Gathered at Hooper Bowling Center, Soldiers and their Families enjoyed a friendly competition, Tuesday during the intramural bowling league tournament.
The bowling league tournament is a new fall sport added by Fort Campbell’s Morale, Welfare and Recreations sports office. It started Oct. 16 and will be played every Tuesday through Nov. 20. On the last day of competition awards will be given to the first place team, the bowler with the highest average and the team with the highest series.
“I find it is a way to build comradery with each other,” said Andrew Stockard, program manager for MWR sports.
Specialist Jon Rivers, 63rd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group (EOD), bowled on intramural leagues when he was a child, but has not had the opportunity to bowl since he joined the military.
Rivers and several other members of his battalion signed up to participate in the new bowling league.
“It’s just something fun to do to get away from work. There are a bunch of us here from the company we are all friends,” Rivers said.
Rivers said he is an OK bowler, but joined the bowling league to get back into bowling.
Stockard said bowling was part of MWR sports years ago but he believes it was discontinued when units were deployed and interest waned. Lately, he has noticed more Soldiers taking an interest in bowling.
He has been talking with his boss, Mike Gorham, chief of Fort Campbell’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation sports, fitness and aquatics, to bring a bowling league back to Fort Campbell. It was not until Patricia Schneider was named manager of Hooper Bowling that things started to fall into place.
Schneider was able to help because she has worked at other centers that host intramural bowling leagues
“It brings Soldiers together and there is friendly competition against the different brigades and units,” Schneider said. Stockard went to the first meet up on Oct. 16 and noticed league participants were having a good time and interacting with other league members.
“They were having a ball, they were bringing their Families out to watch them,” Stockard said.
Second Lieutenant Dallas Henderson, 184th Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group (EOD), said he bowls for fun and has never been on a league. His battalion joined because it provides an opportunity for great comradery.
The No. 1 goal for joining the intramural bowling league is to win a championship for the battalion, Henderson said.
Schneider and Stockard made it so the first 12 teams to sign up for the league to compete at no cost. Seven teams of four Soldiers each have joined the league.
“This is the first year, so hopefully it will do better in the future,” Schneider said.
Stockard said the next intramural bowling league will form in February and will be teams at the company level. Everything will be free to the first 12 teams who sign up.
“I hope more people get involved and come out and have fun. We are trying to change up some sports and offer more sports geared toward more interaction with each other to where they determine the game instead of the referees,” Stockard said.
The intramural bowling league is not limited to just units and brigades. Stockard said members of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program are able to sign up to participated in the tournaments.
Stockard said, these tournaments and practices are a good way for Soldiers to prepare for the All-Army Bowling team.