KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – Two teachers from Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Gedong in Sungai Petani, Kedah, built a do-it-yourself (DIY) bowling lane at their school to provide students with exposure to and training in the sport.
Mohd Khairul Farhan Bukhari, 36, and Nazar Mahmud, 53, started working on their project at the end of May last year after seeing the positive response to a similar DIY bowling lane at another school in the state.
“We already have basic experience in this sport and had previously trained several students at a commercial bowling alley near our school.
“So when we saw fellow teachers at a school in Padang Terap build a DIY bowling lane and it received good feedback, we began thinking about building one at our own school, especially since the school had plans to start a bowling club (last year),” Mohd Khairul told Bernama.
Their school’s DIY bowling alley, which cost about MYR3,000 to build, is now 90 per cent complete and was funded by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association as well as the fees collected from the bowling classes organised earlier.
Mohd Khairul said the 18-metre (60-foot) bowling lane was built in the corridor next to the school’s Design and Technology lab, using original bowling lane boards purchased secondhand from a commercial bowling management company at a reasonable price.
“The length follows the original specifications, except we shortened it by three metres (10 feet) to allow space for students to move. The ball return mechanism uses gravity to allow the ball to roll back to the player with a slight push.
“As for the pin setup, it’s done manually for now but we’re planning to find an automatic system to improve the current setup,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nazar said the bowling lane can accommodate a minimum of two players and a maximum of six at a time, allowing training sessions to be conducted in turns and in a more organised manner.
“Before the lane was built, training was held at a nearby hotel that had bowling facilities but the cost of around MYR8 to MYR9 per session was a challenge, especially for our students from B40 families.
“Now, we can train our students at our own (DIY bowling lane) school, which is more cost-effective and convenient. Our students’ interest (in bowling) has also grown and so far, the response has been very encouraging,” he said.
He added that the construction of the bowling lane was approved by the authorities and its opening recently was officiated by the Sungai Petani District Education Office.
According to Nazar, even before the official formation of the school’s bowling club last year, several students had already participated in district and state-level competitions, including the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) bowling championship, as individual participants.
“With our own lane now, we hope more students can nurture their talent in bowling and no longer see it as an elite and expensive sport,” he said.
