It was more than two years in the making, but the end results made it just that much sweeter for six regional schools at the NSW Ten Pin Bowling finals for students with disability.

Travel times and COVID restrictions were on the backburner at Rooty Hill’s Zone Bowling West HQ as the sport showcased its wares for the first time at a state level.

Any thoughts of a home lane advantage quickly rolled down the gutter, with all podium finishers coming from outside of Sydney.

Orange High School went on to take out the high school division ahead of Grafton High School and Anson Street School, also in Orange.

It was a similar tale of regional dominance in the primary school division with Palmers Island Public School edging out The Rock Public School and Wiripaang Public School.

The bigger picture was the extraordinary success of the inclusive event, which had first held trials in 2020 only to suffer two years of COVID delays.

In all, 236 teams across the state (including 50 teams from SSPs - Schools for Specific Purposes) had taken part in 28 events across 10 regions to determine the 60 finalists (30 primary and 30 secondary teams) who participated at the Rooty Hill decider.

Teams each played two games in the final, with the highest total pin score per team used to determine winners and placings.

“It was just fantastic for the event to finally take place after all the COVID interruptions,” said Anthony Moyes, Disability Inclusion Officer, School Sport Unit.

“We’re excited to see it grow in registrations in the coming years.”

With many schools featuring tenpin as a sport and the relative ease of scoring and officiating, tenpin promises to be a significant event on the NSW public schools’ sporting calendar for years to come.

Registrations are now open for the competition in 2023