Blaine High School added girls bowling to its lineup of winter sports options and the program is proving to be popular, with about 20 girls currently participating.
“It’s really an opportunity to get girls that aren’t currently active in a sport during the winter season to participate in an activity,” said head coach Sean Miller, in an email. “The girls seem to have taken a real interest in it.”
Competition started on November 19 and so far the team has a 1–1 record. The Borderites lost to Ferndale on November 19 and beat Meridian on November 20. The team practices at Mt. Baker Lanes in Ferndale every day and plays home matches there as well.
Whatcom County only has three other girls high school bowling teams: Ferndale, Meridian and a combined team with girls from all three Bellingham high schools. The Borderites play those schools, as well as schools in Skagit County and Everett during the regular season.
The school district added the program in response to low participation numbers in girls sports, said district athletic director Sean Linville.
The district took a survey last spring to find out which of three winter sports offered in the Northwest Conference but not at Blaine High School – bowling, swimming and gymnastics – students were most interested in. Bowling received the most votes.
“We got a really good response,” Linville said. “Sometimes you wonder if kids who showed interest in a survey will actually sign up, but a lot of them did.”
Miller is also the softball coach and some softball players followed him into the program.
“We have quite a few who played softball but not another winter sport,” Linville said. “We have a bunch of kids that are brand new to athletics. That was our intent, to attract those kids.”
The bowling team’s next match is at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3, at Mt. Baker Lanes against Bellingham (1–1).
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