynea Johnson and Driskell Rolle on the ladies’ side. Making up the men’s team are Sonith Lockhart, Leonardo ‘Lee’ Davis, Mario Brown, David Slatter, Johann Pyfrom and Byron McClain.

They represent the top bowlers from the federation’s national bowling championships.

For CAC, McClain and her son Byron will be making history. It will be the first time that a mother-son combination will be representing the Bahamas in such a prestigious event.