As of last year, English teacher Joel Logan started the bowling club. Last year, a group of four students went down to Red Lion Bowl every Monday for ten weeks. This year, the bowling club is getting more serious.

Last year, there was no competition against other schools. Logan was getting that group of four students better so that they would be ready for this year. But this year, there will be competition against other schools.

In fact, there are six confirmed bowling competitions for this season. They include matches against Warwick High School, Janus School, the Snow Roller tournament, two matches against York Tech, and the Eastern P.I.A.A Independent Qualifier.

The first game against Warwick High School will be on December 1 at Red Lion Bowl, Logan’s team’s home venue.

This year, people are showing a lot of interest even though there were only four participants last year.

“We are starting off great! We had around 40 students show up for our information meeting in September. More than 30 students are signed up to our Google Classroom page, where I communicate directly with the club,” Logan said.

There was an abundance of students at the first meeting this year in the cafeteria. However, only about six showed up to the first official meeting on October 26.

“I worked with Chip Zelger, one of the owners of Red Lion Bowl, Mr. McChalicher, Mike Slatky, president of the York-Adams USBC and regional Lord Field/Lane Masters representative (an international bowling company that I am advisory staff with) and many other members of the bowling community,” Logan said about who he worked with to get the bowling club to be a recognized school activity (and later hopefully a sport).

Notably, an official team in a match consists of five people and three alternates, a total of eight people. The substituting rules are more strict than other sports’ substituting rules. As such, Logan said it will not be difficult for him to play all eight people in a match.

Even though eight people can compete in a match, more people can go to a match. If enough people go to make two teams, a B-team can compete against another school’s B-team. The rules are the same in tournaments.

Furthermore, during the first meeting, Logan discussed the practice and game dates with the members. Later on, some bowlers picked out their bowling ball. The first practice is on November 6, in preparation for their December 1 game.

Practices will be on most Mondays and Thursdays, unless there is no school on those days. The last practice will be on February 26.

Games are still being scheduled and there are only a few set dates. As of now, two tournaments are scheduled on December 16 and January 20. The tournament on December 16 is the Snow Roller tournament at Leisure Lanes. The Eastern POA Independent Qualifier tournament will take place on January 20 at Berks Lanes.

“This year I am building a team and developing talent. Many of my players have never competed in formal competition, so I expect a learning curve for them and for me as a first time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Bowling Coach,” Logan said about what goals he has for this year.

When senior David Drake heard about the bowling team, he knew he wanted to be a part of it. Drake also added that he was excited about the bowling team because it was something new.

Drake said, “competing against my friends from other schools is going to be fun.”

Drake could be considered the team’s best bowler after going to the national championship in Cleveland last June.

Another member, sophomore Colt Merrifield said, “I am very excited, because I could do a sport in the winter that I would enjoy.” Merrifield also said that he would like to get better at bowling, but he is excited just to be a part of the bowling club.

To emphasize the excitement about this new club,  senior Isabelle Masquelier said, “ I am excited about bowling because it will be something new and exciting to do.”

An important to realize is that one of Logan’s former bowlers is a sophomore at Waldorf College, where he received a full scholarship due to his accomplishments as a bowler. He was the highest averaging bowler in the York-Adams area.

One positive side of joining the bowling club is that Logan will not be cutting players from the team because it is a club sport and he is looking to build talent.

“Bowling is an equal opportunity sport, it does not favor one gender over another. Kelly Kulick beat Chris Barnes to win the PBA’s most prestigious title a few years ago, The Tournament of Champions. Bowling does not have a preferred body type either. Consistency, balance, grace under fire, patience and grit are what you need to succeed. Bowling is a skill sport that you can master with  commitment, patience and resilience. NCAA Bowling is open to college women and it is possible to secure Division I and II scholarships,” Logan said.