Clifton Park bowlers have fun to spare

The St. Edward’s parish bowling league has spent more than 30 years uniting Clifton Park parishioners and other locals with a focus on fun, not on how one will fare in the lanes.

“It’s laid-back. There’s no competitive nature to it,” said Steve Szalowski, who’s been part of the league along with his wife for five years. “It’s fun; it’s something to do.”

The league is biweekly, meeting every other Saturday at Hometown Lanes in Mechanicville. This year, some of the league’s teams have names with groan-worthy puns like “Spareway to Heaven,” “The Ten Pin Commandments” and “The Spinning Saints.”

“We tend to be a fun league,” said league president Steve Sweet. “We let anybody in.”

The league is battling low attendance this year. Mr. Sweet said that the league has gradually been shrinking over time, but dropped significantly for this season, which started in the fall.

“We used to have 18 to 20 teams” in the league, he explained. The bowlers tried advertising in the parish bulletin to entice newcomers, but the league dropped from 10 teams to only four as said some previous members got hurt and couldn’t participate or others became too busy.

Still, Mr. Sweet said the bowling league will continue regardless of the number of participants, though he hopes that more people will see the fun it has to offer.

“We have fun; that’s what we try to tell people,” said Judy Lemire, who joined the league along with friend Kim Vilardi around 10 years ago. Mrs. Lemire noted that the bowlers host Christmas and Easter parties, have cake-baking contests and sponsor a banquet at the end of the season.

On a recent league night, team­mates watched and cheered from the back tables as players went up to bowl. Some bought snacks and drinks to enjoy while waiting their turn.

When Matt Torvicia just missed one last pin that would have given him a spare, a teammate called out, “Almost, Matt.” Others gave high-fives, whether someone had bowled a strike or a washout.

“It’s a community,” said Mr. Szalowski. “What are you going to do on a Saturday instead? You could be cleaning out your garage or basement, or could go out to bowl.”

(For information on joining St. Edward’s bowling league, contact Mr. Sweet at [email protected].)