Get with the Program – Kids Bowl Free
1. Visit www.kidsbowlfree.com
2. Click on your state to see the participating centers listed by community
3. Select the center where you want to participate
4. Fill out the parent account information and child registration
5. Accept or decline the option to purchase a Family Pass
6. Coupons will be e-mailed weekly throughout the summer.
For more information, visit www.kidsbowlfree.com. To follow the Kids Bowl Free Bus Tour, find Kids Bowl Free on Facebook.
Darin Spindler practically grew up in a bowling center and he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
“I really am a lifelong bowler,” said Spindler, a Wisconsin native whose father and grandfather both owned bowling centers.
Now, Spindler is bringing the sport to a whole new generation, one city at a time. One of the creators of the Kids Bowl Free Summer Bowling Program, Spindler is taking the show on the road — literally — as the Kids Bowl Free Bus Tour has begun its 16,000-mile cross-country trek.
Kids Bowl Free staff members set out from Atlanta on April 10 and are in the midst of a 50-city, 37-day road trip. The bus will roll into Dayton on May 3 stopping at Poelking Woodman Lanes and, possibly, a few other centers.
“We’re trying to get the word out to as many people in as many cities as we can,” Spindler said. “This is a great program.”
The program, in its fourth summer season, provides two free games of bowling every day for all registered participants, ages 15 and under, over the summer. The only expense is shoe rental, which varies by center.
The program has grown significantly since its inception three years ago. There were 100,000 participants in select test markets the first year. That number grew to 1.6 million young bowlers in 46 states and four Canadian provinces last year. Spindler hopes to boost that number this summer for the program that will run in at least 48 states.
While the program gives young bowlers something free and fun to do during their summer vacation, it is also designed to benefit the participating bowling centers.
“One of the benefits we provide the centers is ongoing marketing efforts,” Spindler said. “Many bowling centers did summer promotions on their own but we’re able to take today’s tools, as far as technology, and make it work for them.”
Close to 20 bowling centers in the Miami Valley, from Middletown to Springfield, are participating in the Kids Bowl Free program this summer.
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