Darrin Rich is getting a second shot at the Rock.
The Trail bowler is headed to Newfoundland this weekend to compete in the Canadian Open 5-pin championship in St. John’s.
It will mark the second consecutive year that Rich reached the national finals in Newfoundland.
Last year, he represented B.C. in the Masters Bowling Canadian championship singles division. However, after a strong start he struggled in the final games of the round robin and finished eighth overall.
This year at the Canadian open he will be part of a team, which includes Stu Ryan, Mike Elder, Larry Richet, Dave Gourley and Matt Eisenhauer.
The qualified for the nationals after winning the provincial title in Nanaimo in March.
Since the Kootenay region does not have a zone team, Rich joined the Okanagan zone team for the provincials. They finished first in the round robin, earned a bye to the final and defeated the Lower Mainland zone team for the title.
The Canadian Open will features teams representing 10 regions of the country.
Each team will play a total of 18 games over three days beginning on Tuesday. The top four teams will advance to the championship round, which features a step-ladder format with lower seeds taking on higher seeds. The top seeded team must be defeated twice to claim the championship.
Rich is no stranger to success at the Canadian Open in both the singles and team competition.
Two of his current teammates, Ryan and Richet, joined Rich and Trail’s Ron Sandnes to win the 2009 Canadian Open team title in Saskatoon.
The following year, Rich was a bronze medalist in the Canadian Open singles competition in Winnipeg.
This year’s event wraps up with the finals on June 1.