As I’m sure everyone is painfully aware right now, we are in the midst of a pandemic that has changed the way we have had to live our normal, everyday lives. There have been many things which we have had to change to work around the Coronavirus pandemic, one of them being our school system which I have written a separate article about. However, today I’d like to take a look at something that hits pretty close to home for me personally, and talk about the Hampton Bowling team that I am a part of and what we have had to change in response to Covid-19.

I joined the bowling team last year, and the season was all around very normal at the time. There was a girls and a boys team, 5 people on each, and a couple coaches throughout the entire season. It was a fun time, and the season ended before Covid kicked off, so we were spared from having to end the season early. However, that obviously changed when the pandemic started. We were all worried about how the bowling season would change this year, or if we would even have one at all, however while we are still doing the season, there have been a lot of big changes that we have had to make.

Starting out, we have had a lot of new additions to the team, making for a total of 9 people now on the boys team. However, I don’t believe the girls team has had any new additions. Moving forward, now after school, before we have to go to practice, we meet by the pool side entrance to take our temperatures, as the bowling alley will not let us in unless we do so, and everyone on our team is confirmed to be healthy. And of course, we must all be wearing masks, we can no longer swap bowling balls, or even trade, and we have to space out as we are playing as well. And practices and games must absolutely start at either 3:30 for practice and 3:00 for games, as the alleys won’t allow us to continue past 6, so both teams have to play all three games relatively quickly in order to be out on time.

The team has also changed the way they play against other schools. Originally, we would play against them in a game directly on the same lanes, however we now have to play separately and compare the schools later, as to not bunch up. The teams this season will likely not even be able to interact with each-other, as doing so would be considered a health risk. Even with these new conditions being put in place, several schools have already canceled their seasons, so it’s unsure as to who we will be playing against, or if we even can play against anyone.

The coaches have had to do a lot of thinking over whether or not to even cancel the season. Even now, with the cases going up, our school going remote, and other schools canceling, it’s very unsure as to whether or not we can even bowl this year. Everything is still being decided, and the team will have to work around new events in order to continue, or simply cancel the bowling season altogether.

While the future of the bowling team may be unsure, several players, including myself, are very hopeful about the season and optimistic about the season and their chances to play. One player, Gabe Jackovlic, says, “Bowling is something a lot of us look forward to, and have a lot of fun with, so we’re all really hoping the season can continue.” Other players have also expressed this same sentiment, hoping that bowling can continue this year, even if the team has to make a lot of concessions.

Like everything, the bowling team has had to change a lot in response to the current state of the world, and we’re just hoping that we can keep up with those changes in order to continue doing the sport we love to play.