SPECIAL OLYMPICS

BOWLING TEAM

BOOTED FROM

SHADY GROVE 300?

Here's a troubling story from The Gazette. Apparently, the county Special Olympics bowling team was told their time was up when AMF reopened its Shady Grove bowling alley.

Now called "300," the new clientele is supposed to be more upscale. (This is pretty much a clone of Strike Bethesda). That's why I find it disturbing that the team was suddenly unable to be accommodated - how convenient.

The good news is that the Special Olympics team has found a new home at Bowl America on Clopper Road. Still, why shouldn't the team be able to enjoy the fancy new facilities at 300 like any other resident?

According to the article, AMF insists it is a chaperone issue. However, the article goes on to add that only 2 of the facility's past bowling leagues re-signed contracts with 300.

Debbie Fickenscher, who is both a team coordinator and a team member's mom, according to the Gazette, was quoted as saying that the team did in fact appreciate the new alley before they got the boot:

"For the time we were there, it was wonderful, and it was not lost on the
athletes that they were in a brand new thing," she said.

I'm not sure if this is a violation of the ADA yet, but at best, it is a public relations disaster for 300.