When Evan Riva and Chip Carson squared off in a match at the state open candlepin bowling championship in Lewiston last month, there was much more on the line than a shot at the state championship.
Riva is an assistant manager at the Bangor Brewer Bowling Lanes, where Carson — the manager — is his boss.
But perhaps sweetening the pot even more for the 2015 Brewer High School graduate was the fact Carson won this tournament in 2016.
“He said it was my turn at the beginning of this year,” Riva said. “It was a fun match.”
Riva, the third-ranked bowler heading into the tournament, followed that up by defeating Tom Pelkey of Augusta in the championship match the next day. The 20-year-old became one of the youngest bowlers to win the championship.
Riva took up the sport under the tutelage of local candlepin mainstay Charlie Milan, the owner of Bangor Brewer Bowling Lanes, and Carson.
“Charlie’s been kind of my mentor throughout the years,” said Riva, who played baseball, golf and soccer during his time at Brewer High.
Most of Riva’s high school athletic success was found on the baseball diamond, where he excelled as a pitcher for the Witches. That success has translated to the bowling alley.
“It’s all [about] hand-eye coordination,” Riva said in comparing staring down a batter and an array of 10 candlepins. “When things aren’t going your way, you’ve got to push through and you’ve got to stay focused the whole time.”
The dynamic isn’t unlike that of a pitcher facing a situation, where the bases are loaded and nobody is out.
“You can never give up until you’re mathematically out of the match,” Riva said.
Riva has been bowling competitively for about six years now and finds time to practice between working about 40 to 45 hours per week at the Bangor Brewer Lanes and running his own vending route.
“It is busy. I don’t mind it,” he said.
Riva started working at the alley when he was 17, which allowed him to practice the sport a lot more under the tutelage of Milan and Carson.
When he’s not practicing, Riva can usually be found participating in mixed men’s leagues a few days per week. He hopes can get more people hooked on what he believes is a dying sport.
“It’s not so much about winning; it’s about making other people happy,” he said. “Candlepin is starting to die off but it’s a work in progress [and] you’ve got to keep pushing forward.”
Riva is an alley rat, and he plans to be involved in the sport for as long as he can.
“I’ll be in the sport until it dies,” he said.
Riva said he enjoys the fact that candlepin bowling is for people of all ages and abilities.
“It’s a game that most people like,” he said. “It is harder [than 10-pin] but sometimes you’ve got to accept the challenge.”
