Bowling brings people together.

There are many beautiful things about bowling but that’s towards the top for sure.

Having a sense of community is so important. And the bowling community is AMAZING. 

And, at a time where it seems like the world is divided- we need something that we share in common to bring us together.

That love of community was where it all began for me actually. I’ve written before about how my grandma Betty inspired me to bowl. She bowled for no other reason than the community. Every Wednesday night, she went bowling to be with her people — her girls on her team. And she had so much fun! They just laughed and laughed. Community is what brought my grandma to bowling. And that fun and community are what kept me wanting to go along with her to her league night. The community was what hooked my grandma as much as it was the initial seed for me — that then grew into even more for me as I began loving the sport.

It has enriched my life on so many levels. Bowling has created countless memories and connections for me that will last my lifetime. It brought me my bowling tribe.

I can go to so many countries around the world and there will be somebody close by that I can connect with — maybe I’ve crossed paths with them during my 15 years bowling on Team USA, or maybe they were a fan. One of my favorite trips was when we were in the Philippines, and John and I wanted to see the country from a local perspective so the national team took us around, to the places that they like to hang out rather than where the tourists go. And I met Jason Belmonte in 2003 at the World Championships. He was just a kid bowling for Australia that nobody really knew and he’s become one of my best friends. Somebody just told me to “watch that kid bowl from Australia bowls with two hands.”  So I watched him, we ended up talking afterward and became friends. That’s almost 20 years of friendship and we literally could not live further apart! We’re good friends with his family, his wife, his mom and dad, his kids. He lives four hours from Sydney and we have a plan to spend some time visiting them, maybe every five years or so. That’s just one example of how bowling brings people together because it is such a tight community of people.

Anytime you’re in a situation where you have something so big in common, it’s easy to feel connected and form those relationships with people.

Community and connection are also why the Elite Youth Tour has become even more than I ever dreamed it could become.

The Elite Youth Tour has become such an unbelievably strong community. The monthly event has become a platform, a place to come together and form relationships and friendships. I love bringing really good people together and seeing what happens from it! I’m so proud of EYT being able to do that, and that it has been at it for almost ten years now. I’ll see some kids start as early as eight or nine years old. Some kids stay with the tour until they’re 20, and if they started early on, I’ve seen them the whole time as they’ve grown up with the tour. And I’ve seen so many friends and families meet on the Elite Tour. Then they’ll travel to youth tournaments together, staying at the same hotels and spending the week together, not just on the lanes. They’re really growing up together.

I knew that EYT was going to provide people a place to gather, and that was important to me, but now I’ve seen them forming these friendships and relationships that will literally last their entire lives. It takes my breath away sometimes when I see kids mature in front of my eyes and I’ll have a flashback to when they started. It is such an honor for me to be able to witness their growth and the relationships they’ve made through bowling that have also helped shape their life.

I know I’m biased but I really do think bowling is the most amazing sport. There are so many people forming connections and memories through this sport. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what level you’re at or how much money you have, or what your ethnicity is — bowling is really a sport that brings people together. And it goes so far beyond the competitive bowlers. People join a league or even just go on a date bowling. Families have bowling nights. I don’t think there’s a lot of sports you can say that about, that so many people play recreationally or want to play. Not everyone can play sports like baseball or hockey, but so many can bowl in some capacity.

Tell me about your bowling community….