By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The bowling teams at Great Bend High School have had their share of success, including a Class 5-1A state championship for the Lady Panthers last winter. Monday evening, the USD 428 Board of Education voted to extend that opportunity to more students in the district by approving unified bowling as a new sport at Great Bend High School. Activities Director Matt Westerhaus presented to the board.
"This provides another opportunity for our students at Great Bend High School who wouldn't necessarily have an opportunity to participate in sports that we potentially cut in," he said. "This provides more opportunities for our kids."
Unified sports is a joining of students with or without intellectual disabilities. In June 2021, the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) partnered with the Special Olympics to offer bowling as a unified sport in the state. Every Western Athletic Conference school except Dodge City and Great Bend has added a unified team, though Dodge City's obstruction is the lack of a bowling alley. Bowling Coach David Feldbauer said, this year, each team will be made up of two athletes, or competitors with intellectual disabilities, and one partner, or student without a disability.
"They're actually making it more adaptable to the kids it should be pointed toward," he said, "the kids with the disabilities instead of the high school kids that are already bowling for a title later on in the year."
Feldbauer said he plans to use all participating athletes in competitions leading up to regional and state competitions where KSHSAA has limited participants to just three athletes and two partners to allow for substitutions. All competitions will follow the Baker format with athletes bowling six of the 10 frames, and the partner bowling the remaining four frames. The highest pinfall after six Baker games will be declared the winner.
Feldbauer does not typically invite parents to practices, but he wants to include parents for the unified sport.
"I want the parents in the background so I can talk to them to figure a little more about their kids, especially the first couple weeks of practice so I can learn more about the kids and their disabilities," he said. "They can see how the other kids are interacting so they can see what's going to trigger their kids."
The 2023 season begins on Sept. 25, with a first competition date of Oct. 9. Feldbauer says he already has 18-20 interested participants, and at least eight members of his bowling squads have agreed to participate as partners. Great Bend will host its first unified bowling matches against the WAC schools on Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. at the Walnut Bowl. There will be three other competitions, all against WAC teams, before regional and state competitions in November.
The board voted 6-0 to approve the new sport with an implementation budget of $10,535. Most of that budget will go towards equipment and a coach, with more dollars going to the purchase of uniforms every four years and transportation.