From the beginning of September until the end of April, most in the local Croatian community know that Wednesday night is bowling night, and has been since 1980.
The Croatia Hamilton Ten-Pin Bowling League is one of the oldest and strongest leagues in all of Ontario. 12 teams and a total of up to 60 bowlers take to the lanes each week. After the closure of Lucky Strike in Stoney Creek, the league moved to Splitsville on the Hamilton mountain in the fall of 2017.
Although all of the teams take great enjoyment in cheering each other's strikes and spares, this is a high-calibre league. Since the early 1980s the Croatia Hamilton Bowling League has been proud to have upwards of 80% of its bowlers hit the 200 plateau regularly.
Outside of the standard Wednesday nights, Croatia Hamilton currently co-hosts a 10-Pin tournament with the Windsor Croatia Sports Club. This tournament switches venues between the two cities each year and has been an annual event for over a decade. With 6-to-8 teams participating on average, there is bowling the entire day, a trophy presentation, and an old-fashioned Croatian dinner to conclude the event.
Also, for more than 20 years, members of our league have been making the trip to the Croatian Fraternal Union Bowling Championships held at various locations across North America. Our men have been able to win the championship on numerous occasions, and represent our community with pride.
The league has generally been at or very near capacity since its inception, however, anyone interested in joining can contact Steve Snjegotinac at 905-512-0047.