ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The summer is a great time for children to be active and this summer, Billy’s Ayr Lanes is offering a chance to help with just that through the Kids Bowl Free program.
Billy’s Ayr Lanes owner Kelly Hill said there is a lot of excitement about working with the program.
“KidsBowlFree.com and more than 1,200 participating bowling centers in the U.S. and Canada have teamed up to provide kids with free games of bowling every day all summer,” Hill said. “The Kids Bowl Free summer bowling program is a fantastic way for families to have a great time together without breaking the bank. During the past summers, more than 30,000,000 children have participated in the Kids Bowl Free Program. The Kids Bowl Free Program began June 16 and will end Aug. 30. With the way Billy's is doing things, it says two games on the coupon, but we're doing 30 minutes of free bowling per child since we go by timed bowling not game bowling. The Kids Bowl Free program has been around quite a while, and we haven't been part of it until just this year. It's a great chance, with our business model, to get people in the doors and give them a reason to stay and play. We know things are expensive across the board for everyone nowadays, and people are having a bigger chunk of their income taken out because of that. This is an opportunity for people to come and have some fun here in Liberal – like many other people, I've heard time and time again 'There's nothing to do in Liberal, I wish there was something fun!' Here's something fun to do. When the weather's nice, people want to get outside and soak up the fresh air and sunshine, especially around now and in the spring and summer. Bowling is a great sport, and this is a great chance to bring people in and give them a reason to come in and have some fun and be active at the same time.”
With bowling programs becoming more and more popular with young people in the community, Hill said it just made sense to join up with the Kids Bowl Free program.
“This is good, clean fun, and with something like this, parents know where their children are, and the only cost is the shoe rental. Our bowling programs in Liberal have been really growing – our high school team has been really successful, and it was only a couple years ago when the Unified Bowling team was the state runner-up,” Hill said. “Our youth programs are also seeing a lot of consistent growth, which has been great to see. We're having more and more youth bowlers, and for us to continue that on the athletic side at the high school, we have to build those bowlers today, and it starts when they're young. Some of those younger bowlers are going to have enough fun that they'll want to continue bowling in school and eventually make it to a more competitive level. It's a great chance for people to get in our doors, have some fun, grow that youth bowler base, and give families a chance to have fun together.”
With that in mind, Hill said he hopes to see large numbers at the alley throughout the sumer.
“I hope a lot of people take advantage of this program this summer, and I hope a lot of people make their way hear and bowl and have fun. If what we're seeing early is any indication, we'll definitely see a lot of bowlers this summer,” Hill said. “We opened the sign-up portal last Wednesday, and by the next evening, we had more than 50 enrolled and a few families taking advantage of that family pack. To sign up, people can go to kidsbowlfree.com and see everything we're doing, and we've also shared some of that information on our social media pages. It's an unbelievable opportunity. And the family pack isn't just Mom and Dad, it can include up to five people, whether that's grandparents or aunts or uncles or even a babysitter. It's a great way for families to come out and have fun at a good price.”
Hill added he and staff are not keeping quiet about the program being offered.
“We'll have ads on the radio, in the local newspaper and on our social media, and there's also a lot of information that will be shared by the Kids Bowl Free people, so we definitely won't be being quiet about this happening,” Hill said with a chuckle. “Everything ties together in terms of food and fun and bringing people through the doors. We always want to work to provide for the greater good of the Liberal community, and we're always working to bring things for the community. Like I said, I've heard the 'There's nothing to do in Liberal' refrain multiple times, and this is just another way we've answered that call.”
Hill said he hopes to see the fun happening this summer and future summers.
“I'm looking forward to seeing the kids have fun and enjoy themselves in the alley. We sell fun, that's our goal every day. If you've ever watched kids bowl, no matter their age, it's beyond entertaining – when the ball hits the pins, everyone's excited, and when there's a gutter ball, everyone's razzing on everyone else,” Hill said. “Bowling is the only sport I know of where a 95-year-old great-grandma can compete with their grandchild or great-grandchild and have fun. I think we're setting up really well for the future, and I can definitely see us continuing with this program as time goes on. There's definitely that economic value up front, but it's also about seeing the kids and their families having fun.”
Overall, Hill said, he is looking forward to seeing how the inaugural year of participating in the program ends up.
“We encourage everyone to sign up, they can do so at kidsbowlfree.com, and there's also an app they can download on their phone, which has a lot of opportunities for extra coupons, lessons, virtual leagues and other prizes,” Hill said. “We're really excited to be part of the Kids Bowl Free program, and I can't wait to see what kind of response we get this summer!”
