Sophomore Jaxon Hepler, alongside sophomore Yzechiel Jimenez, created a petition to persuade the Atlantic Community School District to sanction Bowling as a team sport at Atlantic High School.

According to the petition, Bowling has been highly recognized by the United States Olympic Committee since 2005; however, it has not been included in the Summer Games, but rather in the Special Olympics. The sport fosters focus, discipline, and teamwork. The Youth Bowling statistics from 2019 show that over 21 million kids bowl each year across the United States, Canada, and other North and South American countries.

Bowling has been adopted by the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) in cooperation with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) since the late 2010s. Since then, bowling has been a popular winter sport among the more populous schools in Iowa that feature 12-meet seasons, 1A-3A classes, and state tournaments held at Cadillac Xtreme Bowling Center (Cadillac XBC) in Waterloo.

Hepler believes that the addition of girls’ and boys’ high school bowling teams would allow a variety of people to join a sport if they aren’t in one already. That there would be “a lot of success” if it were to be sanctioned.

Bowling has been sanctioned in the Atlantic Middle School for quite some time, which Hepler had “enjoyed” during his 7th and 8th grade year. Students at AHS bowl during Physical Education classes at the high school, which have two weeks designated to spend time bowling in January.