Staff
In 1957 at age 29 Gertrude (Trudi) Schmidka was crowned world champion of ladies’ nine-pin bowling.
Trudi also held the world record of 436 pins – any score over 400 is considered a masterful achievement. Today, as a regular member of the Meaford senior mixed bowling league, Trudi, now 90 years old, serves as role model of grace and enthusiasm to the 35 other bowlers in the league.
Nine-pin bowling is a sport that is most common in Europe but also still played in parts of Texas. European immigrants imported the game to the USA, where it became the centre of intense gambling for which it was outlawed and replaced by the ten-pin version.
Trudi remembers proudly and joyfully her ascent to becoming champion of the nine-pin world. Although her team travelled to many participating countries it must have been a special pleasure for her to win the award for top score in the competition in her hometown of Vienna in front of friends and family. Trudi remembers that it was a hot day in July, causing some bowlers to faint from the heat on the traditional asphalt lanes.
Born into a family of inveterate bowlers and beginning as a pin setter at the age of nine, she would soon find that bowling filled her life. By the age of 21 her competitive spirit, which she still maintains, led her to the world of “kegeln” (bowling) at the highest levels of competition. By 1957 her interest, enthusiasm, talent, and training saw her mount the podium as world champion.
Her husband Walter, who was her de facto trainer, also bowls with the Meaford seniors’ bowling league as does Trudi’s son Walter Svajda.
