The Alabama High School Athletic Association State Bowling Championship Tournament will move to Bowlero Mobile, formerly the Camellia Lanes, beginning in 2024.

The move for 2024, 2025 and 2026 was announced today by the AHSAA and the Mobile Sports Authority. It’s the first time Mobile has been the host for the state event after hosting the South Regional tournament several times. The 2023 state championship was held in Gadsden.

“The AHSAA is excited to announce this move,” said AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs. “We have hosted several championships in Mobile, including tennis and golf state championships. Bowling interest is growing rapidly with our member schools. We look forward to working with the City of Mobile and the Mobile Sports Authority as we move forward. They have been outstanding hosts for our Alabama-Mississippi and North-South All-Star football games, and we look forward to working with them with our bowling championships. We owe much gratitude to our previous hosts at Gadsden and Pelham.”

The 2024 state tournament is scheduled for Jan. 25-26, 2024, at the 42-lane bowling center located in west Mobile. The center has recently undergone an extensive renovation in advance of the tournament. The tournament will feature 32 high school teams (16 boys and 16 girls teams) from across the state that have advanced through the AHSAA area and regional playoffs. Both championships will be in two divisions, Class 1A-5A and Class 6A-7A. The NFHS Network and AHSAA TV Network, in conjunction with executive producer WOTM-TV, live streams the state bowling championship matches annually.

Bowling was approved as an AHSAA championship sport in 2016 with all schools competing in one boys division and one girls division. Pelham hosted the championships from 2016-2021 before moving the past two years to Gadsden.

Teams compete in eight regions in each division during the regular season with the top two teams in each region advancing to the North and South Regional Championships. The top four qualifiers at each regional then advance to the state championships in each division.

“We’re proud and humbled the AHSAA has awarded Mobile one of their prestigious state championship events. We appreciate the confidence the Central Board, Mr. Briggs, and his team have shown in us, and we look forward to delivering a first-class event for the young student-athletes. We’ve enjoyed the growing partnership we have with the AHSAA leadership team, and we hope to earn the right to host more of their events in the future,” said Danny Corte, the Mobile Sports Authority executive director.

“We at Bowlero Mobile are honored to have been chosen for the next three AHSAA State Bowling Championship Tournaments, a first time for Mobile,” said Caitlyn Johnson, Bowlero Mobile general manager. “It’s been a very rewarding experience for me moving to this Bowlero location and I look forward to co-hosting the best high school bowlers in Alabama for the next three years.”