Woodfords Club Candlepin League Draws Record 16 Bowlers

A candlepin bowling league revived two years ago in the basement of Portland's Woodfords Club has grown to 16 players for its current eight-week fall session, the largest turnout since it restarted, The Portland Press Herald reported.

Sarah Hipple, a real estate agent, started the league after she and her husband, Ethan Hipple, Portland's parks director, joined the club three years ago and learned that an organized league once filled 16 teams of four. About 10 players signed up for the first call. The current session costs $65 per person. Players bowl three strings a night on five lanes, two of which tilt, and track their own scores.

Ethan Hipple maintains the pinsetters himself after the club's president asked him to take on the machine room, clearing stuck pins, belts off their tracks and blown fuses.

"I feel like there's such a need for gathering in places that don't cost a ton and aren't drinking-focused," Sarah Hipple said.

Candlepin alleys have continued to close, in part because of falling league participation. West-Port Bowling Lanes in Westbrook closed in September 2026, citing the age of its equipment and difficulty finding replacement parts. Sarah Hipple said the Woodfords Club's pinsetters are a different design and easier to repair.

The club, founded in 1913 on Woodford Street, also hosts swing dance classes, bridge games, mahjong, a drop-in improv group and the Portland Camera Club.

This story was first reported by The Portland Press Herald.