Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

If you?ve ever wondered why Hudson-Bayonne Lanes seems a little gay on Tuesday nights ? gay in the old-fashioned way, and gay in the modern way ? wonder no longer.

Gay and lesbian bowlers from Hudson County and elsewhere meet up there weekly from September through May as part of the Garden State Gay Bowling Organization, which is celebrating its 23rd year in Jersey City.

Rob Lahoda, 48, the group?s president, said GSGBO was the first gay bowling league in New Jersey when it was founded in 1991. More than two decades later, they have anywhere from 75 to 100 bowlers in up to 30 teams.

Most of the league bowlers are men, but Lahoda is trying to change that.

?We?re fighting to get more women in,? he said last Tuesday at the group?s first meet-and-greet and practice session of this season. ?It?s a struggle.?

Six women joined the league last year, said Lahoda, formerly of Jersey City and now a Morristown resident. Two of them are girlfriends Colleen Stoll and Olga Calderon, who live on Wayne Street in Jersey City.

Sipping a beer while Calderon bowled a strike ? to chants of ?Olga, Olga? from the league ? Stoll said she would never have guessed that one day bowling would be her idea of a good time. But their friends needed partners on their team, she said.

?They said, ?Clear your schedules, bitches, you?re bowling with us,?? said Stoll, 38.

One year later, she said, and the couple can?t even begin to count the number of friends they?ve made at Hudson-Bayonne Lanes.

In case you?re wondering, Stoll?s high score is 177 and her handicap is 100.

?I?ve very erratic. I don?t know what I?m doing,? said Stoll, a photo editor at US Weekly.

There are a handful of straight bowlers in the league. Stoll said they're not hazed.

Acceptance of the gay community has risen immeasurably since 1991. It would still be five years until President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed states the refuse to recognize gay marriage. That bill was gutted in June by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But even massive change in favor of the gay-rights movement doesn?t mean there isn?t still a place for gay bowling leagues, according to Lahoda (high score 256).

?Even with the changes, it?s still good to be part of a group,? he said.

Lahoda notes that he met his partner of 14 years while bowling in White Plains, N.Y.

?That?s what you don?t get at a straight league,? he said.

GSGBO meets again on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. at Hudson-Bayonne Lanes, 1 Garfield Ave. New bowlers are encouraged to attend. The league?s first official game is Tuesday, Sept. 10.