MBC said Monday that it would add bowling to the repertoire of sports for its upcoming Lunar New Year edition of the TV program “Idol Star Athletics Championships.” It will be the first time bowling is featured.

“We have selected the players and are ensuring that everything is ready to go. Bowling will be recorded undisclosed to the public,” the TV network said.

Lunar New Year special Idol Star Athletics Championships logo(MBC)

The bowling games will be separated by gender. For the men’s game, boy bands EXO, Highlight, Wanna One, Seventeen, Monsta X, Astro, Snuper and KNK will compete for the trophy.

Girl groups Apink, Red Velvet, Gfriend, Lovelyz, Nine Muses, Mamamoo, Weki Meki and Laboum are scheduled to participate in the women’s game.

There has been growing interest in bowling in Korea, even among celebrities. Competition to qualify for the championships was reportedly intense among the artists, as there were many talented participants.

The program will be hosted by Sung-kyu from Infinite and Hani from EXID.

Applications for the championships closed at noon Thursday.

By Ahn Sang-yool (koolsangon@heraldcorp.com)