Prep Bowling: Movement for official prep sanctioning stuck in gutter

By Chhun Sun
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/27/2007 09:52:13 AM MDT
 

With National Bowling Week starting, one can assume that bowling enthusiasts will group up, go to the nearest bowling alley and throw a heavy round object down a slippery path toward cone-like objects.  For local bowler Mitch Wareing, that's not necessarily the case.

"Nah, I don't think I have anything special planned," Wareing said. "Maybe bowl with some friends."

C'mon, it's National Bowling Week - which kicked off Sunday - and it's to honor an activity that a team of British archeologists dates back to around 3200 B.C., when an Egyptian boy played with what looked like a bowling ball and pins.

That's 5,200-plus years of existence.

But for longtime bowlers such as Wareing, who graduated from Bingham High in the spring and competed for the school's club bowling team, they're going to bowl no matter what, be it on a day set aside for bowlers or not.

And it doesn't matter, for now, that the sport isn't sponsored at the high school level in Utah - bowlers will continue to bowl.

The man at the top of the group that governs high school sports in Utah, Evan Excell, said it could be a sport for local high school kids one day, if the numbers are right.
"I don't have a clue how many kids are bowling, but it could be in the hundreds," said Excell, executive director at the Utah High School Activities Association.

"But I do know there are a number of states that have jumped on the bandwagon and are certainly happy with it. We certainly would be happy to look at it if the numbers are up there."
Current numbers aren't enough for bowling to be sponsored by the UHSAA.
As with any sport in Utah looking to gain UHSAA sponsorship, it has to go through a process that takes at least a year to complete.

First, the people involved in the respective sport need to show the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (UIAAA) that at least 50 percent of schools in whatever the classification - from Class 1-A to 5-A - are participating in the sport. At this point, the association conducts a survey of the sport with the schools, looking to see, for example, if there will be enough funding and interest.

Then the proposal will go from the UIAAA to the UHSAA's Executive Committee (consisting mostly of high school principals), where the people involved in the sport make a case and the committee will examine the possibility.

And, finally, the UHSAA's policy-setting board of trustees makes the final decision.
This process is not simple, and it's one that many sports - lacrosse, rodeo and ice hockey, to name a few - have been trying to get through.

Proponents of girls' golf successfully completed the process this past June, but it was the first sport to get sponsored since softball in 1990.

That's why local high school bowling supporters don't feel rushed to have their sport recognized by the UHSAA.

"As long as they can maintain the club status, I think they're doing good," said Bingham club coach Troy Wareing - Mitch's father. "These kids get a chance to do something that most other kids don't want to be a part of. They still get to participate and get to have that school camaraderie. It gives them a sense that they're doing something for their school."

Utah high school bowling, local supporters say, eventually will be recognized as a sport - 18 states have beat Utah to it - maybe in five years or less, said Debbie Wade, the Utah high school bowling coordinator for the United State Bowling Congress.

According to Wade, nearly 20 schools in the state compete at the club level. For the past four years, prep bowlers have competed in the Utah High School Bowling Conference State Tournament.

Utah is ranked 34th in the nation in participation, with 19,762 USBC bowlers, according to the latest figures by the USBC. There are also 598 bowling leagues in Utah (only 49 of them are for youths).

But when Mitch Wareing was a youth, he always found enough bowling leagues to keep him busy - and it didn't matter what day it was.

"It just depends," Wareing said. "It's all about having fun."

csun@sltrib.com


Bowling in numbers There are 19,762 USBC bowlers, 598 bowling leagues, 19 bowling centers and 1,010 bowling lanes. The participation ranks Utah 34th in the nation, according to the United States Bowling Congress.

Past winners of the Utah High School Bowling Conference State Tournament:
Boys
2007 - Cyprus
2006 - Bingham
2005 - Olympus
2004 - West Jordan

Girls
2007 - Taylorsville
2006 - Taylorsville
2005 - Taylorsville
2004 - Taylorsville