The Peninsula High School Traveling Bowling League (PHSTBL) is in its 23rd season, providing athletes a chance to compete with area high schools throughout Tidewater. The games take place at the AMF Hidenwood, AMF York, and AMF Williamsburg bowling alleys. The high school bowling league is very competitive, with opportunities for teams to advance to the state high school bowling championships.
Mary Pancoast, the Peninsula league coordinator, has managed this lesser-known sport for 20 years. Mary is passionate about bowling, especially for high school students. She assumed the duty of running the league from New Market Bowl (now Classic Lanes) manager Judy Golightly and continues to keep her drive alive. "The league began with about eight teams of four players and finished the last two seasons with 38 teams of four players each," Pancoast said. "Now we have students from 17 area high schools as well as some home schoolers."
Anyone can participate
District championships are held every December. The top 16 teams from the Peninsula District compete against the top 16 teams from the Tidewater District, otherwise known as the Southside. Eight teams from each district advance to the state championships, which are held in different parts of the state every year.
If you want to form your own team, the process is pretty easy. "The cost per bowler is $7.50 per session," Pancoast said. "This price includes, bowling, bowling shoes, parties, door prizes, trophies and scholarships." Pancoast says the league is open to "bowlers of all skill levels," but warns potential participants to practice regularly, attend games as often as possible, and "establish an average."
Pancoast pointed out that many Hampton Roads bowlers have aspirations to compete at a higher level. Universities and colleges have "around 180 college club bowling programs," giving competitive bowlers (especially men) the opportunity to play against other colleges that haven't accepted bowling as an NCAA sport.
Women's NCAA bowling
While NCAA bowling programs are not available for men, Pancoast estimates there are "about 50 universities" that offer bowling as a collegiate sport for women. "This can mean a free college education for some young women or at least a partial scholarship granted to them for competing as a member of the university’s bowling team," Pancoast said. "NCAA athletes receive free bowling equipment, uniforms, travel, coaching all paid for by the university."
But it's not just for NCAA-recognized sports. There is a national championship for club bowling and some clubs even offer scholarships. Some club teams require athletes to abide by strict standards, such as maintaining a certain grade point average and/or attending mandatory practice sessions.
Bowling is growing in popularity as a sport, and Tidewater has witnessed this with its increase in teams in the last 20+ years. Pancoasts' dedication to providing students in Hampton Roads the opportunity to bowl in a league is a direct result of her love for the game of bowling. She believes the Virginia High School League is still years down the road from initiating bowling as a varsity sport. Until then, Pancoast will keep pursuing her dream of affording area bowlers the chance to compete. "Never wanting to turn a student away, I anticipate that one day we may have to split the league in two in order to accommodate more students," Pancoast said.
For more information on bowling as a sport, visit The United States Bowling Congress.
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