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Jeff Davis
The USBC’s motto is “A Future For The Sport”. There is some general concern about the lack of participatory sports in our society as video gaming and social media seem to be predominant activities for many young folks – the future of our sport. According to industry reports, in the 1960s there were 11,500 bowling alleys or “houses'' in the US. Though the sport has remained popular, with about many Americans playing at least once a year, current demand supports only 3,000 or so houses. But the remaining bowling centers are becoming much more than many of the older dingy houses, with more and better lanes and additional attractions. One kind of bizarre factoid I came across is that bowling had the second highest participation rate among Americans (19%), strangely enough second only to the ever-popular cornhole bean bag toss game (20%).
The USBC recently reported some encouraging membership statistics: 2020-21, 850,669; 2021-22, 1,053,129 (23.8% increase); and 2022-23, 1,093,909 (4% increase).
At the start of 2024, USBC’s membership growth is looking like more than just a bounce back from COVID-19. They saw more new bowlers (8% increase) this past season compared to historical trends.
The results below begin with the Thursday Commercial League’s April 4 session and go through the Senior League’s April 10 bowling. Senior League results are included for the April 3 scoring also. The various leagues divide the season into quarters or halves. The standings reported below reflect the current marks, not the overall season.
Graham International is breaking out to a lead in the Thursday Commercial League with a 14-2 record. The Shredders and Roll’n Dirty are a little behind with marks of 11-5. Kyra Jenkins on the Tierra del Sol team topped the ladies with a 212 game and 590 series. Hooten’s Hardware’s Armin Ayers paced the men with a 268 game and Wilson’s Proformance Shane Wilson rolled a 740 for high men’s series.
Sunday’s This Ain’t Yo Momma’s Bowling League shows four teams sharply contesting for the lead, with Split Happens in the predominant position with a 24-8 mark. Full Throttle is on their heels, tallying 23-9 and The 4 T’s and Rollin’ Dirty come in with 2111 records. Janice Bobay, rolling for Spare Change, blasted a 191 to lead the ladies. Cheyenne Williams on the Split Happens four took the high series with a 510. Full Throttle’s Doug Eitler took high game for the men with a 255 and Brandon Williams of Split Happens crashed a 699 for high series.
Spare Me, The Odd Ones and Sisco’s Crew are beginning to pull ahead in the Monday Night Trio League, led by Spare Me at 9-3. Two members of Sisco’s Crew rolled honor scores this week: Doug Eitler with a 247 game and 630 series to lead the men and Mindy Skaggs with a 180 paced the ladies. Stone & Gang’s Johnna Boyd was on target with a 486 series to top the ladies.
The Cletus’s High Rollers team is sprinting to the top of the Fall Tuesday Mixed League with a 15-5 record. Close behind are Carrie’s Gang (12 ½-7 ½) and Irish Pride (12-8). The Odd Ones’ Kyra Jenkins was anything but odd, racking up a 218 game and 626 series to lead the ladies. The Strikers’ Steve Edwards lived up to the team’s name, rocking a 268 game. Mike Gilliland of Carrie’s Gang took the men's high series with a 654.
The Wednesday afternoon Senior League continues to be ultra-competitive with 9 of the 13 teams boasting records of at least .500, led by Mine’s In Tha Gutter with a 35 ½-20 ½ mark. We Usta, S&P, Living On A Spare and The Men Folk are close behind. S&P’s Billy Painter paced the men on April 3 crashing a 222 game and 615 series. That same day Lori Guffey of Mine’s In Tha Gutter was definitely not in the gutter, rolling a 185 game and 507 series to top the ladies’ scoring. Lori Guffey repeated her dominance from the previous week, this time with a 195 game and 526 series for the ladies. Larry Stovall of The Men Folk took all the marbles on April 10, scoring a 233 game and 540 series.
Until next week, good luck and good bowling.