Bowling season has started. The Westerville South Bowling Team participated in one tournament on Nov. 20  at HP Lanes, in which they placed 18th. With Coaches Jamie West and Mark Candella, the team is looking to improve upon their previous season.

Tony Tran, a senior, is entering his fourth year of bowling for the team. He has a personal best of 245. When asked why he joined the bowling team, Tran responded, “I got into bowling for my Physical Education waiver, but I stayed because I felt myself slowly improving after each practice, match, tournament, etc. The environment was also chill, and I felt like I was part of a family.” 

Alex Stewart, junior, is a teammate who has been bowling since she was five years old. Her personal best score is 245.  Stewart joined the team because bowling has always been a part of her life.  She said, “I’ve known the head coach for years, so I always knew I was gonna join the bowling team.”

There has been a debate whether bowling should be considered a skilled sport or not. When asked about this debate, Tran said,  “If it’s on Wii Sports, then it’s a sport.” He continued, “Bowling is an actual sport because it requires a lot of mental discipline and time. Although it’s not physical really, it can be taxing mentally sometimes. But it follows all the requirements with games, tournaments, team dinners, banquets, all of that. It’s considered a club sport and not a real one.”

Stewart said, “Whenever people think bowling isn’t a skilled sport I usually ask them how many people they know have shot a 300 and if they could do it right now.”

There is some debate whether bowling is a team sport or an individual sport. Stewart answered, “Bowling has a lot to do with your individual abilities but in an atmosphere like high school bowling it’s definitely more of a team sport.” 

Tran added, “Bowling is more of a team sport than an individual one. We have individual games and then team games whenever we have a match. Individuals are easier to mess up on, but with team games it reinforces all the positivity and is usually the deciding factor in a match.”

With rivals  Westerville Central, Olentangy Orange, Olentangy Liberty, and Lancaster, the South bowling team is looking to one-up the competition this season.