Goodtime Bowling League Scores 20

by Brad Di Iorio in Sports | 0 comments

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Salt Lake Goodtime Bowling League rolls into gay-friendly Bonwood Bowl with league play starting Sunday, Sept 12. Anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age or ability is invited to participate in this season’s bowling fun.

J Fraga is the newly-elected president of the league after many years of planning and serving as an officer.

“The Goodtime Bowling League is about camaraderie, fun and supporting nonprofit organizations,” said Fraga. “It is a fun way to give back to society and help various organizations with the money that Bonwood Bowl and the Goodtime League donates. I encourage everyone to join the league to have fun, from novice to seasoned player.”

Teams and players are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes before 7 p.m. each Sunday. Players who are not on a team are encouraged to arrive at 6 p.m. and register as an individual player. Each week, each player is required to pay a league fee of $11, and a one-time United States Bowling Congress membership of $19 is required before or on the day of opening season play. Miller states that the league fee is one of the lowest in the state.

“The unique thing about the league is it’s a charity league. All proceeds from bowling the 28 weeks go to charities the league votes on,” said Chad Miller, league secretary. “The owner of Bonwood Bowl, Dean White, has always made the league feel very welcome along with Chad Hall and his staff.”

Weekly raffles and holiday theme nights make for festive bowling during the season. The end of the season banquet will be held at Club Try-Angles.

“As I start my ninth year bowling on the Goodtime League, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people,” said Miller. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday evening. Gene Gieber, owner of Try-Angles, has hosted our banquets for the past three years and has always made the extra effort to make sure it’s a great experience.”

This August, two bowlers from the league represented Utah at the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. Larry Lee won a silver when added to a German team, while John Bennett did not medal but enjoyed his fifth Gay Games. Both bowlers credit Goodtime as instrumental in improving their bowling skills and in making new friends.

“Thank you to Bonwood Bowl for allowing us to bowl free the other night and this will be my third or fourth year at Bonwood, but I did play up at the University when it first started over 20 years ago,” said John Bennett, remembering that it was the first year.

The league is also a member of the International Gay Bowling Organization, and will encourage league players to travel and participate in IGBO tournaments throughout the year.

Interested players are encouraged to e-mail signup@saltlakegoodtimes.com. For more information, visit saltlakegoodtimes.com or the league’s Facebook page. You may also call Cody Ellison at 801-856-9973. Bonwood Bowl is located at 2500 S. Main St., Salt Lake City and its website is bonwoodbowl.com.  Information about IGBO tournaments can be found at igbo.org.