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Road Bowling Championship Raises Spirits and Funds in Wheeling

Proceeds Benefit Youth Services System, Others

Photo by Alec Berry A truck decorated in Irish flags delivers a group of people to the start of the course.

WHEELING — Michael Pelva trotted along Boggs Hill in the afternoon sun, trying to decide if he should remove his shirt before rolling a small, steel ball down the road.

“Just a few buttons,” a passerby said. “Do it. Just do it.”

He and his friends were competing in the Irish Road Bowling Ohio Valley Championship on Saturday, in which teams roll the type of ball Pelva was holding along a country road until they meet a finish line. There’s a lot of merriment along the way, including music, food and alcohol.

“Anytime you can come out and have fun, drink a beer and give back to charity … that’s a perfect situation,” Garen Rhome said. “It’s an opportunity to dress the part.”

Rhome and his friend Roger Cain wore yacht attire while accompanying a boat-themed cooler. Their road bowling team of five was called “Yacht Rock ‘N’ Roll” in honor of a music genre they both enjoy, known as “yacht rock.”

“It was done by anyone who was rich and sailing between the years of 1976 and 1984,” Rhome said. “Think Michael McDonald.”

Their team has participated in the event prior. Cain said they are fairly good at it , though he said they hardly practice. He said last year’s event was their practice for this year.

Monsignor Jeremiah McSweeney gave a prayer in his true Irish style to start off the activities. School buses carried loads of people from Sonneborn Shelter across the way from Wheeling Park High School out to the start of the course near Brown’s Run.

As the afternoon progressed, people followed the road back, making way for the tiny, two-pound balls sweeping past their feet.

The event was organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a local Catholic men’s organization. Proceeds will benefit a few local charities, such as Youth Services System.

The sport of Irish road bowling dates back nearly 400 years, and it has gained some popularity throughout West Virginia. There are about 20 events held around the state annually.

Wheeling’s was followed by an evening of food and Irish music at Sonneborn Shelter, welcoming people to enjoy the warm fall weather.

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