Ten pin bowling has been a huge drawcard for gays and lesbians for decades now – every week, leagues all over the world meet up to hang out, chat and play. But what makes bowling so attractive to so many in the community?

Team Adelaide’s James Garner agrees that the sport is popular with all kinds of gay and lesbian people, but says he doesn’t have a concrete reason for its appeal. “Maybe it’s the sport and maybe it’s the friendship,” he says. “But,” he laughs, “It’s probably the fact that you can have a drink while you play!”

Tomorrow Team Adelaide will compete in the doubles and the following day in the teams, but today they’re each playing six games on their own, trying for a personal best. The Adelaide guys are coming up against teams from New Zealand, Canada and the States, as well as a huge number of Australian bowlers.

Back home there are more than 30 bowlers in Team Adelaide, but right now James is cheering on Bryce Dalton and Frank Brady, two veteran Gay Games and Outgames bowlers who are currently hitting the lanes in the men’s singles.

Wellington Outgames is the sixth time Bryce and Frank have competed in a GLBT world or regional event, having played at the Gay Games in Sydney and Chicago and the World Outgames in Montreal and Copenhagen, as well as the AsiaPacific Outgames in Melbourne and now Wellington.

Between them they have six medals and they hope to garner more over the next few days, but so far the pickings have been slim.

“I went from getting gold in the teams, gold in the doubles and silver in the singles to nothing today,” Frank laughs.

James says the best is yet to come. “They’re saving all their best bowling up for the doubles and team events, when they’ll hopefully share the wins with me!”

Over the course of my chat with Team Adelaide, we move from the lanes and bar area to the smoker’s deck outside. As James heads out for a cigarette, he mentions his love for a sport that allows him to mix business with pleasure.

“This is what I love about bowling – you don’t have to be a seriously conditioned athlete to get good at it or enjoy it; that’s the way I see it and that’s the way I see Outgames as a whole. I really like the focus on fun and involvement over winning or losing. Because at the end of the day it’s not about that.”

I’ll drink to that.

| Hannah JV