The UC High Bowling Club, which is a fairly new club, has recently started competing at the local bowling alley.

The UC High Centurions Bowling Club was started by Sophomores Braedon Stern and Donovan Todorov in October of 2016. They have been a part of the Kearny Mesa Bowl (KMB) High School Bowling Challenge for one season.

Kearny Mesa Bowl hosts their own “High School Bowling Challenges,” that many members of the club will attend to compete. By creating a team of two and participating in three games a week, that team is automatically eligible to compete in the competition to win prizes and titles (kearnymesabowl.com).

Sophomore Maximilian Pinto stated, “Bowling has always been fun to me. After all, I did start bowling right out of the womb. But only recently have I joined the club and started bowling competitively.”

Unlike Pinto, Sophomore Steven Ayala has only been bowling for three months, but he has been playing with the UC High Bowling Club for one and a half months.

“There are many benefits to being a part of this club,” explained Ayala. “By being a part of the Kearny Mesa Bowl Youth League Bowlers Program, we get eight dollars per bowler/per week, two free games every day, free coaching, and free shoe rental.”

“All of UC High’s Bowling Club members are really enthusiastic about coming in and bowling during their free time. They all have a lot of fun when they are practicing, trying to beat their individual personal records. Since they get two free games everyday to practice and they bowl more than just their two normally, I would say they spend at least three to four hours a week outside of the actual league bowling for fun and practice,” said Youth Leagues Advisor for KMB Brian Hudepohl.

Recently, Pinto bowled at his first tournament at Mira Mesa Lanes, where he took first place in his division. He won a 250 dollar scholarship, a Global900 Bowling Ball, and a 100 dollar gift card. “Practice makes perfect,” said Pinto.

Hudepohl stated, “At practice, they work on all aspects of their game. They work on their approach, timing, and release, as well as how to ‘Hook’ the ball and how to make spares.”

“Bowling is something I do because it’s fun and it’s a way to hang out with my friends and meet new people,” shared Vice President Todorov.

“Most bowling centers have good youth programs. At Kearny Mesa Bowl, we provide each bowler in our youth program the opportunity to learn and excel in the sport. All of our youth program bowlers get two free games each day to practice, free shoe rental whenever they come to bowl, a league shirt, coaching, and even one-on-one lessons if they like. We also try to get each bowler their own equipment. There are even opportunities for the bowlers to win scholarship money through competing in tournaments,” shared Hudepohl.

The 2017 spring season will be held Friday nights at 6 p.m. at Kearny Mesa Bowl, starting the January 13 and will consist of teams of four competing for 15 weeks (kearnymesabowl.com).