EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report is focused on making bowling a potential option to be an intramural sport at

Ferris State University. I am highlighting some advantages of bowling being included in
university recreation. The recommendations are given to the coordinator of intramural and club
sports, Fernando Labra. Recommendations are also given to Cindy Horn, the director of
university recreation.
Many universities have intramural sports as a way for students to get involved with other
fellow students to be competitive, social, and to stay active outside of their classes. At Ferris we
have a great recreation department and a decent selection of intramural sports. As the student
population continues to grow there is room for more sports to be added to the list. Bowling is a
fun game for anyone in which a ball is rolled down a lane and the players try to knock down as
many pins as they can in ten frames. Bowling is very safe but there are a few hazards that could
get someone hurt if they are not careful.
Students at Ferris enjoy bowling at The Gate which is conveniently located very close to
campus. Speaking with other students, I have found that there would be plenty of interest in
joining a bowling league there. The problem is that we cannot sign up for a bowling league
through the university. The leagues are open to anyone who wants to join and are not always
flexible for student schedules. The advantages of having a bowling league coordinated by the
recreation department include; ease of registration for students and faculty, it is played indoors
and is multi-seasonal, can be an attractive recruiting tool and The Gate can benefit financially.
To note a few items that would need to be addressed, the Ferris recreation department and The
Gate would need to come to an agreement on time slots and price. The Intramural handbook
would need to be looked over to find rule exceptions since bowling is not a contact sport. Also,
the university would need to approve of allowing the leagues to be created.
The immediate solution to the problem is for Ferris university rec to consider making
bowling an intramural sport. The Gates facilities would be used for the intramural leagues and a
set of rules would need to be created for the purpose. The department could view other university
web pages that have intramural bowling rules and regulatory documents posted. This could be
used as a benchmark for starting our own program here at Ferris. The leagues could be divided
by mens, womens, co-rec, fraternity, sorority and residence hall teams. Playoff organization is
similar to the other intramural sports we have on campus.
The action that must be taken is for the recreation department to organize a meeting to
discuss new options for intramural sports. The case will be presented for bowling and the options
will be researched. The department will then contact The Gate for possible arrangements. Once
everything is lined up, the intramural coordinator will need to organize everything and open
registration. I encourage the university to look at new options for intramural sports to give more
opportunities for students to get involved and stay active.

INTRODUCTION
This report covers the possibility and potential of bowling to become an intramural sport
at Ferris State University. My goal is to provide a background of intramural sports and bowling
to show that the game is fun, safe and could be an excellent addition to the recreational programs
at Ferris. By highlighting some of the advantages of a bowling league in university recreation I
will show that this idea should be considered. Recommendations to add this new sport are given
to Fernando Labra, the university Intramural and Club Sports Director, and also Cindy Horn, the
Director of University Recreation.

BACKGROUND
Intramural Sports
Almost every university is the United States has a recreation program which allows
students to participate in recreational activities outside of their studies. Intramural sports are
common in college recreation. These sports give students and staff the opportunity to have fun,
compete, network, stay in shape and get involved in the university all at the same time. It is
important for the student body to have options of different recreational sports to choose from. If
more options are offered, more people will want to join and it will make for a more involved and
united student body.

Ferris State Recreation

Ferris State University Recreation has is very strong and active. Our facilities are well
maintained and the activities are well organized. I have noticed that every activity I have
watched or been involved with has had good active participation with lots of enthusiasm and
exceptional student involvement. We have a decent number of intramural sports but there is
room for more options as the student population grows.

Bowling
Bowling is a safe sport that can be fun for anyone who is eager to try it. It simply consists
of rolling a ball down a lane and attempting to knock down as many pins as possible in ten
frames. The good fact about bowling is the variety of people who can participate and do well.
The spectrum covers people of different genders, sizes, athletic skill, age and even people who
have certain disabilities and may be bound to a wheelchair can learn to bowl (Powers, 1993). At
the beginning of each game, no matter how skilled the player is, he or she still has a chance to
bowl a great game. The worst thing that can happen is that you will have at least have a good
time.

Bowling Safety
Although bowling is labeled to be one of the safest sports, there are still accidents that
can happen and possibly hurt someone. It is best to do anything you can to communicate safety
tips to bowlers, especially to those who are new at it. The most common hazards in bowling
include dropping the ball, falling in the lane, colliding with another bowler and being injured
from the ball return systems. Accidents can happen in any activity and it is important to make an
attempt to avoid them.

CURRENT SITUATION
Problem
Groups of students at Ferris enjoy bowling at The Gate frequently. The location of the
bowling alley very close to campus makes it a convenient place for students to go to have a good
time. I have had several conversations over the last two years with multiple students about
joining a bowling league, however, we have not found a league convenient for us. We would
want to bowl with and against fellow Ferris students in organized play. The idea of bowling in
competition is appealing to many bowlers. There is a club bowling team at the University but
many students who enjoy bowling do not want to commit to a club sport or do not have the
experience to compete at that level. There are also local bowling leagues in the area but none that
tie directly to the University and students would have to go outside the resources of Ferris to be
included in those.

Advantages
To have a bowling league through the University would be very convenient for students
and faculty who enjoy bowling or even people who just enjoy the competition without having to
play a physically demanding sport. Bowling is very fun, and I have found that many students
would be interested in joining. The option would give us bowlers something to practice for and
look forward to participating in. Other students may spark an interest in learning bowling if they
see a flier for a student bowling league.
There are also many other advantages to a university bowling league than the
convenience and opportunity for students. The Gate would have almost guaranteed profit on days
when they dont get many people in to bowl. They would benefit from the students that come to
bowl for the leagues and pay for games and shoe rentals. The Gate may also receive excess
business from people who want to bowl more often to practice for the leagues.
Recreational bowling could potentially be used as a recruitment tool for prospective
students. If a high school student enjoys bowling and is already considering Ferris, an attractive
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recreational bowling program could be the selling point that seals the deal for his or her decision.
Not all universities have a recreational bowling league and it could be one of those things that
makes Ferris stand out from the crowd.
Because bowling is an indoor sport, it can be played at any time of the year. The
university will have flexibility in scheduling it around or along with other popular activities. It
could even include leagues in the fall and spring semesters if it becomes increasingly popular.

Notable Items
In order for the Ferris State Recreation department to acknowledge bowling as an option
for an intramural sport, there are some items that would need to be addressed by the department
staff. They will need first propose an agreement with The Gate to negotiate a time slot for
intramural bowling leagues to function. Also, the price for student bowling and shoe rentals can
be reviewed.
Some of the official rules in the Ferris intramural sports handbook would need to be
looked over by a committee to decide which rules need to apply to bowlers and which can be
discarded since it is not a contact sport. It would be odd if you were not allowed to wear jewelry
while bowling. As a university run activity, it would also need to be addressed if students over
21 would be allowed to have alcoholic beverages while participating.
The final approval of the University Rec and The Gate would be needed in order to create
intramural bowling leagues. The University may need to see that there is enough student interest
so that it would be beneficial to all parties involved.

SOLUTION
Immediate
The Ferris State recreational department considering adding bowling as an intramural
sport is the immediate solution to this situation. As an intramural sport, students and also faculty
will be able to register through the Ferris intramural website, the recreation office, or by using
the intramurals mobile app called REC-IT. Bowling will provide a sport for a wide variety of
students to participate, have fun and compete with one another.
The Gate lights up a Ferris State Bulldog logo above its entrance showing its close ties
with the university. If an agreement can be made with University Recreation and The Gate, the
facility will provide shoe rentals and bowling balls for players who do not have equipment of
their own. A regular intramural fee will need to apply to cover charges for games, bowling shoes
and a staff member to be present to regulate check in and stat keeping.
The bowling league needs to follow the guidelines of the intramurals handbook to be a
University-organized activity. Some exceptions to the rules can be made considering bowling as
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a non-contact sport. Also, for safety purposes, a bowling safety document should be given to
players who wish to register. The contents can be included as a part of the regulated quiz which
is required for any students to take who wish to participate in an intramural sport.
The safety document would need to present the following tips in order to prevent
common dangers in bowling:

Use both hands when picking up the ball.

Wear bowling shoes.
Stay within the bowling lane
Wait for ball returns. (Bowling Safety Tips, 2013)

Other guidelines may be added by the University Recreation department as they see fit. Using
these four guidelines by themselves can prevent the four most common ways people get hurt
when bowling.

Ideas
To give the decision makers in the University an idea of how many students may be
interested in intramural bowling, a survey can be arranged to be sent out via e-mail to all current
students in the myFSU directory. The students that respond saying they would be interested
would be counted to get an idea of how many students want this to happen.
I have looked at rules and regulations of other Universities that include bowling as an
intramural sport. Setting up league play is actually very simple. It will be a team sport with
generally four or five players on each team. There can be separate leagues for mens, womens,
co-rec, fraternity, sorority and residence hall teams.
The leagues will be set up so that teams can have a certain number of head to head
regular season matches in preparation for playoffs. In these head to head matches, each teams
total score will be taken after the match and the higher scoring team gets a win toward their
record. If a team member cannot be there to play, the opposing team will drop their lowest score.
The score dropping rule should only be used for one missing player. Team records, team scores
and individual scores should be kept by the staff to set up even pools for playoff matches.
Just like the other intramural sports the playoffs will be a single elimination tournament.
To give everyone a fair chance at a championship, there can be different divisions of playoff
action based on the teams season performance. Participating teams will be grouped in divisional
play (i.e. 8 teams to a group) based on a combination of their regular season standings, their
overall team scoring averages, and their season long participation efforts (Coed Bowling, 2008).
A handicap scoring system may or may not be used to make it even for players of different skill
levels. The winner of each bracket receives intramural champions t-shirts which is standard for
all Ferris State intramural champions.

CONCLUSION
Action
My goal is to get the University Recreation department to take action toward the solution.
The first active step would be to organize a meeting to discuss more intramural opportunities for
students in the future. The student population is continuing to grow and more options will be
very beneficial. Fernando Labra and also Cindy Horn should be present along with any others
that will have input on the subject. I personally can attend the meeting as well if needed to
present my case about bowling. If passed by the coordinators to be researched, the department
would need to contact The Gate and make the arrangements necessary to get the go-ahead to
create the leagues. As the arrangements conclude, the intramural coordinator will need to
establish all guidelines, rules and league organization. When the leagues are able to be created,
fliers and e-mail alerts can be sent out encouraging students to register for bowling when the
registration time opens up.

Final Remarks
I recommend that Ferris State University Recreation considers options for new intramural
sports to be introduced to the students. I believe that bowling is a great match for a possible
recreation activity through the university. I encourage the department and the university to take
any means necessary to ask the students if bowling or other similar activities would be
interesting to them.
Athletic activities coordinated by the university allow students to be involved with other
students in a fun and competitive way. It would not be much of a college experience as a student
if I did not have any fun and I hope everyone gets a chance to be involved. New intramural
sports open up new doors for students who are seeking to be active in the university,
competitively and socially.

Bowling as an Intramural Sport

FACT SHEET
Bowling in an enjoyable recreational and competitive activity that is played in different
forms around the world. It is very simple for anyone to learn. There are many universities that
have bowling as an option for an intramural sport, however, Ferris does not include it.

Who can participate?

Almost everyone can participate in bowling! Male students, Female students, Faculty, Staff and
even students with disabilities that are in wheelchairs can bowl. Since bowling does not require
lots of physical work, it is a great sport for people of all ages.

What is needed for IM bowling?

For IM bowling to be able to function, the university would need a regulated facility to bowl.
The participants would need bowling shoes for safety. At least one IM staff member would need
to be present during competition for students to sign in and to collect the score sheets from the
teams.

What if Im not good?

Most bowling leagues are based on a handicap system where it evens the playing field to
accommodate for people of all skill levels. Also, there will be regular season play that is good
time to get better. Based on average scores, there can be different levels of playoff play so
everyone can have a chance at winning a championship.

Is bowling safe?
Bowling is one of the safest sports. We will make sure that some safety tips are communicated to
participants. The tips include wearing bowling shoes, waiting for the ball return, picking up the
ball with two hands, etc.

What will I need to bring?

All a student would need is their FSU ID card as required by the IM sports handbook. The
students would need to pay a fee covering charges for bowling, shoes, staff, etc.
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WORKS CITED

Bowling Safety Tips. (2013, July 9). Retrieved November 9, 2014, from
http://sportscardlists.com/bowling-safety-tips/

Coed Bowling. (2008, January 1). Retrieved November 9, 2014, from

https://recreation.ucsd.edu/intramural-sports/rules/coed-bowling.html

Powers, S. (1993). The Most Difficult of All. Paraplegia News, 47(2), p.19. Retrieved from
Academic OneFile.