A lot of people of all ages enjoy bowling, but there is nothing like throwing a frozen bird down the lane in hopes of a strike.
NIC Recreational Sports hosted Turkey Bowling for NIC students Thursday in the lower level of the Edminster Student Union Building. Twelve participants rolled a wrapped frozen turkey on the wooden floor downstairs in the SUB for five frames in a pre-Thanksgiving event.
Students feasted on chili cheese fries and soda when it wasn’t their turn to toss the turkey.
“It’s a small event and it’s in the evening, but it’s just something different,” said NIC Rec. Sports coordinator Jessica Johanson. “It gets students involved who maybe haven’t participated in Rec. Sports before and we get to send some people home with turkeys and that’s just fun.”
The two participants with the highest scores and the two participants with the lowest scores did not have to buy a Thanksgiving turkey this year as the four students earned a turkey for their efforts. The top scorer received a large frozen turkey and a NIC Rec. Sports T-shirt, the second place finisher got the turkey that the bowlers used during the competition and the two lowest scorers each received a Cornish game hen.
The top finisher, Sam Nordquist, a 19-year-old chemical engineering major from Pullman, Wash., rolled a 58 to capture a consecutive 1st place finish as he won the event last year.
Because students rolled an oddly shaped turkey down the lane instead of a round, unblemished bowling ball, they used different strategies to try to compensate for the frozen turkey.
Nordquist used last year’s experience to help him out this time around.
“I saw some people rolling it and last year that didn’t really work out for me, so sliding it worked a lot better,” Nordquist said.
Anthony Pennazolli, a 49-year-old nursing major from Coeur d’Alene used the same strategy as Nordquist but had to change it up a bit as the frozen turkey adapted to room temperature. Pennazolli’s strategies helped him to the second best score.
“Well actually when it was frozen, my idea was to keep it flat and let it slide,” Pennazolli said. “But now that it’s thawed out, I have to take into the stickiness factor and allow the roll, a little tumble effect to take over.”
Pennazolli did not even plan on participating in the event. He came downstairs in the SUB to show somebody what goes on down there.
“I was expecting to come down here, show her the place, go back up to my computer, but as it turned out, we’re having a blast,” Pennazolli said. “Every time they have an event I have fun. I love the events here. There’s always something to get involved in here at NIC.”
Other competitors enjoyed the event and look forward to other events that the NIC Rec. Sports department puts on.
“Jess (Jessica Johanson) always sets a good atmosphere and she makes every event that she puts on fun, and free food isn’t bad,” said Andrew Pierce, Outdoor Leadership, 24, Hutchinson, Kan.
To participate in Rec. Sports activities, students can sign up at the Rec. Sports office in the lower level of the SUB.
