By Elohino Theodore
The bowling club is looking to make their mark as a club sport in 2014.
According to club President Danielle Terrell, the members enjoy each others company while bowling. They are also working on scheduling events to compete in to give something new for bowlers. “Right now it’s kind of for fun, but we’re starting our own league, so we’re [going] to try to get more competitive,” Terrell said.
Club treasurer Kyle Cavelti states in the future there will be new plans for a bowling league at EWU for students and faculty. “That would be a way for students who might not want to be committed to the club itself to just come out and be a part of a league instead,” Cavelti said.
Last Nov., Cavelti met with Spokane County USBC board member Tawna Titchenal. He received paperwork to create a league within the Spokane County USBC. Cavelti is also getting help on how to manage a bowling league from friends who are Cheney Lanes employees. He has also been communicating with Cheney Lanes owner Brad Barsness for approval to use their facility.
According to Cavelti, the league would probably attract people who want to bowl competitively, therefore encouraging more people to join the club if they have not heard about it already. The bowling club is working to establish a league in March until the end of the year.
Cavelti said this idea is more of a test to see if this can be done for the following year as well. “If it works out well, then we definitely [will] have [the league] again, I think,” Cavelti said. He also mentions that this is a good way for the bowling club to be recognized on campus
Cavelti elaborates on what needs to happen in order to get bowling competitions started for the club. “As far as events are going, we have a limited number of people that we can work with,” Cavelti said. There is a lack of rival competition that is willing to compete with the club.
The EWU bowling club currently has eight regular members who meet at Cheney Lanes. “Once a week on Sundays, we get together, and we bowl three games. [We] try to work on our personal best scores,” Terrell said.
While the team practices are light and fun, they can get a little tedious. “Regular practices are pretty casual,” club secretary Maddie Cattle said. “We have three games, and we just bowl through it, and that kind of gets boring after a while so we like to have a crazy round where we just do trick shots.”
Cavelti also mentions that Cheney Lanes provides the club with equipment during practice. They get a club discount when using the equipment for practice.
“It makes it a lot easier for students to come by and pay their own little money or they have [EagleFlex]. Rosa’s Pizza and Cheney Lanes are in one building so they both take [EagleFlex] for students, so it gives them more of a reason to bowl with us,” Cavelti said.
Terrell explains that the club chemistry has been going well and everyone has been interacting in a positive manner. “Every time we get together, we’re all very helpful in trying to see what else we can do to improve our scores,” Terrell said.
Cattle and Cavelti explain the challenge with trying to convince people that bowling is more than just an activity. “It’s a sport [because] I’ve been trying to get strikes for forever. It takes a lot of skill to be able to learn,” Cattle said.
“I think anything that requires a skill is a sport, everyone has their own opinions on things. Anything that anyone says, I’m not worried about what other people think of bowling,” Cavelti said.
Terrel and Cattle agree that bowling club is fun and the members build friendships. “It’s just to have fun, meet new people and have a good time,” Cattle said. “[It’s] to be able to do something that’s not an everyday kind of sport, and you get to experience different kinds of friendships,” Terrell said.
