BELLAIRE — The sport of high school bowling in the Ohio Valley has received another boost.

Starting with the 2019-2020 season, bowling will be part of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.

“I’m kind of excited about it,” OVAC Executive Secretary Tom Rataiczak said. “To me, this is a sport you can play for a lifetime.”

Bowling becomes the 14th sport sanctioned by the bi-state conference, and the first to be added in more than 30 years, Rataiczak believes. And for him, its inclusion was a no-brainer.

“It will be interesting to see how it plays out,” he said.

Area high schools have been competing in bowling for more than a decade, first at the club level, and then statewide when the Ohio High School Athletic Association first staged championships in 2007.

Currently, 10 teams teams compete in the Eastern Ohio Bowling League — Bridgeport, Buckeye Local, Barnesville, East Richland Christian, Harrison Central, Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, St. John, Union Local and Monroe Central. Those squads, coupled with OVAC schools that offer the sport up the river like East Liverpool, Wellsville and Beaver Local, provided the necessary backbone to support adding the sport, Rataiczak said.

The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission doesn’t recognize bowling as a championship sport. However, many schools in the state, including a handful in the Northern Panhandle, have offered it as a club sport for years. Rataiczak said those schools will be offered the opportunity to join the conference in bowling, similar to Ohio schools being offered to join in cheering, which isn’t recognized by the OHSAA.

“The bylaws in the (OVAC) constitution say when 25 percent of the (conference) schools offer the sport it can be petitioned to the executive board to make it a championship event,” he explained.

And, that’s what happened.

Rataiczak said he’s been urged by bowling supporters in the area to consider adding the sport to the conference’s roster. He said Buckeye Local athletic director Sam Jones was instrumental in pushing the issue and submitted a petition. That petition was taken to the executive board. Then, it was paid before conference ADs, who met earlier this month in Wheeling.

“The proposal passed 40-9,” Rataiczak said.

Ken Campanizzi, who’s helped oversee Ohio Valley bowling since its inception along with the Holubeck family at St. Clair Lanes, applauded the move, saying it’s another step forward for the sport locally.

“I look at it as a positive thing,” he said. “We can use another shot in the arm.

“I know that kids will happy, and most of the coaches.”

‘Campy’ points out that bowling is the fastest-growing prep sport in Ohio. However, as the sport grows, the number of bowling centers, he said, is on the decline. Locally, bowlers compete at St. Clair Lanes, Park-Legion Lanes in Martin Ferry, Chestnut Lanes in Barnesville and the Russell Bowling Center in Woodsfield. That’s a consideration for schools in whether they add a team, Rataiczak said, along with other considerations.

He said much works remains to get bowling on board. He said he will meet with local bowling officials soon to begin to iron out all of the details, such as the formation of a championship format, the selection of a director/commissioner and the like.

“Hopefully, by the end of the year we’ll get together with a few people and see what their thoughts are and explore possibilities,” Rataiczak said.