High school bowling will make its debut in Butler County this winter when Karns City and Mars will field teams in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League.

The league is sanctioned and governed by the WPIAL, and teams compete in the winter, according to Dave Greene, the proprietor of Mystic Lanes in Valencia. Greene, who had been the bowling coach at North Hills High, where he led the Indians to a second-place finish last season, will coach the Planets.

Bowlers compete for the championship, and there is scholarship money available. This year, the state finals will be held in North Versailles.

If you would like to investigate getting your high school involved, contact Greene at 724-898-2960 or Jim Cillo, the secretary of the WPIBL, at 412-364-8668. More information can be found at WPIBL.com.

I commend Dave for helping to bring the WPIBL to Butler County.

Trivia question

Which state had the most sanctioned bowlers during the 2007-08 season: Pennsylvania, New York, California, or Michigan? Answer at the end of the column.

Tip of the Week

It's early in the season and many league bowlers are just hoping to start off on the right foot and bowl a good game or two each league session.

One of the things every bowler should concentrate on is making spares. Making just one more spare a game can mean a 10- to 20-pin difference in your score.

Be sure to take full frames when you practice. If you are constantly striking during practice, be sure to shoot at a corner pin or at another pin combo to see how your ball will react on spare shots.

High scores

• Tim Hoffman just missed perfection in the Armco C League at Sherwood Lanes, rolling a 299 game and a 760 series. Others who bowled well were Bob Prementine 266 (698), Joe Tirk 255 (626), Chuck Dight 246 (698) and Trent Slater, 659.

• Ken Schontz led all bowlers in the Kelly Automotive League with a 256 game and a 707 series. Dave Miller 244 (667), Darryl Thompson 219 (664), and Kevin Kniess 209 (637) also bowled well

• Wilma Pfeifer had the high game of 202 and Judy Kennedy had the high series, 524, to lead all bowlers in the Coins League.

• Lisa Love rolled her highest game ever, a 189, in the Armco A league.

Women's Open

The women's U.S. Open is under way. ESPN will televise the next round of matches at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Trivia answer

Michigan led the way with 212,262 sanctioned bowlers. New York had 161,176, followed by California at 152,368, and Pennsylvania at 135,150. New Hampshire had the least at 3,747, for obvious reasons. A total of 2,482,785 bowlers competed in sanctioned leagues last season.

Ron Willison is the bowling columnist for the Butler Eagle.