Bowling for Westwood

First-year Mike Piccione has a dream.

Sure, it’s not a dream that opens up minds and prmotes
civil rights like that of Martin Luther King Jr. But like King,
Piccione is looking to bring joy to a minority at UCLA:
bowlers.

Unlike many other universities, there is no bowling alley at
UCLA.

In fact, there has not been a bowling alley on campus since
Bruin Bowl, which was located in Ackerman Union and closed about a
decade ago. There has not even been a bowling club for four years,
until this fall.

Piccione’s dream is for the newly formed UCLA Bowling Club
to enter College Bowling USA in four years. CBUSA is a nationwide
organization that puts university bowling clubs in competition with
each other within organized leagues.

“That would make me the happiest person on earth,”
Piccione said.

His dream is on hold for now because the bowling club
doesn’t have the necessary money for transportation. With a
budget of only $400 dollars ““ half of that was spent just
registering for CBUSA ““ the Bowling Club will have to wait to
travel to other universities.

What is life like for a college bowling club with no campus
lanes and a $400 budget?

It is packing eight members into two cars and heading out to Mar
Vista lanes every Wednesday night for league bowling.

Piccione’s dream didn’t include bowling against
creepy old men and husky women, and it’s not exactly what
members of the club envisioned when they joined, either.

But that won’t stop the members who joined the club from
bowling, meeting new people and, of course, having a good time.

Second-year Zachary Spire lives on the same floor as Piccione in
Dykstra Hall. He was introduced to the idea of a bowling club in
one of those classic dormitory games, played at the beginning of
the school year meant to bring the entire floor together, called
“Move Your Butt.”

“We were playing a game, and he said, “˜Move your
butt if you love to bowl.’ I got excited and just swarmed him
and said, “˜This needs to happen,'” Spire
said.

“I have been bowling since I was 7,” he continued.
“It gives me a chance to experience collegiate bowling. And
it is a lot of fun.”

Spire knows that to really experience college bowling, the club
has to get bigger. However, he is happy with the club right
now.

“It is a grassroots operation; we don’t have a lot
of people, but right now we are a reflection of UCLA,” Spire
said. “There are different races here; there are males and
females, and we feed off of each other’s
personalities.”

The UCLA Bowling Club is small and under-funded, and it
doesn’t have a place on campus.

But it has members like Spire who appreciate the appeal of going
out to a bowling alley and putting on some well-worn shoes, and the
fun of knocking down 10 pins.

That’s why the dream just might come to fruition.