Sports Spotlight

Bowling

Another bowling season has come and gone, but one of the local leagues capped off their season with the 26th-annual Paul Bunyan Invitational, April 21-24. This popular tournament attracts nearly 200 bowlers to the Twin Cities every spring for a fun weekend of competition, parties and mixers, and a little mayhem. Hosted by the Town House bar and the Millennium Hotel, organizers put on quite an impressive event, with tons of perks for bowlers and fans, including hundreds of dollars in raffle prizes, a hospitality suite at the Millennium with free drinks, and use of a state-of-the-art facility for tournament play itself.

The bowlers are a group of all ages and backgrounds. I had a few opportunities to bowl on a Wednesday night team a while back, and hung out with the Friday night guys recently. The great thing about bowling is the friendly competition. The scene is laid-back, and everyone has a fun time. Plus, you get to eat and drink while you play!

As we move into the mood for outdoor sporting adventure, keep the bowling leagues in mind for the fall. They always are looking for more bowlers, and all skill levels are welcome. Leagues typically bowl Wednesdays and Fridays.

Twin Cities Jacks

Outdoor sports are swinging into full gear now that the snow has disappeared. Building on their sixth-place standing at the Gay Games in Cologne last year, the Twin Cities Jacks soccer club, a competitive men’s organization, is prepping for another major tournament in July.

The Jacks (short for Lumberjacks) started as The Crush in 2007. They have come a long way since then, having competed in two major tournaments.

This summer, The Jacks are sending eight players to Vancouver for the OutGames tournament, the International Gay and Lesbian Association’s North America Cup. The Jacks are partnering with a team from Texas, the Austin Gold Stars, to form a single team for the competition, which will be held July 25-31.

The Jacks are looking for your support, and for a few good players. They welcome all GLBT and allied players to join them, regardless of skill level.

Club runner Andy Birkey says, “We have a couple of different levels of play. We field the Jacks, which is a competitive men’s team that generally competes in international tournaments. We also have coed teams in local leagues, including City Sports Connection, throughout the year. We also have ‘pickup’ soccer on Tuesday evenings at Nokomis Park in South Minneapolis. Those are opportunities for anyone to play, even if they’ve never touched a soccer ball.”

For more information, visit www.tcjacks.com, or check them out on Facebook.