Back Alley sponsors youth program

Earlier this week, the lanes stood empty in the IMU Back Alley, save for a small elementary school field trip and a father-daughter pair. This atmosphere is about to change once Bloomington area schools let out for summer vacation.

For the first time, Indiana University is sponsoring the Kids Bowl Free program, a nationwide initiative designed to provide safe fun for kids and their families during the summer.

This summer will be the program’s fifth year, and approximately 1,000 bowling alleys and universities across the country support it.

The Back Alley is one of 26 Indiana locations that sponsor the program, and the only one in Bloomington.

The program’s goal is to give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time during the summer.

Back Alley manager Ryan Clemons said he believes the venue achieves this.
“(The program) absolutely does its job, it exposes kids to a university setting and more than their curriculum, and it lets them know there’s more to college than showing up and sitting in a classroom everyday,” Clemons said.

Children under the age of 16 can register online during the summer to receive two free games every day for the season.

Family passes, which allow up to four adult family members to play two games each day during the summer, are also offered online at kidsbowlfree.com for $24.95.

Although this is the first summer IU has sponsored the program, more than 1,250 kids have already signed up and 95 family passes have been sold so far.

“It’s certainly worth it because it’s easy to spend $25 at a bowling alley at once,” Bloomington resident Rusty Clark said.

Clark and his daughter Jordyn, 11, bowled for free for the first time this past week and say they plan on coming back often.

“We’ll probably come here quite a bit, and we’ll go around to other places within an hour drive,” Clark said. “It’s a nice program.”

Clemons believes that the location offers a unique and safe experience for the children and their families.

“It gets kids into the Union,” he said. “It’s a fun place to be, and for the Bloomington community, they might not always experience this place. It’s a way to outreach to the
community.”

The Back Alley plans on running the program until Aug. 8, but Clemons says that might be extended due to the IU fall semester starting later than in previous years.

Participants in the program can bowl for free from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday.

 It isn’t offered on Saturdays, and the program is excluded from being used for birthday parties or group reservations.

Passes can be printed off online from a registration confirmation email, or members can bring in their smartphone with the email open and have it scanned.

Clemons said he has high hopes for the program over the summer and strongly recommends that other universities offer it.

“This is a great program, your typical bowling center has smoking and drinking going on, but here we’re such a safe, confined space,” Clemons said. “I think it really promotes a healthy lifestyle.”