Smaller Queens League keeps rolling

The Camelot Queens League recently completed its first half when most others finished up their first third or first quarter.

Why?

“Some [members] feel they don’t have the money to bowl extra weeks, so we decided to condense our season to 20 weeks with 10 in each half,” said Queens secretary Mary O’Hare.

Low participation numbers don’t help.

“We’re down to 13 women, due to many problems,” said O’Hare. “Some girls have had surgery or had to drop out because of their mothers. A lot are older, but we’ve had some young ones join us.”

The scenario isn’t uncommon for leagues.

“People are not bowling for some reason,” O’Hare said. “Maybe they find it too expensive,” she said of the weekly $15 cost, which includes bowling, a sanction fee and money for a banquet and prizes.

Of the $15, bowling is $9.65 for three games for Queens members.

“Those who have a 30- or 32-week season would have a different price for bowling,” O’Hare said. “It depends on how many weeks you bowl. Then, if you want to give to the winners of high games and high sets [jackpots], that’s investing an awful lot of money each week.”

However, Camelot’s promotion-driven and proactive proprietors try to stay ahead of the curve.

“There’s still a lot of open bowling,” O’Hare said, “and they feature a lot of different things to attract bowlers. There’s a lot of open bowling, but the leagues have diminished.”

When O’Hare first joined Queens, the league had 14 teams, then 12, then 10, eight and six before this season.

This year’s four team sponsors are McCarthy Systems Company, Inc.; Betty’s Lunatics, Columbiana Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge and Kustom Computer Solutions.

The Lunatics added Betty to their name after a Queens bowler on their team passed away last year.

“They call themselves Betty’s Lunatics in her honor,” O’Hare said. “She was a member for a long time. The girls decided they would honor her in that way.”

Kustom Computer is sponsored by Mary’s son, Brian.

“Among fixing other computer problems, he helps people when they erase things,” O’Hare said. “So many people hit the wrong keys and erase information. Most of the time he’s been able to retrieve it for them.”

Current Queens president is Nicole Morrison, but O’Hare was a past league president. She is also a Youngstown women’s association hall of famer.

O’Hare joined the Camelot league after bowling in the Trio league at Mar-Hill before it closed. While Mary moved to Camelot, other Trio women went in different directions — some to Wedgewood, some to Colonial, some to Boardman.

“In my younger days, I probably bowled every day,” she said. “We bowled at 9 p.m. at that time, but not too many women are bowling at 9 p.m. now. Even the men don’t have many 9 p.m. leagues.”

O’Hare goes back to Marvondale in 1945.

“It’s been a long time,” she said. “At that time, the Marvondale Ladies League had 20 teams. It makes a difference when you have 20 and then just four and are constantly bowling each other every two weeks. When you have 20 teams, you bowl so many different girls. It makes a difference when there are more bowlers.”

The population decline and drop in league participation deflated a once-13,000 YWBA membership to 1,635.

“That’s long gone,” Roseanne Winner, current Youngstown-Salem Women’s Association president, said of the local organization’s membership in the 1970s. “As for women-in-women’s leagues, we had 1,635 sanctioned members during the 2010-2011 season.”

O’Hare was heavily involved with the state women’s association, too, as a director and vice-president and out-of-town meetings required her attendance.

“I had to decide what I wanted most, so family was important,” Mary said of her decision to forgo official duties to care for family members.

O’Hare said that Queens has a mix of mostly old bowlers, with a few young, too.

“Some come back because their children have grown up, so that helps,” Mary said. “I guess once bowling gets in your blood, you stay with it.”

McKinley’s 298

Charlesetta McKinley’s 298 game led Bob’s Bail Bonding at Wedgewood on Nov. 21, when Vincent Harris’ 790 was high set and, on Nov. 23, Melissa Wasser’s 247-709 topped Ladies Variety at Holiday.