Bowling, dancing, and laughter were abundant throughout the 26th Annual Portage Township YMCA Bowl-A-Thon this past Sunday. Held at Camelot Bowl in Portage, this annual event raises funds to help subsidize YMCA programs and provide scholarships to individuals and families who are unable to afford YMCA services.
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The Bowl-a-thon consisted of 29 teams playing three games each. During the first two games, bowlers were required to bowl “wacky” with specific instructions from the event organizers. Many enthusiastic community members and businesses showed up to support the YMCA. A total of about 150 people attended the Bowl-A-Thon including representatives of St. Mary Medical Center, Portage Fire Fighters Local 3151, Kohl’s, Centier, and more.
Though this event has taken place many times before, it was more “wacky” than usual this year. Interim CEO of the YMCA, Amber Alexander, said they wanted to reimagine the Bowl-A-Thon this year.
“In the past, the bowling was a little more competitive. This year we wanted to do something that was non-competitive and more fun,” she said.
The fun factor was evident during the first game as teams had to try out a new bowling tactic for every frame. The bowling challenges included using the opposite hand to bowl, rolling the ball between a teammates legs, and spinning around three times before releasing the ball.
John Belcher has been coming to the Bowl-A-Thon for a number of years and he felt that there was less pressure on the bowling this time around.
“This is the first time we’ve seen wacky bowling,” Belcher said. “I think it’s a great change. It lets the weirdness out and takes away some of the seriousness so people can really have fun.”
Some teams even dressed up with costumes inspired by Frozen, Legos, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One team named the Bootcamp Beasties, met during the YMCA’s Boot camp exercise class. The five friends decided to form a team and eagerly cheered one another on frame to frame. Team member Grace Montemayor said that the Bootcamp Beasties are already planning on returning next year for the Bowl-A-Thon.
Participants were also very creative with their team names: One Strike Wonders, Livin’ on a Spare, Gutterlicious, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Gutter to name a few. Throughout the event, each team had their “theme song” played by the DJ as Alexander emceed the event and gave shout-outs to the participants. Song choices ranged from “White Rabbit” to “Ice Ice Baby” to “The Wobble”. Team members had fun dancing and congratulating one another on their strikes and spares.
Alexander began the event by reminding participants, “It’s not about the bowling, it’s about the community.”
Her favorite part of the Bowl-A-Thon was seeing everyone come together – families, businesses, and YMCA staff. The creative reimagining of this event truly paid off and created lasting, fun-filled memories for those involved.