Last of the Hudson Valley’s Scratch Bowlers
By: Craig Conway
It’s another Wednesday night in Poughkeepsie, New York. College students and those with full time jobs have gotten over the hump day and are anxiously awaiting the weekend. However, there’s a group of 40 individuals who love Wednesday nights for one particular reason. Bowling. When it comes to winter sports, many consider snowboarding, skiing and maybe indoor basketball to be the main sports for the season. For the scratch bowlers at Spins Bowling Alley, bowling is their main sport. The term scratch bowling refers to the way the scoring goes for each of the games. Games 1, 2, and 3 are all worth 2 points. Two teams play each other all three games and by the end of the night the team with more total pins earns an additional 3 points. The highest amount of points that can be earned is 9. This is the last scratch league in the Hudson Valley. With that being said, you need to be good to play in this league.
While many go bowling to have a few laughs, this league is far from your friendly competition. Each player showed up with an average of three bowling balls, a pair of bowling shoes, bowling shoe covers, chalk and towels to keep your hands from sweating, and even wrist guards to wear while playing. Equipment is key for bowling but it is not cheap. Bowling balls can be as expensive as $200 per ball, shoes can cost $50-$60, and the bags to keep everything in can cost up to $120. All of the players in this league have invested time and money to perfect their craft and become the best bowlers that they can be, all the while working full time jobs during the week. “We get teachers, doctors, a lot of mailman. You get a little of everything,” said Varrick Goss who works for a roof gutter company. “There’s a lot of blue collar professionals.”
When looking around the bowling alley, the average age seemed to be about 40–50 years old. In this league, the youngest player was 21 and the oldest was in his late 70’s, a player who has been in the league so long that it is now named the John DiMarco DC Classic. The other very noticeable aspect of the league is how many men there are compared to women. That’s because the male to female ratio is 39:1. Patti Tenyenhuis does not let that affect her game as she has bowled a 299 single game and has an average of 209 which is just as good if not better than many of the men in the league. The league is made up of people who have known each other for a long time. They know each other’s games and they know who’s the best, who’s average, and who’s not as good as the others. Because of this, there is a draft at the beginning of the season to divide the talent evenly. The players with the best averages draft a team of 4, including themselves, so that there is not one team that will be completely dominant in the league. Each bowler has their own individual style, motion, creativity, and certainly their own reactions. Each bowler analyzes their shots to see what they did right and what they did wrong, some expressing their disappointment a little louder than others. However, teamwork and sportsmanship comes into play after every bowler is done with their turn. High-fives, fist bumps and words of encouragement are given to each player from their teammates and even their opponents. “It’s still a bowling league, it’s fun.” says Zach Arth, a professor at Marist College. When looking around the bowling alley, there are some players going to the bar for a beer or mixed drink while others are so focused on the game that nothing will distract them.
Yes, the league is fun but the competition is still very prevalent. The top two teams by the end of the season receive a cash prize of $1000 per person, per team. The third and fourth place teams receive $700-$800 per player, per team. There are sometimes friendly wagers put on the games the teams play that night to make things more interesting. Sometimes playing for $20 per game or a “high game” where the winner could walk away with $100. The idea with this is to make the games more competitive and force the bowlers to play their best while being able to make some of their money back. It is $25 per week to bowl plus with the equipment expenses, it can all add up.
As for Wednesday night, there was a flurry of activity in the bowling alley. Each lane was filled, the first 10 with the competitive league and the others with those who come bowling every week more for fun but are still competitive. However, there were two games that seemed to catch the eye of many. In lane one, Bob Antunovich had only thrown strikes going into the tenth frame. He only needed three more strikes for the perfect 300 game. He stepped up to the tenth frame and delivered what looked to be the perfect shot. The ball spun down the lane and hit the pins in the spot that he had been putting it in the whole game. The first nine pins fell but the last one swayed a little and stayed up. The alley collectively let out a “Ohhhhh!” showing their disappointment that one of their own could not get the perfect game. Antunovich finished with a 279, a very high scoring game for a player with an average of 204. Finally in lane five, the #5 seed Team Rutigliano was in an intense game with #6 seed Team Meyer. Going into the last frame, Team Rutigliano needed a strong finish to come back and win the game. “If me and Zach (Arth) both strike out, this game is a lock,” said Goss. Arth stepped up and finished his game with three consecutive strikes, the strikeout that the team needed. Goss was up next and calmly did the same thing as his teammate, securing the game 1 win for Team Rutigliano. The team all high fived and smiled after a great come from behind victory. Sure, bowling is mainly for fun, but don’t most people have more fun when they win?
