Bowling made it past the first hurdle to become a sanctioned sport by the Nebraska School Activities Association.
On Jan. 10, the six NSAA districts met across the state and voted to add bowling.
Seward Public School’s Athletic Director John Moody said three of the districts voted to approve the addition, while three voted against it.
But three districts approving the motion is the minimum for bowling to move to the next round.
Next, the NSAA’s Legislative Commission will hear the proposal. It would need six of 14 votes to advance.
If bowling gets those votes, the Representative Assembly, the NSAA’s legislative authority, would consider the proposal. There, the proposal needs three of five votes to be fully approved.
Moody said Seward cast its vote in favor of adding bowling as a high school sport. However, it was only one of four schools in District One to do so.
He said four other District One schools abstained from voting and 38 voted against the addition.
During the Seward Public School Board’s Jan. 8 meeting, the board gave direction to Moody before the district meeting. The board members spoke largely in favor of adding bowling.
Board President Ryne Seaman said there are a number of students involved in bowling who are not part of other school activities.
“I’m generally supportive of adding a program such as this,” Seaman said.
Other board members agreed. Board member Scott Pekarek said in addition to involving more students, bowling is also a lifetime sport.
Superintendent Dr. Josh Fields said schools in the Central Conference have mixed feelings about making bowling an NSAA sport. He said some schools are not willing to end their unified bowling programs, in which special education students bowl with other students from their school, while some schools don’t have bowling alleys nearby to support a high school bowling team.
Board member Lisa Dworak said she’s not opposed to adding a school bowling team, but was concerned about having a coach for the team.
She said there is interest from parents who would like to coach, but Dworak said she wants to see coaches continue their role after their child graduates.
