Anyone who has stepped up to the line to bowl knows the exhilaration of getting a strike and humiliation of getting a gutter ball. For Erin Cazier, she’s toed that line at a national event and all of the additional pressures that it has.

Cazier recently competed at the Junior Gold Nationals in the Twin Cities and Minneapolis area of Minnesota and enjoyed the chance.

“Essentially you have to qualify and bowl and get that spot,” she explained to SVI. “Then you have to accept the spot and register and raise the money and get to where you need to be when you need to be there. Then there are several tournaments on top of that as part of the week.”

Cazier earned her spot by bowling well at the Wyoming State Tournament and received the nomination which she accepted.

“It went really well, it was a lot of fun,” she said. “You start with your practice days and you practice different oil patterns and your ball does different things on each of those. I also attended several coach clinics and saw where I struggled and learned a lot.”

She also noted her goals for the future based on the experience.

“I wanted to go and learn more bout myself and meet other people from all over who were into the sport,” she continued.  “I was able to do both of those things. I was also able to go and experience it as a once in a lifetime situation. I’m really glad I was able to learn about my game so I can fix things and get better. I’m really grateful for everyone who supported this and put in any money. It was great to feel like I could go and have this big community around me.”

In the future, Cazier hopes to bring up her average and return to the nationals. She works on doing that with an average of 16-20 games per week.

“I find it super relaxing,” she replied. “For me it’s all technical. Learning what move and the result of the ball. It’s 99% a mental sport for me.”