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FUN TO SPARE
Continued from page 19
called Legs Up High, adds, “It was really my only
contact with gay men, which was important to me.
There was a huge separatist movement in the 1980s
which I didn’t want to be a part of. This gave me a
chance to get involved with gay women and gay
men.”
According to Geil, PCBA’s membership has
averaged about 35 percent women and 65 percent
men. This year, he says, women make up 40 percent
of the membership.
The league has been a place for mixing genders,
and sometimes blending them. At 64, Roni, a former
U.S. Air Force service member and retired Tektronix
employee, now lives openly and comfortably as a
woman "80 to 90 percent o f the time,” and bowling
helped get her there.
“As a transgendered person, I believe I have a lot
in common with gay men and lesbians,” says Roni,
an active member of the Northwest Gender Alli
ance, the Sexual Minority Roundtable, Veterans for
Human Rights, and the newly formed Coalition for
Community Communication. “First and foremost,
we all have closets to come out of.”
Roni admits, however, that it took a little while
for lesbians and gay men to warm up to her in those
early days.
“The lesbians were wary because they looked at
me and saw a man, and the gay men were wary
because they didn ’ t understand why I was dressed in
a skirt and makeup,” she says. “It all worked out in
the end, though. They learned about transgendered
people, while I got to learn more about gays and
lesbians.”
Roni has also roller-skated, water-skied and snow-
skied as a female. “I’ve even taken an Amtrak train
trip as a female,” she laughs. “That’s a real gas.”
balls. Local dignitaries, including former Portland
“W e’re also allowed to bowl in any sanctioned
Mayor Bud Clark and retired Portland Police Chief
tournament in the country,” adds FITS secretary
Tom Potter have rolled the season’s first ball— a
Doug Overfield, 26, who joined the league in 1992
special clear bowling ball with a rose in the center.
after moving to Portland from Nebraska. “You can’t
“W e’re here to have fun, and we do,” says
do that unless you’re sanctioned.”
Cherry, an engineering coordinator for Northwest
In the spring of 1988 Knittle approached Just
Natural Gas. She’s been with the company 15 years , Out , which ran a piece about the new league’s
and started there “digging ditches.”
formation. ‘T e n people showed up at the bowling
“One day when we were bowling, someone said
alley [Pro 300 Lanes on Southeast Powell Boule
they needed some firewood,” she says. “So when we
vard] that first time,” says Knittle.
were finished bowling, we got in my truck, found
Two weeks later the group started bowling dur
some firewood, packed it up and hauled it over to
ing W ednesday Mixers [which still bowls during the
their house. We just do those kinds of things for each
summer]; the Friday night league kicked into gear
other.”
soon after.
According to Geil, there are PCBA bowlers in
“For the first two years we had about nine teams.
the 80 score range as well as those in the 180s and
Then we went to 12, then to 16,” says Knittle. In
190s.
1995, FITS grew to 28 teams, and earlier this year, 36
“You don’t have to be good,” states a PCBA
teams “filled the house” on Friday nights, before
promotional flyer, “just interested and supportive of
dropping down to the current 34 teams.
your team!”
“Before we got so big, we would share the lanes
with other straight leagues,” recounts Overfield,
ITS is first and foremost a bowling league, with
who works for a Portland temp service and bowls on
a few social activities on the side,” says FITS
an all-male team called Pacific Princesses.
founder and former league secretary Rich Knittle, a
“We never had any problems. I never heard of
self-employed contractor who lives in Southeast
any derogatory remarks or anything like that, though
Portland.
they definitely knew we were a gay league,” he
Knittle, who turns 40 in April, says he got the idea
laughs.
F
ccording to Geil, PCBA’s golden rule is for
members to have fun and experience fellow
ship. PCBA, whose members bowl on Sundays
from morning to early afternoon, is more loosely
structured than leagues that are sanctioned. PCBA’s
league average is 132, which is respectable, but far
from impressive.
He says many leagues, including the Friday-
night, gay-oriented FITS (Fuck It, Tomorrow’s
Saturday) are sanctioned, which essentially means
they are more costly, more competitive, and have a
stricter set of rules and regulations for their mem
bers to follow.
Members of sanctioned leagues also pay sanc
While pleased with FITS'
tion fees to a governing body called the American
Bowling Congress and/or the W omen’s Interna
enormous growth, Knittle
tional Bowling Congress. PCBA has consistently
admits that Friday night
voted against aligning itself with the ABC in order
bowling “has lost some o f its
to ensure a freer and more social atmosphere. PCBA
league bowlers pay $7 per session; FITS league
intimacy. In the early days
bowlers pay $9.
when there were eight teams,
PCBA’s season is 16 weeks, running from Janu
I knew everybody, ” he says.
ary until mid-May, as opposed to the more rigorous
30-week season sponsored by many sanctioned
“That isn ’t the case anymore. ”
leagues, including FITS.
“That’s just too much of a commitment for some
According to Overfield, men comprise an esti
people,” says Geil, “We understand that there are
mated 75 percent o f FITS’ membership; women
many people in our community who belong to other
make up the remaining 25 percent.
organizations that also require their attention.”
W hile pleased with the league’s enormous
So PCBA keeps it loose. The league sponsors
growth,
Knittle admits that Friday night bowling
bowling events and raffles where bowlers may wind
Tom Geil
“has lost some o f its intimacy.”
up walking away with a cash jackpot.
“ In the early days when there were eight teams,
to
form
a
sanctioned
gay
and
lesbian
bowling
league
In the earlier days, when local bar owners were
I
knew
everybody ,” he says. “That isn’t the case
several
years
ago
after
visiting
Atlanta,
Ga.
said to be concerned that the then-fledgling PCBA
“There were 14 bowling leagues there— four
anymore.”
might cut into their business, the league held “ Bar
teen,"
he
says.
“I
thought
that
was
great
and
felt
that
Due in part to FITS’ evolution, Knittle has
Appreciation” gatherings— after bowling, members
Portland
could
conceivably
support
m
ultiple
pulled
back from the league a bit, and no longer
would head over to a designated bar for drinks and
leagues.”
handles
administrative duties.
finger foods, darts or Bingo. It was a way of saying,
Back in the mid-1980s Knittle also managed a
“ I just bowl,” he says, adding, “I think the
“W e’ re not here to undermine your business. We are
local
shoe
store,
“and
the
retail
schedule
didn’t
allow
growth
proves that there is a great deal of interest in
here to help it.” For many years, in fact, bars have
our community for this, and I believe it proves that
me to bowl on Sundays.”
sponsored PCBA teams.
we can have even more leagues in the future. Per
“So I decided to start up a league,” he says. “From
PCBA gives each league member a certificate of
sonally, however, it’s time for me to step back. I’m
the beginning I wanted it to be sanctioned, because
participation and a special league pin, and encour
a happily married man, and my work schedule
I like the structure o f a sanctioned league.... Let’s
ages new bowlers to come to the lanes.
makes it tough to put as much time into [FITS] as I
face it, if you are a competitive bowler, you want to
‘Team s are always looking for substitutes,” says
did
in the past.”
know
that
if
you
shoot
a
300
you
will
get
national
Geil. “It’s a good way to see if you like it.”
recognition.”
PCBA also sponsors special events including a
ver the years PCBA has experienced ebbs and
Knittle, who has reached that persistently elusive
“Weird Bowl,” where people do, well, weird things,
flov*s,fU membership. .
pinnacle— the 3QQ game— hasi averaged 205 in a ,
like bowl with a balloon between their knees or try
Geil
’say’s ‘currently there are 80 regulars [20
tri get the -lowe^t-scor#—
throwing 'gutter * j . season. His.avcragc now hovers in the 190s.» * * ,'
A
O
teams], which is down dramatically from the mid-
1980s. He cites the establishment of other gay and
lesbian organizations, as well as the founding of
FITS as factors contributing to the dip in member
ship.
Additionally, an estimated 60 PCBA members
have died of AIDS complications over the years.
“ I’ve had four teammates die of AIDS,” says
Cherry. “ It’s been painful to watch, but I try to be
there for them. I tell them they have to come back
again next year.”
“ I never knew anyone with AIDS before getting
involved in the [queer] bowling leagues,” says 31-
year-old Lauren Pike, coordinator of the 1996
Rosebowl Classic. “1 now have good friends who
are HIV positive, and it’s been very, very hard,
because I know 1 will eventually lose them. I fear the
moment when that happens.”
As a younger person. Pike, a pharmaceutical
technician who lives in Aloha, was being primed for
the professional bowlers’ circuit. She burned out,
however, and took several years off.
Later she learned of PCBA by reading an alter
native publication and decided to check it out.
“At that point in my life, I was also trying to find
the gay community, which I had not been involved
with. So it was perfect. It’s really renewed my
interest in bowling, and I got to meet other gay
people. I now have a community,” says Legs Up
High’s Pike, whose average ranges from the 180s to
the 190s (translation: she’s dam good).
Pike currently bowls for both PCBA and FITS,
as does Buliavac, whose average is consistent with
Pike’s.
“Sunday is looser and more social. It’s a little
more serious on Fridays. I think the leagues really
do complement each other,” says Buliavac, whose
FITS and PCBA teams are composed o f Bears—
that is, furry gay men and their admirers. His FITS
team is aptly named “Bear It,” while his PCBA
team is dubbed “Bears R Us.”
Buliavac, a lifelong Oregonian, grew up bowl
ing with his dad, who lives in the area.
“ He keeps saying he’ll come watch. He hasn’t
made it yet,” he says. “He might be confused if he
did show up, after all, I’m still trying to explain to
him what a Bear is.”
F
'or me, this was never about bowling,” says
Geil, “it has always been about community. I’m
proud of what we’ve been able to do.”
Over the years, PCBA has raised money for
several gay and AIDS organizations, including
Cascade AIDS Project, Esther’s Pantry, the No on
9 Campaign, the Pride of the Rose Scholarship
Fund, and Equity Foundation.
“You know, I’ve learned a lot about myself
[from queer bowling],” adds Cherry. “Many years
ago when we were at an out-of-town tournament,
Tom asked me to talk in front o f this crowd o f 350
to 400 people. We were at a reception, and he had
to leave.
“Well, I had never done that before,” she re
counts. “And here are all these people in front of
me. I got up there and just started cracking joke after
joke. I never knew I had it in me until then. I brought
down the house. I’ve been emceeing our tournament
events nearly every year since then.”
For Overfield, FITS has led to a sense o f com
munity. “I didn’t know anyone when I first moved
to Portland,” he says. "[FITS] really opened the door
for me in terms of meeting other people in the gay
community.”
FITS bowling, meanwhile, is getting Pike back
into her competitive mode. “ Before I’m 35 I’d like
to go semi-pro for a couple of years,” she says. “I’m
trying to hone my skills.”
Roni, meanwhile, has tested herself via PCBA.
“I remember in those early days when I asked
Tom if I could sell ads for the [Rosebowl Classic]
program,” says Roni. “I’m sure he was wondering
what people would think when this cross-dressing
guy came walking into their business in his skirt and
high heels. BeingTom, however, he said. ‘G o fo rit.’
I put on my five-inch heels and went for it— and did
great. I’ve been selling those ads ever since.”
. . .. . \ Toj-pKOfe.iofptmajion afiopt,PC^A- call
293-0438. To contact FITS, call 771-2345.