Roberto Kampfner
Business Manager
Every Tuesday afternoon from October to May, teachers and administrators across Mira Costa departments come together with teachers from other districts in the South Bay at Gable House Bowl to bowl in a recreational league.
Teachers in the Torrance school district created a league to go bowling on Tuesdays, and Mr. Sponaugle joined them a few years ago. After that, more and more Mira Costa teachers and staff came each week such as Mr. Debevec and Mr. Kurz. Soon, it was a group of staff and educators from all over the South Bay getting together.
“[Torrance School District] needed more and newer bowlers, and Mr. Sponaugle started asking other people here on campus,” Math teacher Dan Debevec said. “Now it has just built up so we have ten Mira Costa staff in the Torrance District league.”
Click here to visit the Gable House Bowl website
The league was formed to have some fun and unwind during the week. The league is divided into teams of three during a season that lasts for the majority of the school year, and teams are made up of both men and women.
“It’s for everyone in the area, and that includes all the neighboring areas around us,” English teacher Lisa Cook said. “Everyone is related to the district or education in some way so we all have a common ground.”
During the season, points are accumulated by winning each game. If you win a game, you get a point, and there are three games played each week. However, there is another point available if you add the three games together and have an accumulated score that is higher than the other team’s score.
“Every week there are four points available, and we keep track in on a board. You end up bowling against everybody three or four times,” Debevec said. “At the end of the year, if the standings are close, the championship can be won on the final day, and it’s fun to be a part of.”
Click here to be a part of your own league
The league is founded on a purely recreational basis, although friendly competition is always on the menu. At the end of each season, a trophy is awarded to the winner of the league, which spurs each team to compete.
“Every team has great people on it who share a common thread between us all,” Debevec said. “It’s fun, and we’re all just there to have fun in a recreational type sport, but still compete. We’re not playing for big money and it’s not a huge deal, but we have fun.”
Some players in the league bowl in more competitive leagues later in the week, but for all of the Costa bowlers it is more of a relaxing and fun sport to liven up a Tuesday afternoon. It doesn’t hold Costa from winning the majority of the games.
“Currently, out of the top male bowlers, the top four positions are held by Costa staff,” Debevec said. “Mira Costa teams have won a chunk out of the last four or five years. I’d say it is a Torrance league dominated by Mira Costa staff.”
The league will crown its champion later in the year in May, and will start back up after the summer and once the teachers have settled back into their classrooms. .
“It’s my first year being a part of it, and I’m not sure where we’ll go in the future,” Cook said. “Other staff and teachers have been doing it a lot longer than me, but it’s a great way to spend a Tuesday.”
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