
With the support of Sport Australia’s Sporting Schools funding, around four thousand students have had their Term 4 brightened with the joy of bowling. Making this term, TBA’s biggest Sporting Schools term on record!
Tenpin Bowling Australia delivers the Sporting Schools programs through our network of accredited centres and qualified coaches. We encourage schools to visit the centre as part of their program when it’s not too far away – otherwise portable lanes are couriered and rolled out in classroom, libraries and sports halls nation-wide too!

One such lucky school, who’ve absolutely loved tenpin this term, is St Paul’s Catholic School in the Northern Territory. Teacher Belinda Hicks reports; “I chose Tenpin bowling to allow students the opportunity to try a sport that is not usually delivered in primary school. It is a great sport to develop hand-eye coordination while having fun. Throwing the bowling ball and hitting the pins requires a great amount of hand-eye coordination.” She continued “This kind of focus stimulates mental alertness, concentration and tactical strategy. Tenpin bowling is easy to learn which allowed me to teach it to the whole school from Transition to Year 6.”

(Term 4 2020) Image credit; Terry Maynard NT SDO
NT Sport Development Officer, Terry Maynard was able to loan the portable lanes to the school before their treat of bowling at Planet Tenpin in Darwin for their final session. “The setup of the 5 lanes in the library was quick and simple and it also allowed the students and I to get out of the Darwin heat for a while. All the students thoroughly enjoyed Tenpin bowling. The rules of the game are very easy to understand and learn which gave students confidence to pick-up and enjoy the game.”
Funding for Term 1 2021 has already closed, but if your child or school are interested, we encourage them to reach out to the schools’ Principal to register online (https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools) or liaise with our TBA staff in their respective state/territory (https://www.tenpin.org.au/about-tba/our-people/).
Bowl Patrol is also available to Sporting Schools and students are encouraged to continue the sport if they wish beyond their school experience – many like to use their sport vouchers to cover the cost of their first out-of-school program (https://bowlpatrol.com.au/about-bowl-patrol/)
Here’s what some of the student bowlers had to say:
“It was really great, I loved learning a new sport.” Austin
“I really had fun because I got lots of turns.” George
“I found bowling amazing it was a great educational and learning experience. It was awesome because I got to have lots of fun with my friends and compete against them. I hope we can do it again, I loved it. I started not very good but now I am.” Tallulah
“I really enjoyed doing the Tenpin bowling because you can challenge other people and have a good game.” Johara
“I found bowling fun because it was great learning for beginners and when I did bowling before I was not the best but now I have improved on my bowling skills. It was amazing because I got to play with my friends and even go against them. I hope we get to go again!” Alaysha
“Tenpin bowling is good for kids because it will give you confidence when playing with your friends/family and when you hold the ball it gives you strength in your arms.” Lewis
“It was fun because you learnt so many new things about bowling.” Gabriel
Approved images provided by school and NT Sport Development Officer with thanks.
