A year without bowling hurt more than consecutive gutter balls for members of the Bell Aliant All-stars who have been meeting for weekly games for several years now.
Splits, spares and strikes highlighted their return to action on Wednesday as part of opening week at The Lanes at Membertou.
Plenty of laughs, too.
“They called me a couple of days ago and I said ‘I’m there man, Wednesday at one o’clock,’” said Jimmy Dickie, a member of the two-team group.
“It’s great. You can’t go outside of the house very much so this is a great spot now. You are meeting everybody again. This is one of the only places you can hang around.”
Smiles and lots of them are common sites since the Lanes at Membertou reopened its doors to the public this week.
Not surprisingly, it is young bowlers with ear-to-ear grins on their faces. The expressions of joy are also coming from parents happy to have a place for their children to move and play within the current COVID-19 pandemic conditions.
“I am so happy to bring some smiles, that’s the biggest thing right now because everyone is so down and depressed and there is not much to do,” said Marcel Cote, the new general manager for the facility.
“To watch people come in here and smile and have fun is amazing. We are at capacity every night now.”
When The Lanes opened on Monday after a closure spanning most of the last year it showed off a new look and some new amenities and features to go along with extensive cleaning, sterilization and contact tracing precautions.
Of the 45-member staff, Cote said several are devoted entirely to lane cleaning and sanitization. They are easily spotted as bowlers smash pins on alternate lanes.
The kitchen has also been expanded and is now available for takeout, price points have also been lowered for the lanes and the sports simulators on site.
Cote said they are setting up a sports bar setting to go along with bowling and simulator activities. More colour is being added to walls and greater efforts made to highlight both sport and heritage of the community.
These and countless other changes and improvements have been well received so far.
“We are only allowed every second lane for social distancing but we are full right to closing and people want us to stay open later,” Cote said. “We will change our hours as soon as we get more training in and the stipulations and rules with COVID start settling down too.”
Reservations are necessary. Walk-in or phone 902-562-4911 for details.
Greg McNeil is a business reporter at the Cape Breton Post.
