SHELBURNE FALLS — The first local bowling and golf biathlon is making its way to Shelburne Falls and Ashfield this weekend.
Open to the public of all skill levels, the biathlon starts at 6 p.m. on Friday night at the Shelburne Falls Bowling Alley, with event registration and three strings of candlepin bowling. The biathlon will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning for nine holes of golf at Edge Hill Golf Course. A $35 entry fee covers the sports, pizza and prizes. (Golf cart transportation is included but golf equipment rental is not.)
The event is the brainchild of Dennis Merritt, a Shelburne Falls resident who participates in both sports locally.
“I thought ‘Gee, it’d be fun to get more golfers bowling and bowlers golfing,” Merritt said. “It would be a great way to cross-fertilize the two.”
With the turning of the seasons, from an outdoor golfing season to an indoor bowling season, Merritt thought it would be fun to engage in both sports, he said.
In speaking with area residents, Merritt said he has heard a lot of local interest in a biathlon of these two sports. The only problem, Merritt said, is that his bright idea came without a lot of time for people to plan.
“There’s been enough people who have said, ‘There’s a fun idea!’ But (many) can’t make it,” Merritt said, noting that he only started drumming up interest two weeks ago. “It’s kind of late notice.”
A handful of people are already registered, himself included, Merritt said, adding that all are welcome.
Merritt created a scoring system so that scores can be added over the course of the two days, seeing how normally, “low score wins in golfing, high score wins in bowling,” he explained.
For the biathlon, Merritt, who has worked in the software field for years, created a golfing scoring system that equates good scores with higher point values.
“You get positive points for your good holes and your bad holes are a zero,” he said of his formula. Having two positive number scores will allow for a high aggregate score to name a winner, Merritt said.
He is also looking forward to using local venues.
“One of the nice things of this area is all of the small businesses,” Merritt said, adding that supporting local businesses is a part of the biathlon.
Merritt said that going forward, his hope is to make the biathlon a twice-annual event, happening in the fall and in the spring.
Reach Maureen O’Reilly at moreilly@recorder.com or at 413-772-0261, ext. 280.