Adults gathered to roll some rocks and raise funds for charity Friday afternoon.
Auburn Lanes bowling alley held the 3rd Annual Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County Bowling Tournament Feb 19.
"Everybody does golf tournaments, 5-K's and 10-K's," said Alex Muncie, chairman of the event. "Nobody does a bowling tournament, and it's fun."
The event was organized to raise money for the children of Lee County.
"The Boys and Girls Club is set up to take care of youth in the area with after-school and summer programs," Muncie said. "It is a national organization with one unit in Auburn and one unit in Opelika."
Auburn Lanes and the Boys and Girls Clubs have collaborated on the tournament since it started.
"We have a great relationship with the Boys and Girls Club," said Andrew Delaney, general manager of the bowling alley. "Besides doing the tournament to help raise money, they bring a lot of groups in."
The tournament was open to anyone who wanted to donate.
"We have a pretty big budget to take care of a lot of kids," Muncie said. "We had our campaign kickoff for our capital drive where Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee spoke to get us pumped up to raise money."
Each participant paid a $50 entry fee.
"This event will benefit over 500 kids who are actual members of our club throughout the year," said Wanda Lewis, president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County. "Over the course of the year we usually serve about 1,100 to 1,200 young people through our club activities and outreach activities in the entire community."
There were 20 teams competing at two different times Friday.
The first shift was at 1
p.m. and consisted of six teams. Opelika-Auburn News team was the winner of the first group.
"I love the kids," said Johnny Richmond. "The kids are my heart and they motivate me everyday."
The second shift started at 3 p.m. and consisted of 14 more teams. Team Auburn No. 2 was the winner.
"The bowling alley has been incredibly supportive of this event," Muncie said. "They block it off for us every year with sponsors, lanes and teams."
A new challenge was added to the tournament this year.
All participants were given one chance to roll for a $1,000 prize provided by Interactive Promotions Group.
"To win for $1,000, I would give some to the Boys and Girls Club to help them out and everything," Richmond said.
The catch was that they had to knock down a 7-10 split.
Each participant signed a waiver stating they were not a professional bowler before attempting the challenge.
"Its kind of like a holein-one in golf," Muncie said.
No one won the prize.
Lewis said two people came close to winning and over $4,000 was raised for the Boys and Girls Clubs in the process.
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