The bowling ball roars down the lane, the hollow sound echoing in the alley. A group of women look at it with expectation as it crashes into the pins with a crack, then a clatter. A smattering of applause breaks out. Across the colorful bowling alley carpet, young children of those bowling play their own game, rolling brightly colored balls down the lane, and more often, the gutter.
Since the 1960s, Silver Bay has had a women’s bowling league. Though it has changed in size throughout the years, it has been a source of connection for women in the Silver Bay area.
Currently, there are 14 women who bowl in the morning session, and 14 in the evening. The women play in teams of two against the other two-person teams, with three games in each session.
The league is sanctioned through the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), and because the league is for women of all ages, teens who bowl in the women’s league are ineligible to bowl in a junior league, as they are then registered as adult bowlers.
The women’s league morning session meets on Thursdays at 9 a.m. and the evening session at 6:30 p.m. Leagues start the third week of September and meet through the end of April. There is currently room to join as a sub, and the weekly fee is $14.00 for the morning session and $15 for the evening.
When I asked the various ladies why they chose bowling, connectedness seemed to be at the heart. One woman commented that she joined the league after retiring as a way to get out in the community and make friends. Another joined initially to bowl with her daughter, and has continued bowling since her daughter moved away. A mother and teen daughter bowl together for some “bonding time”.
For the last 60 years, the women’s league has helped create lasting connections between women in the area, an anticipated fun-filled way to spend Thursdays. The warmth and sunshine of friendships are invaluable in the cold and dark winter months.
