GREENFIELD — His arm slung back and came forward again in one sharp, swift movement. Darryl Conner watched his bowling ball travel down the sleek wooden alleyway.
The bright-colored sphere gained speed as it rolled, and Conner’s excitement mounted with its movement, his eagerness clearly etched in the grin on his face. A spare was milliseconds away.
He watched the pins fall to the ground. He cannot hear their clatter. He did not hear the crash of the ball as it collided with the stark white pillars.
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He is deaf.
His celebration afterward was enthusiastic and silent. Between high-fives from the crowd, he used his hands to gleefully sign words to those around him. He pumped a fist in the air, then turned to watch a friend collect his own bowling ball and approach the lane.
More than 80 bowlers, who are deaf or hard of hearing and members of the National Mixed Deaf Bowling Association, came to Hancock County over the weekend to participate in an annual national tournament, this year held at Greenfield’s Strike Force Lanes.
The bowlers came from 16 states, from as far west as California and as far east as Maryland, and spent four days in Greenfield last week. Indianapolis was chosen as the site of this year’s tournament, but the organizers decided to hold the games at Strike Force Lanes.
The local bowling alley shut down its traditional open-bowling hours to accommodate the tournament, and they hope to have the chance to host again soon, said owner Rob Barnhart.
It was an honor to have the deaf league choose their alley, he said.
Communicating with these bowlers might be a little different, but he and his staff have made whatever accommodations necessary to ensure everyone feels welcome, Barnhart said. In the end, it’s their mutual love of the game that matters and not their differences, he said.
“It’s just about bowling,” he said.
The National Mixed Deaf Bowling Association was founded in 2000. The group holds its national tournament in June each year, in different cities around the country, said Bonnie Conner of Indianapolis, a chair of the organization.
A small league of deaf or hard of hearing bowlers from around Central Indiana had visited Strike Force Lanes for games in the past, she told the Daily Reporter, with her daughter, Heather, serving as an interpreter. So, when Indianapolis was chosen to host the 2018 national tournament, locals knew the Greenfield alley would be the best location because it had taken so much care to be deaf-friendly, she said.
Since bowlers travel from all over the country to be at the national tournament, it often feels like a family reunion, Bonnie Conner said. There’s no telling who will show up, so it’s a great way to make new friends while visiting with old ones, she said.
She and her husband, Darryl, attend whenever they can, she said. They even took home the top doubles prize in the 2015 tournament.
Throughout the year, state-level leagues meet for different tournaments, practicing their skills and spending time together as a community, Bonnie Conner said.
Because the national tournament stretches through a few days, it consists of a variety of bowling events, including teams, doubles and senior citizens. The bowlers then cap off their weekend with a banquet where the winners of each event are announced and formally recognized, she said.
Some will even travel to the international deaf bowling tournament, Bonnie Conner said, where they meet with bowlers from around the world. And because different countries use different styles of sign language, they may be a different kind of communication barrier there, she said.
But, just as Barnhart said, the game is really what connects them, Bonnie Conner added.
“Bowling is the same rules no matter what country you’re in,” she said.