The 2019 Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) State Bowling Championships will take place this week at the Smyrna Bowling Center. The action gets underway on Thursday, January 17th. Individual champions will be crowned on Friday and team champions are crowned on Saturday.

For the first time in the sport of bowling, there will be a Unified Bowling Invitational held on Saturday morning, starting at 8:00 a.m. Dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences, Unified Sports joins students with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. The concept is inspired by the principle that practicing and competing together promotes inclusion and understanding to help break down stereotypes.

For the inaugural year, nine boys' teams and five girls' teams will take part in the event. The TSSAA desires to officially sanction the sport of Unified Bowling in subsequent years, involving more schools.

This event brings in approximately 500 athletes and more than 1,300 spectators to Rutherford County. A total of 32 Division I and II teams and individual bowlers will vie for the title of state champions. The bowling championships have been hosted in Smyrna since 2002.

"We are pleased to once again host the TSSAA Bowling Championships," said Barbara Wolke, senior vice president of the Rutherford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The Smyrna Bowling Center's facility is first-rate and will showcase Rutherford County to athletes from across the state."

Admission is $8.00 per person on Thursday and Friday. Saturday the admission will be $10.00. Parking is free at the Smyrna Bowling Center. For more information, call TSSAA at (615) 889-6740 or visit www.tssaa.org.