What's Happening at Oberlin College Lanes

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be traveling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday.

One of the big milestones for women bowlers is to roll a 600 series. It’s a milestone for guys too, but since there are far more male bowlers than female bowlers there are not necessarily as many opportunities to acknowledge the feat.

Anne Nadreau, who graduated from Oberlin in 1989, was the first female Oberlin College student to accomplish the task in 1988. She has two official 600 series to her name at College Lanes: 636 and 619. There are only a handful of women who have joined the All-Time Women’s 600 Club while enrolled (we’ve had a few alumnae string together games after graduating), and each semester we hope someone in Keglers, Kaydettes or Classic will join this elite group.

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday.

The league experience is not limited to townspeople visiting College Lanes. One of the programs started up by Tom Reid ‘80 when he started managing the bowling center was the Intramural Keglers League. This organized weekly competition allows teams of bowlers to compete with one another, relax with friends, and work on skills all at one gathering. The first semester of Keglers began in Spring 1981. Over 30 years have passed and the program is still running strong.

The format is fairly straightforward. In a full league, one team of 5 bowlers plays three games against another team of 5. Each game is worth one point and another point for 3-game total is up for grabs each night. Don’t worry: the games are handicapped to help level the playing field. The league bowls in a 5-week round robin format so each team will play against every other team in the league. The team with the most points at the end of the round robin wins the half.

If the same team wins both halves of the full semester league, they win the whole league. But that’s boring. If a different team wins the second half, there is a 3-game total pin roll-off between each half’s winners. The bowlers on the team that wins the roll-off win either a trophy or a t-shirt.

The most recent peak of Keglers activity took place 2004-2006, when there were 4 divisions of Keglers (Wednesday, Thursday, and 2 divisions Sunday), each with 6 teams of 5 bowlers. Although teams are now typically 4 bowlers strong, we currently have 3 divisions available. Also, bowlers/teams can join in for the second half (which starts after Fall/Spring Break) and still have a chance to win the whole league!

The Keglers Leagues are open to Oberlin College Students, Staff, Faculty and Alumni. Teams may also have up to two bowlers on their roster who have no affiliation with Oberlin (significant others, relatives, co-workers, etc.) Leagues form each semester – sign up for Fall 2013 today!

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday.

All you need to do to bowl a perfect game is get 12 strikes in a row. It may sound easy, but some bowlers spend decades trying to accomplish the task. Bowling ball and oiling technology have made facilitating strikes easier, but it is still a challenging feat. Back in 1980, reactive bowling balls and machine-applied oil did not exist at College Lanes, making what happened on March 3 all the more incredible.

Bob Emary became the first bowler at College Lanes to string together 12 strikes, accomplishing the task during the Monday night league. It took 17 years for any of the lanes (in this case, lanes 5 & 6) to have a perfect game rolled upon them, and it would be another five years before the next 12-bagger would come around.

Since Emary’s monumental feat, there have been 35 300 games, 12 299 games, and four 298 games bowled at College Lanes.

With some practice during open bowling and a weekly league to compete in, you too could find yourself going for that twelfth strike. Sign up for a summer league today!

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday. 

College Lanes has more than bowling: it is also home to four billiards tables. This was not always the case. The activity center of the Student Union used to be headquartered in Wilder Hall, with a robust game room in the area currently housing The ‘Sco. As the music aspects of The ‘Sco grew in popularity, the pinball machines and pool tables were getting in the way of people’s dancing and mingling.

The sources of recreation moved their separate ways. The arcade machines moved into a room tucked in the alcove behind the mailroom. Eventually this room gave way to storage due to lack of use. The billiards tables were still getting a fair amount of play and were moved over to the Hales complex.

The Billiards Room was not originally found in its current location. The room which now houses the Cat in the Cream used to be the Oberlin College Pool Hall. However, it was the popularity of Oberlin’s music programming that caused the billiards tables to move once more. The good news is the current Billiards Room does not have the best acoustics for concerts, so our four tables will be staying put.

Billiards, like bowling, is open to the public year-round. The cost is $4.80 per table per hour, or 8 cents a minute. All you need is photo ID to check out equipment.

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday.

Now that community leagues have become part of the services offered at Oberlin College Lanes, it was only a matter of time before we got the kids involved. The Oberlin Juniors league rolled its first ball the fall of 1978. The program was not only an opportunity for organized competition, it allowed young bowlers to develop their skills and hopefully continue bowling in the “grown up” leagues. Several of the kids who have gone through the junior bowling program have parents who also bowled in our Juniors League way back when. It won’t be long before we have third-generation Junior bowlers on our hands!

The Juniors league has gone through many formats and meeting times. We have had traveling leagues, doubles, trios, even 4-person team leagues. Currently, our Juniors league is a singles league where bowlers play 3 games across all 6 lanes. The top two scratch bowlers and top two handicap bowlers move on to one-game roll-offs. All bowlers receive one-on-one coaching as well as a tip-of-the-week. The league meets Thursdays at 4:30pm and is drop-in. Contact the Lanes to register or find out more information!

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday.

With the fire knocking KD Lanes out of commission permanently, local bowlers turned to Oberlin College Lanes for league options. One of the first new community leagues to form was the Golden Agers league. This league wasn’t about jackpot games or intense roll-offs: this was about senior citizens coming together to socialize over a game of tenpins bowling.

The league has changed over time, meeting on different days and going through a few name changes. Currently the Oberlin Seniors League meets on Tuesdays at 1pm. What hasn’t changed is the mission: senior citizens coming together to socialize.

The league has a drop-in format where teams are formed each week based on who shows up – opponents one week could be teammates the following week. Many of the lane attendants who work the Seniors League become protective of that particular shift, sometimes rearranging their course schedule to guarantee the ability to work the league the following semester!

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday

The fire at K-D Lanes may be the biggest event to affect Oberlin College Lanes. The 12 lane center – which was located in the building now housing The Mandarin, Lupita’s and The Bridge – was where the citizens of Oberlin and environs would get their bowling fix, as College Lanes was still not open to the general public. Along with bowling, the center had billiards and a snack bar with “the biggest and bestest” burgers available.

What made this event so pivotal for College Lanes was the timing. A few of the leagues bowling at the center still had a couple weeks before finishing the season. College Lanes was the only reasonable option to host the displaced bowlers, as other local centers had leagues of their own finishing out the season. Bending the “No non-College folks” rule allowed the center to discover a new customer base and the potential for increased league activity.

K-D Lanes will not be forgotten. Our Tuesday night women’s league will soon be celebrating 40 years of bowling at College Lanes after transferring to our center. That league’s name: the KayDettes.

Oberlin College Lanes turns 50 this year. To commemorate this event, we will be travelling through the history of the bowling center each Wednesday

It is one of the most popular events we have at Oberlin College Lanes: Tuesday Free Bowling! This is the earliest mention we have been able to find of the program. 

The current form is a little different than what they tried in 1973. Shoes are included along with Free games. Although it is the Student Union that is staffing the weekly event (all Lanes staff are Student Union staff), it is now a program of the Recreation Center in Philips Gym. It is also promoted by OSWELL (Oberlin Student Wellness) and the Counseling Center as a way of getting exercise and destressing at the beginning of the week.

Currently, Tuesday Free Bowling is available to any current Oberlin College student with OCID from 3:30pm-6:00pm. The program runs from the first day of classes through the day after Commencement.